Social Standards in EU and US Trade Agreements

Social Standards in EU and US Trade Agreements PDF Author: Evgeny Postnikov
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351627368
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 138

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Book Description
This book examines the causes and consequences of social standards in US and EU preferential trade agreements (PTAs). PTAs are the new reality of the global trading system. Pursued by both developed and developing countries, they increasingly incorporate labor and environmental issues to prevent a race to the bottom in social regulation and counter-protectionism. Using principal-agent theory to explore why US PTAs have stricter social standards than those signed by the EU, Postnikov argues that the level of institutional insulation of trade policy executives from interest groups and legislators determines the design of social standards. In the EU, where institutional insulation is high, social standards mirror the normative preferences of the European Commission leading to a softer approach. In the US, where such insulation is low, social standards are driven by interest groups and legislators they control, resulting in a stricter approach. This book shows that both approaches can be effective but work through different causal mechanisms. To test his argument, Postnikov draws on original data collected in Brussels, Washington, Santiago, Bogota, and Seoul. This book will be of interest to all scholars and students working in the fields of international political economy and EU and US trade policy.

Social Standards in EU and US Trade Agreements

Social Standards in EU and US Trade Agreements PDF Author: Evgeny Postnikov
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351627368
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 138

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book examines the causes and consequences of social standards in US and EU preferential trade agreements (PTAs). PTAs are the new reality of the global trading system. Pursued by both developed and developing countries, they increasingly incorporate labor and environmental issues to prevent a race to the bottom in social regulation and counter-protectionism. Using principal-agent theory to explore why US PTAs have stricter social standards than those signed by the EU, Postnikov argues that the level of institutional insulation of trade policy executives from interest groups and legislators determines the design of social standards. In the EU, where institutional insulation is high, social standards mirror the normative preferences of the European Commission leading to a softer approach. In the US, where such insulation is low, social standards are driven by interest groups and legislators they control, resulting in a stricter approach. This book shows that both approaches can be effective but work through different causal mechanisms. To test his argument, Postnikov draws on original data collected in Brussels, Washington, Santiago, Bogota, and Seoul. This book will be of interest to all scholars and students working in the fields of international political economy and EU and US trade policy.

Standards and Global Trade

Standards and Global Trade PDF Author: John Sullivan Wilson
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 9780821354735
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 492

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Book Description
This publication provides the first comprehensive assessment of the relationship between trade standards and development priorities in Africa, with case studies of the use of international standards and capacity for compliance in five countries: Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda. It describes the economic context of trade standards in these countries, and examines the mechanisms by which standards and regulations are established and revised at local and international levels. It also considers the probable impact of new standards, regulations and related production/marketing practices in key industries.

International Trade and Labor Standards

International Trade and Labor Standards PDF Author: Christian Barry
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231512961
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
Progressive governments in poor countries fear that if they undertake measures to enhance real wages and working conditions, rising labor costs would cause wealthier countries to import from and invest elsewhere. Yet if the world trading system were designed to facilitate or even reward measures to promote labor standards, poor countries could undertake them without fear. In this book, Christian Barry and Sanjay G. Reddy propose ways in which the international trading system can support poor countries in promoting the well-being of their peoples. Reforms to the trading system can lessen the collective-action problem among poor countries, increasing their freedom to pursue policy that better serves the interests of their people. Incorporating the right kind of linkage between trading opportunities and the promotion of labor standards could empower countries, allowing them greater effective sovereignty and enabling them to improve the circumstances of the less advantaged. Barry and Reddy demonstrate how linkage can be made acceptable to all players, and they carefully defend these ideas against those who might initially disagree. Their volume is accessible to general readers but draws on sophisticated economic and philosophical arguments and includes responses from leading labor activists, economists, and philosophers, including Kyle Bagwell, Robert Goodin, Rohini Hensman, and Roberto Mangabeira Unger.

Trade, Standards, and the Political Economy of Genetically Modified Food

Trade, Standards, and the Political Economy of Genetically Modified Food PDF Author: Kym Anderson
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN:
Category : Genetically modified foods
Languages : en
Pages : 32

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Book Description
"Anderson, Damania, and Jackson develop a common-agency lobbying model to help understand why North America and the European Union have adopted such different policies toward genetically modified (GM) food. Their results show that when firms (in this case farmers) lobby policymakers to influence standards, and consumers and environmentalists care about the choice of standard, it is possible that increased competition from abroad can lead to strategic incentives to raise standards, not just lower them as shown in earlier models. The authors show that differences in comparative advantage in the adoption of GM crops may be sufficient to explain the trans-Atlantic difference in GM policies. On the one hand, farmers in a country with a comparative advantage in GM technology can gain a strategic cost advantage by lobbying for lax controls on GM production and use at home and abroad. On the other hand, when faced with greater competition, the optimal response of farmers in countries with a comparative disadvantage in GM adoption may be to lobby for more-stringent GM standards. So it is rational for producers in the European Union (whose relatively small farms would enjoy less gains from the new biotechnology than broad-acre American farms) to reject GM technology if that enables them and consumer and environmental lobbyists to argue for restraints on imports from GM-adopting countries. This theoretical proposition is supported by numerical results from a global general equilibrium model of GM adoption in America with and without an EU moratorium. This paper a product of the Trade Team, Development Research Groupis part of a larger effort in the group to understand the economic implications of standards and technology policies in a multilateral trading environment"--World Bank web site.

Standards, Conformity Assessment, and Trade

Standards, Conformity Assessment, and Trade PDF Author: International Standards, Conformity Assessment, and U.S. Trade Policy Project Committee
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309587883
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
Mandated standards used for vehicle airbags, International Organization for Standards (ISO) standards adopted for photographic film, de facto standards for computer software--however they arise, standards play a fundamental role in the global marketplace. Standards, Conformity Assessment, and Trade provides a comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of the link between standards, product testing and certification, and U.S. economic performance. The book includes recommendations for streamlining standards development, increasing the efficiency of product testing and certification, and promoting the success of U.S. exports in world markets. The volume offers a critical examination of organizations involved in standards and identifies the urgent improvements needed in the U.S. system for conformity assessment, in which adherence to standards is assessed and certified. Among other key issues, the book explores the role of government regulation, laboratory accreditation, and the overlapping of multiple quality standards in product development and manufacturing. In one of the first treatments of this subject, Standards, Conformity Assessment, and Trade offers a unique and highly valuable analysis of the impact of standards and conformity assessment on global trade.

TRADE AND FOOD STANDARDS

TRADE AND FOOD STANDARDS PDF Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251097933
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 72

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Book Description
This publication emphasizes the importance of participation and engagement of governments in standards development in Codex and in resolving trade concerns in the WTO SPS and TBT Committees, as well as the importance of capacity development, which together contribute to the dynamism and robustness of the global system of food standards and trade.

Standards Code of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979

Standards Code of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979 PDF Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. Subcommittee on Transportation and Commerce
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Standardization
Languages : en
Pages : 76

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Book Description


Handbook on Product Standards and International Trade

Handbook on Product Standards and International Trade PDF Author: James J. Nedumpara
Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.
ISBN: 9403534141
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 315

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Book Description
Global Trade Law Series, Volume 55 India, one of the world’s foremost trading nations, exhibits a particularly complex regulatory landscape with a variety of standard-setting bodies, regulators, accreditation and certification bodies, inspection agencies, as well as several state-level regulators. This is the first book to extensively describe the nature of standard-setting processes in India and the key agencies involved with this task, greatly clarifying the scope of market opportunities in the country. Lucid contributions from experienced practitioners and regulators with first-hand experience in formulating and advising on standards-related issues in international trade help disentangle the web of laws, regulations, operations, and functions of India’s standard setters in governmental, non-governmental, and industry contexts. The chapters describe how standards apply to such crucial trade aspects as the following: conformity assessment practice and procedure; environmental, ethical, social, and safety issues; import bans and import licensing; certification and labelling measures; mutual recognition agreements; food safety; and standardisation of the digital economy. The book is drafted throughout in an easy-to-read style, with numerous tables, flowcharts, and figures illustrating step-by-step compliance procedures. Informative annexes guide the reader to relevant agencies and identify their roles and responsibilities. This book provides a clear and concise guide to the operations, functions, and compliance and documentation requirements of India’s standard-setting and regulatory bodies across all sectors and products, and thus will serve as an unmatched guide for manufacturers, traders, and exporters operating in the Indian market or seeking to export to India. It will also serve as a useful Handbook to policymakers, academics, and researchers interested in understanding the role of standard-setting bodies in the field of international trade.

Standards, Conformity Assessment, and Trade

Standards, Conformity Assessment, and Trade PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 030905236X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
Mandated standards used for vehicle airbags, International Organization for Standards (ISO) standards adopted for photographic film, de facto standards for computer softwareâ€"however they arise, standards play a fundamental role in the global marketplace. Standards, Conformity Assessment, and Trade provides a comprehensive, up-to-date analysis of the link between standards, product testing and certification, and U.S. economic performance. The book includes recommendations for streamlining standards development, increasing the efficiency of product testing and certification, and promoting the success of U.S. exports in world markets. The volume offers a critical examination of organizations involved in standards and identifies the urgent improvements needed in the U.S. system for conformity assessment, in which adherence to standards is assessed and certified. Among other key issues, the book explores the role of government regulation, laboratory accreditation, and the overlapping of multiple quality standards in product development and manufacturing. In one of the first treatments of this subject, Standards, Conformity Assessment, and Trade offers a unique and highly valuable analysis of the impact of standards and conformity assessment on global trade.

U.S. Trade Policy

U.S. Trade Policy PDF Author: William A. Lovett
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317453166
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 259

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Book Description
Lovett (Tulane Law School), Eckes (a former commissioner of the U.S. International Commission during the Reagan and Bush I administrations), and Brinkman (international economics, Portland State U.) evaluate the evolution of U.S. trade policy, focusing on the period from the establishment of the Gen