Introduces the rules and institutions that govern international trade. This new edition has been fully up-dated to take account of the most recent developments.

Includes section containing pertinent texts of agreements and decisions established by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the Uruguay Round, leading to the World Trade Organization.

Since its foundation in 1995, the World Trade Organization, with its extensive legal provisions, has been defining the world trade relations and also had an enormous impact on both European and national economic law. At the same time, the WTO is perceived within the political discussion as a symbol for the world trade relations as a whole, the challenges of globalization and justice of the world trade order. Due to the expansion, consolidation and the increased enforcement of its rules, the relevance of the World Trade Organization will continue to increase. This book describes the institutional system, the basic principles and the vast variety of rules of the World Trade Organization. It aims at clarifying the structures and the general concepts, in order to enable the reader to get a better understanding of the issues at stake in many of the discussions and controversies on world trade.

Drawing on a wide variety of classic and contemporary sources, respected authors Howse and Trebilcock here provide a critical analysis of the institutions and agreements that have shaped international trade rules. In light of the growing debate over globalization, they include special sections examinations of topics such as: * agriculture * services and trade-related intellectual property rights * labor rights * the environment * migration. Drawing on previous highly praised editions this comprehensive text is an invaluable guide to students of economics, law, politics and international relations. Now fully updated, this third edition includes full coverage of new developments including the Doha trade round, attitudes towards the Kyoto protocol and the growing body of WTO dispute resolution case law.

The editors have succeeded in bringing together an excellent mix of leading scholars and practitioners. No book on the WTO has had this wide a scope before or covered the legal framework, economic and political issues, current and would-be countries and a outlook to the future like these three volumes do. 3000 pages, 80 chapters in 3 volumes cover a very interdiscplinary field that touches upon law, economics and politics.

The WTO is one of the most important intergovernmental organizations in the world, yet the way in which it functions as an organization and the scope of its authority and power are still poorly understood. This comprehensively revised new edition of the acclaimed work by an outstanding team of WTO law specialists provides a complete overview of the law and practice of the WTO. The authors begin with the institutional law of the WTO (such as the sources of law and remedies of the dispute settlement system), then tackle the principal substantive obligations of the WTO regime (including tariffs, quotas, and MFN). They then move on to consider unfair trade, regional trading arrangements, and developing countries. In its final section the book deals with the consequences of globalization: first, where free trade is seen to be incompatible with environmental protection and, second, where WTO law confronts legal regimes governing issues of competition and intellectual property.

For a long time, the GATT led a life of its own as a self-contained regime. The evolution from tariff to non-tariff barriers brought about increasing overlaps with other regulatory areas. WTO rules increasingly interface with other areas of law and policy, including environmental protection, agricultural policies, labour standards, investment, human rights and regional integration. Against this backdrop, this book examines fragmentation in international trade regulation across a wide array of regulatory fields. To this end, it uses a conceptually coherent theoretical framework which is based on the effort to bring about greater coherence among different policy goals and fields, and thus to embed the multilateral trading system within the broader framework of international economics, law and relations. It will appeal to those interested in a forward-looking discussion of the most pressing issues of the international trade agenda.

'Recourse to restrictions of international trade for the promotion of non-economic goals is at the heart of international trade regulation. This book offers a fresh, broad, but equally detailed analysis of such restrictions. It places WTO law in the broader framework of public international law and explores new ways and means as to how tensions and conflict in the pursuit of non-economic policy goals should be addressed. It is essential reading for all seeking answers beyond the existing framework of WTO law and policies.' Thomas Cottier, World Trade Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland and Institute of European and International Economic Law 'This book presents a thoughtful and very readable analysis of "social trade regulation", that is, the use of border measures for non-trade purposes. The study examines how such measures are regarded in international law and in the more specialized law of the World Trade Organization. After she concludes that such unilateral measures may often be illegal under trade law, Professor Schefer's original contribution to the debate is to unpack that unlawful status into the categories of "law-disabling", "law-supporting", and "law-creating" trade regulation. Through a careful exposition of these concepts, the book shows ways in which social trade regulation can improve the progress of the international community.' Steve Charnovitz, The George Washington University, US This original and authoritative book analyzes how the WTO's restrictions on the use of trade measures for social goals affects the development of the law of the international community. The author examines international law on the use of trade measures to promote non-trade values including human health, environmental protection, and cultural diversity in order to determine whether the WTO decisions in these areas promote the development of the international legal system in a way that benefits the individual. Including an analysis of the most important 'trade-&' cases handed down by the WTO's Appellate Body, the book stimulates creative consideration of the extent to which the international trading system's prohibition on the use of trade measures may stifle progress on legal norms that would foster an international community. Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer suggests using the law of equity to fully take into account both the trade and the social issues at stake in any particular case. With its thorough analysis of WTO trade and decisions, this path-breaking book will be a stimulating read for scholars and students of international law, international economic law and international relations.

​The institutional and legal status of the WTO, with its integrated dispute settlement system, provides a framework for certainty, security and stability for trade as well as a coherent system to protect intellectual property rights. In all member countries and their respective enterprises, WTO regulations need to be considered when designing and implementing trade-related strategies for business operations in the integrated global market. This book aims at giving upper-level undergraduates and graduate students a comprehensive understanding of the public regulations related to international trade within the WTO mechanism and equip them, as potential policy makers and future practitioners in international trade, with the practical skills to interpret and apply the multilateral trade regulations as outlined by the WTO.

The international trade regulatory system is a dynamic system that has been evolving throughout its history. Tension and conflict are part of the system. While calls for the abolition of the principal trade regulation authority, the WTO, have failed to understand this nature of the system, proponents for reforms have so far not paid sufficient attention to the evolving nature of tension and conflict. This book examines the evolving dynamics in international trade regulation from the conclusion of GATT in 1947 to the current crisis facing the WTO, from a perspective of emerging powers of developing countries with a focus of China as the latest force that demands reforms of the international trade regulatory regime. There is an extensive body of scholarship on ideological struggles, the rise of developing countries, geopolitical contest, the emerging powers (especially China), the use, misuse or abuse of trading rules and so on. There is, however, a lack of a single concise research book that synthesises these underlying causes and factors into a coherent and precise analytical theme. This book attempts to fill this research gap by building upon the existing scholarship and placing the various tensions and conflicts in a perspective that treats them as dynamic factors that have propelled a continuing process of evolution of the international trade regulation. The book will interest those researching on international trade regulation as well as development studies. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.