ABSTRACT

International trade has, for decades, been central to economic growth and improved standards of living for nations and regions worldwide. For most of the advanced countries, trade has raised standards of living, while for most emerging economies, growth did not begin until their integration into the global economy. The economic explanation is simple: international trade facilitates specialization, increased efficiency and improved productivity to an extent impossible in closed economies. However, recent years have seen a significant slowdown in global trade, and the global system has increasingly come under attack from politicians on the right and on the left. The benefits of open markets, the continuation of international co-operation, and the usefulness of multilateral institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have all been called into question. While globalization has had a broadly positive effect on overall global welfare, it has also been perceived by the public as damaging communities and social classes in the industrialized world, spawning, for example, Brexit and the US exit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The purpose of this volume is to examine international and regional preferential trade agreements (PTAs), which offer like-minded countries a possible means to continue receiving the benefits of economic liberalization and expanded trade. What are the strengths and weaknesses of such agreements, and how can they sustain growth and prosperity for their members in an ever-challenging global economic environment?

The Handbook is divided into two parts. The first, Global Themes, offers analysis of issues including the WTO, trade agreements and economic development, intellectual property rights, security and environmental issues, and PTAs and developing countries. The second part examines regional and country-specific agreements and issues, including NAFTA, CARICOM, CETA, the Pacific Alliance, the European Union, EFTA, ECOWAS, SADC, TTIP, RCEP and the TPP (now the CPTPP), as well as the policies of countries such as Japan and Australia.

part |2 pages

PART I Global Themes

chapter 1|6 pages

Introduction

ByRobert E. Looney

chapter 2|8 pages

Regional trade agreements: Myths and misconceptions

ByKati Suominen

chapter 3|12 pages

The WTO and regional/bilateral trade agreements

ByKimberly Ann Elliott

chapter 7|12 pages

Trade agreements and economic development

ByChristopher Stevens

chapter 8|12 pages

The investment component of trade agreements

ByWolfgang Alschner

chapter 9|10 pages

Trade agreements and national security: An economic approach

ByRyan Garcia, Jonathan Lipow

chapter 11|10 pages

Gender rights and trade agreements

BySophia Price

chapter 12|12 pages

Trade agreements and the environment

ByInkyoung Kim

chapter 13|11 pages

Neoliberal globalization and its opponents

ByAnne L. Clunan

part |2 pages

PART II Regional/Country Analysis

chapter 14|19 pages

NAFTA

ByRobert A. Blecker

chapter 15|15 pages

CAFTA-DR: diverging trajectories and uneven development

ByMary Finley-Brook

chapter 16|11 pages

CARICOM

ByLester Henry

chapter 17|17 pages

Mexico’s approach to preferential agreements

ByLuz Maria de la Mora Sanchez

chapter 18|9 pages

CETA

ByKurt Hübner

chapter 19|12 pages

Mercosur

ByWalter Antonio Desiderá Neto

chapter 20|11 pages

The Pacific Alliance

ByGian Luca Gardini

chapter 21|10 pages

ALBA

ByAsa Cusack

chapter 22|10 pages

The European Union

ByChristian Schweiger

chapter 23|10 pages

TTIP

ByChristoph Scherrer

chapter 24|11 pages

EFTA

ByMarius Vahl, Aslak Berg

chapter 25|14 pages

Eastern Partnership countries

ByInmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso

chapter 26|11 pages

Trade agreements and regional integration: The European Union after Brexit

ByAnnette Bongardt, Francisco Torres

chapter 27|15 pages

The GCC trade agreements: regional integration challenges and opportunities

ByJoseph A. Kéchichian

chapter 31|13 pages

SADC: Towards a deeper and wider union?

ByDonald L. Sparks

chapter 32|12 pages

COMESA: A case study

ByB. Seetanah, R. V. Sannassee, S. Fauzel, Paul Okiira Okwi

chapter 33|17 pages

RCEP and Asian economic integration

ByGaneshan Wignaraja

chapter 34|11 pages

The TPP: Origins and outcomes

ByJeffrey J. Schott

chapter 35|11 pages

Japan’s approach to preferential trade agreements

ByGregory P. Corning

chapter 36|11 pages

Australia’s approach to PTAs

ByRichard Pomfret