International Trade Law Commons^™

The 2016 Amendments To Singapore’S Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act: A Missed Opportunity, Wee Ling Loo, Ee-Ing Ong

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Singapore hasrecently amended its Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act in response to calls for tougher action against unscrupulous traders. The revisions were aimed at strengthening the government’s ability to deter and punish errant traders, witha focus on deterrence. To this end, the government introduced new investigatory powers, enhanced court powers and added one substantive consumer remedy. Despite this, the authors argue that Singapore’s consumer protection regime remains inadequate because: unfair practices have yet to attract criminalsanctions; no guidelines were issued to provide transparency and clarity on how the broad investigatory powers and harsher court powers are to be implemented; no …

A Destination-Based Cash Flow Tax Can Be Structured To Comply With World Trade Organization Rules, Itai Grinberg

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This paper briefly outlines alternative approaches to enacting a destination-based cash flow tax that are more clearly compatible with the World Trade Organization rules than the approach that has previously been described in the literature. The first structural alternative involves expanding the universe of businesses subject to the tax by clearly defining both the base of the new U.S. business tax and its tax nexus requirement as domestic consumption, and thereafter treating foreign importers and other sellers equivalently, rather than imposing a deduction disallowance or an import tax. The second alternative involves adopting a business activities tax, and then enacting …

The Rcep: New Asian Regionalism And The Global South, Pasha L. Hsieh

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

This article provides an up-to-date examination of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which is poised to become the world’s largest free trade agreement (FTA). It argues that the 16-country mega-FTA will galvanize the paradigm shift in Asian regionalism and build a normative foundation for the Global South in international economic law. Based on intertwined theoretical and substantive claims, this article opens an inquiry into the assertive legalism of developing nations in the new regional economic order. By analyzing the converging policies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China and India, the article first demonstrates the status of …

International Investment Arbitration In Laos: Large Issues For A Small State, Romesh Weeramantry, Mahdev Mohan

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Laos is no stranger to international investment arbitration. Despite its status as one of Southeast Asia's least developed countries, it has had an Investment Law for more than two decades and is also a party to several bilateral and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)-related investment agreements. More recently, two investment treaty claims have been made against it, one of which has given rise to an award challenge that went all the way to Singapore's highest court. This article will examine the history, evolution and current iteration of Laos' relationship with international investment law and focus on the two …

Developing Key Performance Indicators For Imo Member States In The Context Of Imo Member State Audit Scheme, Sang Ho Kim

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

A Critical Evaluation Of How Free Trade Zones And Maritime Activities Impact On Port Development : A Case Study Of The Port Of Kingston, Nicolas Kareem Spence

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Financial Integration And Cooperation In The Asean, Brendan Harvey

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

Financial integration is less pronounced in the ASEAN than other mea-sures of economic integration. This is particularly apparent when com-pared against other regions that have undergone similar integrative efforts, such as the European Union. Cross-border trade flows, foreign-direct in-vestment, and investment in capital goods outstrip other investment flows. Regional institutional and legal structures governing these investment flows, while limited, present marked achievements towards creating an ASEAN financial community. The gap persists despite suggestions that the Asian Financial Crisis and the Global Financial Crisis (or the North Atlan-tic Financial Crisis from the Asian and Stiglitz perspective) would acceler-ate financial regionalism as …

Assessing The Climate Impacts Of U.S. Trade Agreements, Matthew C. Porterfield, Kevin P. Gallagher, Judith Claire Schachter

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Meeting the ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement will require the United States and other major greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters to integrate climate change considerations into all relevant areas of economic policy. The United States, however, has conspicuously failed to do so with regard to international trade negotiations. International trade agreements tend to increase GHG emissions due to the economic effects of trade liberalization, including increases in the scale of economic activity and changes in the composition of the affected economies. Trade agreements can also affect climate change in less quantifiable but potentially more significant ways by restricting the ability …

Brexit And The Wto: What Happens Next, Andrea Xu

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

In the summer of 2016, the United Kingdom (the “UK”) announced its decision to leave the European Union (the “EU”). This decision, more commonly known as “Brexit,” subsequently stirred British politics, which included Theresa May replacing David Cameron as Prime Minister. Brexit created a unique situation in European and global politics, and instigated a discussion among politicians, academics, economists, and the likes about how the UK will leave the EU and Brexit’s implications in the UK, Europe, and the world as a whole.

This Note analyzes one specific aspect of Brexit: the administrative procedures the UK must undergo to establish …

Thinking About The Trans-Pacific Partnership (And A Mega-Regional Agreement On Life Support), Peter K. Yu

Faculty Scholarship

Commissioned for a conference on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at VNU University of Economics & Law in Vietnam, this article provides a retrospective analysis of the partnership. It begins with a historical overview of the TPP. The article then examines the partnership’s status in light of the United States' withdrawal and contends that the TPP will exert considerable influence regardless of whether it is dead or alive.

The second half of this article identifies three interrelated but distinct aspects of the TPP: (1) as a TRIPS-plus intellectual property agreement; (2) as a regional investment agreement; and (3) as a plurilateral …

The Geopolitics Of Rare Earth Elements: Emerging Challenge For U.S. National Security And Economics, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Rare earth elements (REE) contain unique chemical and physical properties such as lanthanum, are found in small concentrations, need extensive precise processes to separate, and are critical components of modern technologies such as laser guidance systems, personal electronics such as IPhones, satellites, and military weapons systems as varied as Virginia-class fast attack submarines, DDG- 51 Aegis destroyers, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and precision guided munitions. The U.S. has some rare earth resources, but is heavily dependent on access to them from countries as varied as Afghanistan, Bolivia, and China. Losing access to these resources would have significant adverse economic, …

Geopolitics Of Rare Earth Elements, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

Rare earth elements (REE) contain unique chemical physical properties such as lanthamum, are found in small concentrations, need extensive precise properties to separate, and are critical components of modern technologies such as laser guidance systems, personal electronics such as IPhones, satellites, and military weapons systems as varied as Virginia-class fast attack submarines, DDG-51 Aegis destroyers, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and precision guided munitions. The U.S. has some rare earth resources, but is heavily dependent on access to them from countries as varied as Afghanistan, Bolivia, and China. Losing access to these resources would have significant adverse economic, military, and …

Understanding What The Vienna Convention Says About Identifying And Using 'Sources For Treaty Interpretation', Donald H. Regan

Book Chapters

International trade law is overwhelmingly treaty-based. In the traditional sense of ‘sources of law’, the World Trade Organization (WTO) treaty is the unique source of WTO law, for practical purposes. Customary law and general principles play (p. 1048) virtually no role as independent sources of substantive law. But the WTO treaty, like any treaty, requires interpretation, and there are vexed questions about what we might call the ‘sources for treaty interpretation’. What materials other than the treaty text may be used in interpreting the treaty? And how are they to be used? These questions arise both for materials internal to …

Small Sustainability Supply: How Small Business And Lean Manufacturing Can Change Supply Chains, Carlos Lopez

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Benefitting From Sustainable Development, Victoria Frappaolo

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Batteries Included: Incentivizing Energy Storage, Lindsay Breslau, Michael Croweak, Alan Witt

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

Distributed Energy Storage (“DES”) technologies that allow households and businesses to store substantial amounts of electricity on site are rapidly advancing and could soon have dramatic impacts on the nation’s electricity generation, transmission, and distribution markets. These technologies could provide numerous benefits, including enhanced energy security, grid stability, and greater support for renewable generation technologies, but several obstacles are slowing their adoption throughout the country. Among these obstacles are stubbornly high manufacturing costs and the potential impacts of DES development on utilities and the traditional energy regulatory framework. Fortunately, policymakers in California, New York, Hawaii, and some other states are …

Appraising The Role Of The Ifc And Its Independent Accountability Mechanism: Community Experiences In Haiti’S Mining Sector, Kate Nancy Taylor

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Green Is Good: How Green Bonds Cultivated Into Wall Street’S Environmental Paradox, Luke Trompeter

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

When the European Investment Bank issued the first green bond in 2007, few imagined this debt instrument would attract mainstream investors. Designed to finance projects ranging from climate change prevention to clean transportation development, green bonds were geared for socially responsible investors concerned with our planet’s sustainability. However, by 2015, green bonds were issued by major corporations like Apple and municipalities like New York City at a record $40 billion. Major players on Wall Street have taken notice and look to cash in on the rapidly growing green bond market. With this new influx of investment and the bonds’ tax-exempt …

About Sdlp

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Editor's Note, Kimberly Reynolds, Ryan Schmidt

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.