Product Description
This volume, built on a recent series of courses at the Academy of European Law in Florence, addresses the overlapping regulatory trade regimes of the WTO, EU, and NAFTA.The various contributions deal with discrete areas of the international trading system.The coexistence of regimes, often governing simultaneously complex transnational transactions, is the focus of the volume. ... Read more

Product Description
With more than eighty chapters, this three-volume work – described by the current Director-General of the World Trade Organization as an "outstanding contribution" to understanding the world trading system – is by far the most comprehensive study yet undertaken of the WTO. The core of the book is the section on the legal framework of the WTO, which contains detailed legal analyses of the GATT 1994 and each of the specialized WTO agreements, as well as a discussion of the institutional framework of the WTO. The book also includes a number of chapters on the WTO dispute resolution process – a critical part of the world trading system – and on the growing phenomenon of regional trade agreements. In addition, the book contains sections discussing important political aspects of the WTO, such as the relationship between trade and the environment, labor, and human rights. A section on economic issues includes chapters analyzing the economic aspects of such critical issues as anti-dumping, safeguards, trade and the environment, and trade and labor. A series of country reports considers the WTO from the perspective of individual members and would-be members, ranging from the United States and the European Union to Mongolia. ... Read more

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The present study examines the consistency of energy dual pricing with WTO rules - the most controversial issue of energy policy to be addressed in the WTO context. Under dual pricing policy, energy-endowed states sell their energy within their domestic markets at preferential prices that are significantly lower than those charged for the same product in export markets.The issue of energy dual pricing had proven to be a stumbling block during accession negotiations of major energy-producing states, primarily because energy intensive downstream industries in such countries traditionally benefit from the preferential pricing policies of their governments in the domestic market. Such industries enjoy a competitive advantage over producers located in countries in which energy is imported. Current high energy prices render dual pricing policies of energy-endowed states especially sensitive.The study analyses the consistency of energy dual pricing policy with WTO rules on subsidies, state trading, export restrictions and maximum price controls. The analysis is carried out on the basis of the policy applied by Russia with respect to natural gas, as this practice has arguably created the most controversy. The core of the analysis is focused on the application of the WTO rules on subsidies to energy dual pricing policy. The study also conducts a comparative examination of the practices of the United States and the European Union regarding countervailing duty investigation of energy dual pricing programs. In addition, the study discusses the energy pricing policies of selected countries and considers the energy pricing issue in the context of WTO accession negotiations. ... Read more

Product Description
Regional trade agreements (RTAs) have proliferated around the world in the past two decades, and now nearly all members of the WTO are party to at least one. Besides tariffs and rules of origin regulating trade in goods, many RTAs now include provisions on services, investments, technical barriers to trade and competition rules, as well as a host of issues not directly related to trade. The geographic reach of RTAs is expanding, with transcontinental agreements spreading forcefully alongside intra-regional agreements. 'Multilateralizing Regionalism' was the title of a major conference held from 10-12 September 2007 at the WTO in Geneva. Together, the conference papers achieve two things. First, they marshall detailed, new empirical work on the nature of the 'Spaghetti Bowl' and the problems it poses for the multilateral trade system. Second, they contribute fresh and creative thinking on how to 'tame the angle' of regional trade agreements. ... Read more

Product Description
This compelling argument for why the library community should be concerned about the effect of international trade agreements on the ability to deliver library and information services to the public begins with a rigorous yet succinct description of the relevant provisions of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The book then proceeds to discuss how it is likely to impact particular public library services and how the library community could best respond to these challenges. While there cannot be certainty when considering how GATS will ultimately impinge upon public libraries, this book pinpoints potential problem areas. By informing public libraries on the WTO and providing the foundation for effective advocacy at the domestic and international levels, this book goes a long way in ensuring that public libraries continue to play a central role in their communities for generations to come. ... Read more

Product Description
This book provides an overview of the World Trade Organization; in particular, it focuses on two WTO agreements that have significant implications for libraries and information: the General Agreement on Trade in Services (the GATS) and the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The book aims to raise awareness of these important international agreements and draws attention to the way in which they threaten some of the professions ethics and principles. Furthermore, the book explores the relationships between globalization, the WTO, libraries and information within a wider social and theoretical perspective. Drawing on a wealth of knowledge and many years of experience, Ruth Rikowskis valuable discussion will be of interest to information professionals interested in international implications, NGOs, and globalization issues. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Highly recommended - a must read
If you have ever taken for granted that public libraries are an established part of our society and if you cannot imagine our society without them, you must read Ruth Rikowski's book, Globalisation, Information and Libraries.

It provides an excellent overview of the main elements of the GATS and TRIPS agreements and how these treaties could negatively impact public access to information. Ms. Rikowski explains clearly and in great detail how the GATS especially could threaten public libraries the world over, examining the situation in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, the US, and other nations. I cannot recommend her work highly enough. She explains a technical topic clearly and simply, and provides detailed references in each section of the book so that the reader may follow up with further research.

This is an important book in a world that is rapidly becoming more corporate. The WTO's corporate agenda is not being called into question by the mainstream media, nor are its activities being reported to the public. Much of the WTO's activity is enacted behind closed doors, with no public input, and its negotiations are taking place between representatives with the corporate interest at heart. Representatives of the public interest have been, until now, absent from these proceedings.

I commend Ms. Rikowski for her work compiling the mass of existing evidence against the WTO's GATS and TRIPS agreements and for explaining the implications of this evidence clearly for the public.

Anyone who cares about the public's continuing right to access information and who cannot imagine a world bereft of public libraries must read this book.

The thinking person's librarian's globalisation manual
The implications of the World Trade Organization's GATS and TRIPS agreements don't really make it to the library staff café (but neither do the issues of outsourcing, downgrading and job insecurity these days, so that should not surprise us). While the library sector is busy hiding its collective head in the sand, Ruth Rikowski has been carefully and iteratively constructing her theory of open Marxism (most librarians think that Marx just goes with Spencer). Be warned: this is not the usual dumbing down manual that you find in your information centre / career office (with obvious advice and "lots of pictures"). You are expected to read 400 pages (which could do without repetition in many parts, but then perhaps to communicate you do need to iterate - to the point that the TINA effect becomes the tinnitus effect). Rikowski uses historical data to contextualise the topics she explores (a rarity these days) and successfully deconstructs what "service" means in the rise of global capitalism. While intellectual property rights and services become under these agreements"tradable commodities", it might not be altogether undesirable to replace the present public library service (with their bad book provision) into a privatised service. When this happens, librarians from this sector will wake up to what could have been and wasn't, because of their lack of real culture and scholarly approach to collection building, and their inability to curate for the next generation.

This book's four parts should become compulsory reading (and essay setting) at Library school: globalisation and the World Trade Organisation;the general agreement on Trade in Services [GATS]; agreement on trade-related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights [TRIPS] and the Open Marxist theoretical perspective on global capitalism and the World Trade Organisation. The guilty parties are all discussed in the book - so ask your local library to stock a copy - while the public library still exists.

Globalisation, Information and Libraries by Ruth Rikowski
Outside the legal profession and the sphere of economics Ruth Rikowski's book is a refreshing attempt to critically address and explain to information professionals and to the general public the implications of the World Trade Organization's GATS and TRIPS agreements with regard to the free flow of ideas, access to information, and effects on information services.

One of the distinctive features of Rikowski's book, which I found extremely thought provoking and useful, is her open Marxist theoretical perspective. It is an approach which by drawing on Marx's labour theory of value enables her to demonstrate how in an information based and globalising economy the GATS and TRIPS agreements make it possible for the value of intellectual labour embedded in iinformation processes and products to be converted into capital and transferred into the hands of those in big business who seek to augment their already massive capital assets at the expense of the interests of the general public.

Although the subject matter is by nature somewhat technical, nevertheless the book is based on thorough research and highly accessible and informative.

It is for all these reasons that I highly recommend Rikowski's book to readers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

concise
Clear, concise and accessible book on the law of WTO though rather expensive in price. Cover all major agreements of the WTO law in a succint manner. ... Read more

Product Description
Customs and tariffs effect every international transaction involving goods. Even an export of a good from one place is an import at the point of its receipt. It is impossible for a businessperson to successfully engage in international trade without understanding the basic premises upon which customs and tariffs operate. Although customs and tariffs operate from a national perspective, it is the overarching international structure of classification, valuation, etc. that is imposed upon the national schemes that provide international customs and tariffs with a comprehensible global consistency whose understanding is of great importance for those dealing in international commerce. It is this global scheme of customs and tariffs laws and practices that the author describes so thoroughly and well. Having mapped out for the reader that global scheme, he then describes the many types of variances and exemptions from the global scheme that must be understood as well. The devil is always in the details! Those variances and exemptions provide both detailed deviltry and, equally important, opportunities upon which a skilled international trader may capitalise for his or her benefit.This guide provides a highly readable description of its subject and a unique global perspective not encountered in other books dealing with the same topic. ... Read more

Product Description
This book examines, from the legal perspective, China's process of WTO accession, its commitments to the accession, the implications of such commitments for its trade and legal systems, and its efforts toward WTO compliance. It also discusses the issue of the capacity of the evolving Chinese legal system for ensuring compliance. In particular, the book probes into the trade and legal systems at the turn of the accession and evaluates selected trade and legal issues, including intellectual property, foreign investment law and settlement of trade disputes. ... Read more

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A penetrating look at major challenges to the World Trade Organization and the future of trade liberalization. It also shows how the WTO is moving in a direction at odds with basic democratic principles. The author closes his analysis with some policy recommendations. ... Read more

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This book examines the process through which a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel formulates its conclusions with respect to the facts of a case, i.e. the process of fact-finding or process of proof. The Dispute Settlement Understanding provides general guidance but few direct answers to specific questions regarding the process of fact-finding, which has placed upon panels and the Appellate Body the responsibility to provide answers to those questions as they have arisen in the cases. This book reviews the extensive jurisprudence developed in the 14 years of operation of the WTO dispute settlement system with a view to (a) determining whether panels and the Appellate Body have set out optimal rules to govern the process of fact-finding and, to the extent that that is not the case, (b) to make suggestions for improvement.

This book analyzes questions such as (i) which party bears the responsibility of ultimately convincing the panel of the truth of a fact (burden of proof); (ii) what quantum of proof is necessary to convince the panel (standard of proof); (iii) the role of the panel, disputing parties, and non-disputing parties (e.g. experts, international organizations, private parties) in the development of the evidentiary record on which the panel bases its decision; (iv) the consequences of a party's failure to cooperate in the process of fact-finding; (v) how the parties can access the information which is necessary to prove their allegations; and (vi) the treatment of confidential business and governmental information. In assessing and making suggestions to improve the answers provided by panels to these questions, the book draws on the approaches followed in the two major legal systems of the world, the common law and the civil law, and to the extent possible the approaches adopted by other international courts and tribunals. ... Read more

Product Description
Has European economic and market integration curtailed the autonomy of national industrial relations actors and institutions? Or has it reinforced their roles in securing much-needed economic adjustment? This important book offers a deeply-informed comparative perspective on these questions, drawing on empirical research on changing conditions within and beyond the EU. The book builds on papers presented at the 8th European Regional Congress of the International Industrial Relations Association, held in the UK in September 2007. The authors are leading academic authorities from Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

With detailed attention to such pervasive factors as the consequences of EU enlargement, the shift from manufacturing to services, changes in the gender composition and demographic profile of the labour force, and the growing influence of multinational companies, the authors address such issues as the following:
* response of national employment regulatory traditions to globalization, privatization, outsourcing and budgetary pressures;
* emergence of new forms of competitive advantage for both employers and employees;
* impact of EU-mandated information and consultation mechanisms;
* possibility of international union action and transnational solidarity;
* flexicurity and the changing demographics of the labour force;
* gender democracy in trade unions;
* trade union mergers;
* statutory minimum conditions as an alternative to collective bargaining;
* regulation or culture change to promote equality;
* treatment of posted and migrant workers within increasingly transnational labour markets;
* growth in variable pay systems; and
* possible rebirth of vocational training systems and apprenticeships.Offering in-depth comparative insights into the way in which national and international systems of employment relations are evolving rapidly in the face of cross-cutting pressures for change, this book illuminates a vastly complex state of affairs. In practical terms, its many insights into how current trends affect specific working conditions open the way to new initiatives in developing and maintaining a just and equitable employment relations regime for Europe and beyond. ... Read more

Product Description
How should a state respond to competing international obligations where the patenting of life is concerned? Following the institutionalization of IP in the world trading system under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), states face differing challenges and restraints on their freedom to develop biopatenting programs. Through a comparative review of patenting in two key but diverging jurisdictions, Canada and the US, this book considers how states might exercise the right of self-determination in their domestic law and policy over biopatenting to promote objectives of human welfare and fair competition. Departing from existing studies, this text offers a pragmatic two-step approach to state agency to resolve apparent conflicts between the regulatory options afforded by economic globalization and the need to forge domestic laws that reflect community values. Rich and poor countries alike are invited to assert the primacy of human rights in their industrial and cultural policies. ... Read more

Product Description
The relevance of the WTO legal system for environmental protection is a central topic in general international law, WTO law and international environmental law. The relationship between WTO law and international and domestic efforts to protect the environment has moved to centre stage in WTO and international environmental law. It has also spurred the discussion on fragmentation in international law in recent years.

This book analyzes these issues by examining the 'horizontal' interaction between WTO law and 'other' international law, the 'vertical' relationship between WTO law and domestic law, and the contents and the interrelations between fundamental provisions of WTO law. This study relies on established insights from legal theory in order to achieve greater clarity in legal argumentation. The main results of this analysis are applied to two topical instances of international regime interplay, namely the relevance of WTO law for international and domestic measures protecting the earth's climate and the ozone layer.

A series of controversial topics in WTO and general international law are addressed in this book, including the notion of conflicts of norms, and the resolution of conflicts of norms; the role of international law in WTO proceedings; extraterritorial jurisdiction and unilateral trade measures; proportionality and balancing of interests in international and WTO law; the core disciplines of the GATT and the TBT Agreement; process and production-based measures (PPMs) in WTO law; climate protection, protection of the ozone layer, and WTO disciplines. ... Read more

Product Description
This handbook aims to provides a better understanding of GATS and the challenges and opportunities of the ongoing negotiations. For users who are familiar with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), similarities and differences are pointed out where relevant. Likewise, for users who are familiar with the balance-of-payments definition of 'trade', departures from the Agreement's coverage are explained. Text boxes ('Food for Thought') are included to stimulate further thinking about the core concepts and implications of the Agreement. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was commissioned by the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a factual account of the first decade of its existence.It aims to cover the principal activities of the WTO as the successor to GATT and the steps taken to establish a global trading system. Peter Gallagher, the author, is an independent trade analyst and consultant, who records what might be regarded as the WTO's main achievements as well as describing the controversies that have arisen in its first ten years. A useful reference book for policy makers, journalists, members of trade delegations and for everyone who requires a detailed understanding of the workings of the WTO. ... Read more

Product Description
This book explains the role and limitations of liberalized international trade on the global environment and sustainable development. A distinguishing feature of this book is an integration of trade, environment, and development perspectives for operationally meaningful policy purposes. The topics include an analysis of the global trade regimes, their interrelationships with the existing multilateral environmental agreements, institutional mechanisms governed by the World Trade Organization, and a framework for pragmatic reforms. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Houston Journal of International Law, published by University of Texas at Houston on March 22, 1997. The length of the article is 6458 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Free trade in the Americas: a perspective from the organization of American states.(International Law in the Americas: Rethinking National Sovereignty in an Age of Regional Integration)
Author: Jeannette M.E. Tramhel
Publication: Houston Journal of International Law (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 22, 1997
Publisher: University of Texas at Houston
Volume: 19Issue: n3Page: 595-614

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Product Description
This digital document is an article from National Defense, published by National Defense Industrial Association on October 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1022 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: WTO Rules Against U.S. Export Tax Law.(World Trade Organization )(Brief Article)
Author: Ben Stone
Publication: National Defense (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2001
Publisher: National Defense Industrial Association
Volume: 86Issue: 575Page: 43

Article Type: Brief Article

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