International Trade Law Commons^™

Assessing Theories Of Global Governance: A Case Study Of International Antitrust Regulation, Anu Bradford

Faculty Scholarship

An effective, legitimate model of global governance must strike a delicate balance between national sovereignty and international cooperation. As such, governance on an international level is a constantly evolving discourse among multiple actors whose respective roles and influence vary across time and policy realms. The participation of multiple actors in global governance is widely recognized, but there is considerable disagreement as to the appropriate distribution of power among these participants and the optimal pattern for their interaction. We may never be able to construct an ideal global governance model. But the attempt to create such a model by examining the …

Renegotiation And Adaptation Clauses In Investment Contracts, Revisited, John Y. Gotanda

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Professor Dr. Klaus Berger, in Renegotiation and Adaptation of International Investment Contracts: The Role of Contract Drafters and Arbitrators, proposes that international investment contracts include a clause allowing the parties to renegotiate the terms of their contract if certain events take place.' If they are unable to reach an agreement, Professor Berger advocates that the parties agree to permit an arbitral tribunal to modify the terms of the contract to restore the economic equilibrium assumed by the parties when they concluded the agreement. Although commentators have often championed these clauses, private parties involved in international transactions have included them infrequently. …

Nafta's Investment Chapter: Initial Thoughts About Second-Generation Rights, Charles H. Brower

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article Professor Brower argues that most observers of NAFTA's investment chapter have missed an important and surprising development: Although the treaty's text shares a philosophical affinity with civil and political rights, its application has revealed an astonishing level of support for economic and social rights (ESCRs) in North America. Professor Brower examines the practical implications of this development both for the presentation of claims in investor-state arbitration and for the better integration of ESCRs into the mainstream of international law.

Enforcement Of Wto Rulings: An Interest Group Analysis, Mark L. Movsesian

Faculty Publications

The WTO's Dispute Settlement Understanding ("DSU") provides that disputes are to be resolved in adversarial proceedings before impartial panels of experts. These panels have authority to decide whether members' laws conform to WTO requirements; members may appeal rulings to a permanent Appellate Body within the organization, which has the final say on questions of law and legal interpretation. Under the DSU, if a member fails to comply with a final ruling in a dispute, the prevailing party may retaliate by suspending trade concessions that it owes the offending member. This retaliation can continue until the offending member implements the WTO's …

The Development Of The World Trade Organization And The International Criminal Court, Sydney M. Cone Iii.

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Legal Issues Under Wto Rules On The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (Cepa) Between Mainland China And Hong Kong, Henry S. Gao

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

On 29 June 2003, the Central Government of the People's Republic of China (the Mainland) and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) signed the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA). As the first Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) for both sides, the CEPA provides a model for China to use the arrangements allowed under the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to further trade liberalisation and promote economic development. This is a commendable endeavour. However, due to the complexity of the relevant rules of the WTO, caution must be exercised in the formulation and implementation of …

Anti-Circumvention: Has Technology's Child Turned Against Its Mother?, Terri B. Cohen

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Because its function is to protect and support innovation, copyright has been deemed a child of technology. Yet, as copyright laws increase the scope of protection for copyrighted material, one may wonder when such protection will begin to stymie, rather than encourage, emerging technology. The global trend toward internationalizing copyright protection has resulted in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty, which was intended, in part, to bring international copyright protection into the digital age. The treaty, however, extends traditional copyright protections by including a requirement that member nations implement anti-circumvention provisions into their laws.

Great debate has emerged …

Structure, Legitimacy, And Nafta's Investment Chapter, Charles H. Brower, Ii

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In this Article, Professor Brower examines the investment chapter of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He argues that the relevant treaty provisions lack a substantial measure of textual clarity. In addition, he argues that ad hoc tribunals based on the commercial arbitration model have generated incoherent doctrine and are relatively less accountable, transparent, and accessible than permanent tribunals. Furthermore, he argues that the NAFTA Parties and their courts so far appear to place a higher priority on the pursuit of narrow self-interest than on the principled administration of international governance. Collectively, these circumstances help to explain the frequency …

The Doha Declaration And Beyond: Giving A Voice To Non-Trade Concerns Within The Wto Trade Regime, Larry A. Dimatteo, Kiren Dosanjh, Paul L. Frantz, Peter Bowal, Clyde Stoltenberg

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has been a significant force in the liberalization of trade across international borders since its inception in 1995. Commentators suggest that its reforms have converted the focus of international trade policy from removal of barriers to positive policy-making--a field historically occupied by domestic authorities. And although largely successful in the promotion of international trade, the Authors suggest that the binding provisions of the WTO ignore non-trade concerns such as environmental protection, consumer rights, labor rights, and state sovereignty. The Agreement's inattention to these related concerns is the primary locus of criticism of the WTO, culminating …

New Drug Research, The Extraterritorial Application Of Fda Regulations, And The Need For International Cooperation, William Dubois

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In recent years, U.S. pharmaceutical companies have expanded their new drug trials beyond the borders of the United States. While the companies have a variety of reasons for making this move, among them may be a desire to avoid Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation and monitoring. Lack of adequate supervision of drug trials conducted in the developing world endangers both the subjects of the tests and the consumers in the United States. It is unclear whether the FDA can execute regulatory and supervisory authority abroad. The FDA statute does not clearly authorize the agency to regulate extraterritorially. Applying the …

Taking Stock Of Nafta Chapter 11 In Its Tenth Year, Jack J. Coe, Jr.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into force on January 1, 1994. Its Eleventh Chapter establishes substantive guarantees and an arbitral mechanism by which qualifying investors may seek damages for breach of those guarantees. The much-discussed investor-state arbitration apparatus was first invoked in September 1996, and since then has been resorted to several times against each NAFTA state. Many cases have concluded, while others are nearing completion. Though a mature jurisprudence has by no means emerged, substantive trends have been established and several of Chapter l's distinctive features, strengths, and weaknesses have been illuminated.

NAFTA's investor-state docket has …

Restoring Faith In Government: Transparency Reform In The United States And The European Union, Amanda Frost

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

No abstract provided.

Foreword: Nafta As A Lesson For Globalization, Elizabeth Trujillo

Faculty Scholarship

Since its enactment, NAFTA has impacted international business among its members and it has awakened concerns of the environmental and labor challenges that the participating countries face as they move toward economic integration. Among the many challenges, coping with the economic, legal, and cultural differences that exist among the partners has been difficult. The nations must continue to work together to harmonize their laws in such a way that allows for easier integration without impeding their sovereign power to enact laws that address local needs. At the conference entitled “NAFTA at Ten: Harmonization and Legal Transformation,” held on June 14-15, …

The Harmonization Game: What Basketball Can Teach About Intellectual Property And International Trade, Peter K. Yu

Faculty Scholarship

In the recent World Men's Basketball Championships in Indianapolis, Team USA found out painfully that the international game is very different from what they play at home and that the gap between USA Basketball and the rest of the world has been closing. While their losses might have a significant impact on how the United States prepares for the 2004 Olympics in Athens and on how Americans train youngsters to play basketball, their teachings go beyond basketball.

The international harmonization process is a game with different rules, different officials, and players with different visions and mindsets. By watching how players …

The Dangers Of Deference: International Claim Settlement By The President, Ingrid Wuerth

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

During the final months of the Clinton administration, the State Department entered into a trio of unprecedented international agreements with France (the "French Agreement"), Germany (the "German Agreement"), and Austria (the "Austrian Agreement"). These "sole" executive agreements, designed to resolve litigation pending in the U.S. courts that arose out of World War II and the Holocaust, were made without Senate ratification(as required for a treaty) or congressional authorization (as in a congressional- executive agreement). Although executive branch settlement of claims without Senate or congressional approval has a long history, these executive agreements mark an important departure from prior practice by …

The Byrd Amendment Is Wto-Illegal: But We Must Kill The Byrd With The Right Stone, Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Petros C. Mavroidis

Faculty Scholarship

On 16 January 2003, the WTO Appellate Body issued its report on United States – Continued Dumping And Subsidy Offset Act Of 2000 (WTO Doc. WT/DS217 and 234/AB/R). In this report, the Appellate Body condemned the so-called US Byrd Amendment by finding that it was inconsistent with the US obligations under the WTO Agreements on Antidumping (AD) and Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM).

New Social Movements And The Struggle For Worker’S Rights In The Maquila Industry, Victoria Carty

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

"Campaigns to improve worker’s rights in export processing zones (EPZs), also referred to the maquila industry in Latin America, is an important topic analytically and politically. On theoretical and practical levels, the co-existence of market economies with effective means to ensure adequate working conditions for workers is a critical question. Underlying the issue is a vigorous debate regarding how the global economy should be governed; who or what should govern it, and whose interest is should serve (Faux, 2002)."

Free Movement Of Goods: A Comparative Analysis Of The European Community Treaty And The North American Free Trade Agreement, Pedro A. Perichart

LLM Theses and Essays

The European Union is currently an economic union, which means that it has almost removed every internal barrier to trade, therefore achieving the free circulation of all factors of production (goods, services, capital, and persons) across the union. The North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) establishes a free trade area, with the main purpose of eliminating tariffs among its members, and to some extent, reducing other non-tariff barriers to facilitate the cross-border movement of goods. Despite their difference, both regions seek to achieve a certain degree of free movement when trading goods within their respective e internal markets. This study …

Do World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Reports Affect The Obligations Of Non-Parties? -- Response To Mcnelis, Donald H. Regan

Articles

In the June 2003 issue of this Journal, Natalie McNelis argued that when a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute is settled by a Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) report, even Members who are not parties to the dispute have an obligation to conform their behaviour to legal principles laid down in the report. 1 Although I am generally sympathetic to McNeis's conclusion-and although I think she does a great service by directing our attention to the question of how Members, as opposed to later tribunals, should respond to DSB reports-I think her argument cannot stand as she presents it. After explaining …

Trade Sanctions And Human Rights–Past, Present, And Future, Carlos Manuel Vázquez

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The relationship between the international law of trade and the international law of human rights has commanded an increasing amount of scholarly attention in the past few years, perhaps spurred by the well-known events at Seattle in 1999. This article offers some reflections on this relationship, focusing on the permissibility under international law of imposing trade sanctions against nations that commit violations of international human rights. Part I begins with some reflections on the historical relationship between these two bodies of law. Part I also considers why the human rights community appears to feel threatened by the international trade system, …

Sequencing, Acoustic Separation, And 3-D Negotiation Of Complex Barriers: Charlene Barshefsky And Ip Rights In China, Rebecca Green, James K. Sebenius

Faculty Publications

Taking the perspective of the lead U.S. negotiator, Charlene Barshefsky, this article details and analyzes the negotiations that took place in the mid-1990s between the United States and the People's Republic of China over intellectual property rights (IPR). Employing a "negotiation analytic" methodology, Charlene Barshefsky's actions are interpreted to suggest a number of promising approaches to managing the daunting complexities of trade and other negotiations: recognizing the multiparty aspects of apparently bilateral dealings and capturing them in a "deal diagram;" carefully assessing "barriers" to agreement; sequencing to build a winning coalition and overcome potentially blocking ones; "acoustic separation" of issueframes; …