Fordham University School of Law
International Trade Regulation
Fall 2004
Professor Joel R. Reidenberg
Email: < reidenberg@sprynet.com >
Home page: < http://reidenberg.home.sprynet.com >    
This course will study the legal framework governing international economic relations and global business. Students will gain an understanding of why and how national and international institutions regulate world trade.   Particular attention will be paid to the evolution of international trade regulation and the pressures on existing regulatory concepts and principles. Topics will include WTO, the protection of intellectual property, the promotion of international services transactions, and the stability of international currency markets. Reading assignments will be posted on the course web page.   Students will participate in a trade negotiation exercise.  Prior the exercise, students will be assigned to country negotiating teams.  During the exercise, students will be required to research basic international trade data for their designated country and to participate in a round of negotiations on proposed language for a multilateral agreement.   

This course will have a 3 hour written examination covering class discussions, the reading materials assigned for class, and the trade negotiation exercise.  The examination is scheduled to take place from 9:30am - 12:30pm on December 20th, 2004, subject to any changes made by the Registrar.
Class attendance and participation are expected.  Any student repeatedly absent or unprepared for class may be penalized. My office is Room 334 and I will hold regular office hours on Wednesdays from 3:30pm to 4:30pm with several exceptions that will  be announced in class during the semester.  I will also be available for office meetings by appointment.  In addition, I will hold "virtual office hours" via e-mail, 24 hours/day at <reidenberg@sprynet.com> and will be available for evening videoconferencing by appointment. Please note that the absence of a conventional casebook for this course means that students will incur printing costs that, depending on personal preferences, may approach an amount equivalent to the price of a traditional casebook.  


I.    INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL TRADE REGULATION     (PDF Part I)

A.    The Philosophy and Organization of the trading system  

            WTO, The WTO in Brief
            WTO, The Ten Benefits of the WTO Trading System
            IMF, excerpt from What is the International Monetary Fund? (Aug. 2002)
            World Bank, What is the World Bank? (2004)

B.    Ricardo's Theory of Comparative Advantage: the underlying economic theory
        of modern international trade regulation
   
            David Ricardo, On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, chapt 7

C.    The "Anti-Globalization" Movement 

            International Forum on Globalization, A Better World is Possible: Report Summary (2002)

D.    Web sites

        Please browse the following web sites:

                World Trade Organization
                 International Monetary Fund
                The World Bank

                The US Trade Representative
                US Commerce Dept., I.T.A
                European Commission DG Trade 
                Japan, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry  
 

II.    THE WTO FRAMEWORK       (PDF Part II A-B; PDF Part II C-E; PDF Part II F-G)

A.    The  Legal Texts

                WTO, The GATT years: from Havana to Marrakesh
                WTO,  A Summary of the Final Act of the Uruguay Round   
    
                Reference materials

                      Excerpts from GATT 47 (NB-- This PDF file is 54 pages)
                      GATS
                      Links to WTO legal texts

B.  Core Principles relating to trade in goods

        1.    MFN and National Treatment  

           a)    Obligations

                    Article I    General Most Favored Nation Treatment
                    Article III    National Treatment on Internal Taxation and Regulation
                    Article XIII   Non-discriminatory Administration of Quantitative restrictions  

           b)    Exceptions

                    Article XII Restrictions to Safeguard the Balance of Payments
                    Article XIV  Exceptions to the Rule of Non-discrimination
                    Article XX   General Exceptions

            c)    Case examples

                  WTO, Appellate Body Report:  Japan-Taxes on Alcoholic Beverages
                    AB-1996-2, WT/DS8/AB/R, WT/DS10/AB/R,  WT/DS11/AB/R, 4 Oct. 1996

                    WTO, Appellate Body Report.  Euro. Communities-- Measures affecting
                    asbestos and asbestos containing products
                    AB-2000-11, WT/DS135/AB/R, Mar. 12, 2001

        2.     Tariff and Quota Reductions

              a)  Obligations

                        Article II                   Schedule of Concessions
                      Article XI                   General Elimination of Quantative Restrictions 

                b)  Exceptions

                       Article XX                 General Exceptions
                        Article XXI                 Security Exceptions

                c)    Case examples

                       Joel P Trachtman,  European Communities--Customs Classification of Certain Computer
                        Equipment , 19 Eur. J. Int'l L. 551 (1998)

                       WTO,  Appellate Body Report:  European Communities--Customs Classification of
                         Certain Computer Equipment , AB-1998-2, WT/DS62, 67, 68/AB/R (98-2271) 

                       Joel P. Trachtman, United States--Import Prohibition of Certain Shrimp and Shrimp
                       Products, 10 Eur. J. Int'l L. 192 (1999)  


     3.     Fair Trade Practices:  Dumping, Subsidies, and Emergency Measures 

           a)    Obligations

                   WTO, Understanding the WTO: Agreements-- Anti-dumping, subsidies, safeguards: contingencies, etc
                          
                           Reference Materials:   
                                               Article VI
                                                WTO Agreement on the Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994
                                                WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures
          
             b)   Permissible Protectionism

                    WTO, Explanation of the Agreement on Safeguards
                      
                            Reference Materials:
                                              Article XIX  
                                              WTO Agreement on Safeguards

               c)    Case examples       

                       WTO,   Appellate Body Report:  Eur. Communties-Anti-Dumping Duties on Imports
                        of Cotton-Type Bed Linen from India , AB 2000-13, WT/DS141/AB/R
                            (please also review cited sections of the Anti-Dumping Agreement )
        
                        US Int'l Trade Comm., Antidumping and Countervailing Duty Laws Under the Tariff Act of 1930
                        US Int'l Trade Comm. Canned Pineapple Fruit Fruit from Thailand , Investigations Nos. 731-TA-706
                            (Review) (Publication No. 3417, May 2001)

    4.    Regional Trade Arrangements:  FTA and CU Derogations  

          a)  Legal Authority

                  WTO, Regional Trade Agreements: The Rules  
                   GATT Article XXIV as amended by Ad Article XXIV and WTO Understanding
                   GATS Article V

          b)   Evolution

                WTO, Regional Trade Agreements: Scope of RTAs
                WTO, Regionalism: Friends or Rivals?
                WTO, The Changing Landscape of RTAs (Nov. 14, 2003)

           c)    Case Examples

                Australian Dept. For. Affairs & Trade, The impact of the North American Free
                Trade Agreement on Australia's Trade and Investment , 
                Chapter 2 and Chapter 5 (March 2000)
            

    5.   Trade Negotiation Exercise  

           Assigment:      Research balance of trade, major industries and major trading partners
                                   of your Team's country 

                                   Possibily useful reference sites:

World Trade Organization
International Monetary Fund
The World Bank
ASEAN
The US Trade Representative
US Commerce Dept., I.T.A .
European Commission DG Trade
Organization of American States
Japan, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

 C.    Core principles relating to Trade in Intellectual Property

    
    1.    Substantive IP Protection

               WIPO, FAQ on Patents
               WIPO, FAQ on Copyrights
               WIPO, FAQ on Trademarks
               WIPO, Geographical indications
               

    2.      Protection through TRIPS 

                WTO, Overview: The TRIPS Agreement
                WTO, Other intellectual property conventions incorporated by reference into the TRIPS Agreement
                John T. Masterson, Jr.,   Overview of Intellectual Property Rights and the TRIPs Agreement (Aug. 12, 2002)


                        Reference Material:
                               WTO Agreement Annex 1C  TRIPS

      3.     The New Public Values Agenda

                WTO Doha Ministerial Declaration WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1 (20 Nov. 2001) Read Paragraphs # 17-19
                WTO, Doha Ministerial Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health WT/MIN(01)/DEC/2 (20 Nov. 2001)
                 UK Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Integrating Intellectual Property Rights and Development Policy  read pp. 8-30
 

D.    Core principles related to trade in services

                          Reference materials:
                                  WTO Agreement Annex 1B  GATS

        1.    Substantive Issues

                WTO, Services: Rules for Growth and Investment   
              
        2.    Liberalization through GATS

                  USTR, WTO Services Trade Negotiation  

         3.    Examples

               WTO, History of Telecommunications Negotiations
                WTO, Results of the Basic Telecommunications Negotiations         

                Canadian Environmental Law Association,  GATS Negotiations Concerning Domestic Regulations Under GATS Art. VI(4) , 
                Report No. 397, Nov. 2000 

                EU, Summary Of The EC's Initial Requests To Third Countries In The GATS Negotiations (1 July 2002)
                USTR, U.S. Proposals for Liberalizing Trade in Services (July 1, 2002)


E.    Core principles related to trade in information

        1.    Non-discrimination

                     GATS , Art. II
                    GATS Annex on Telecommunications Art. 5(c)

        2.    Exceptions

                    GATS , Art. XIV, Art. XIV bis
                    GATS Annex on Telecommunications , Art. 5(d)

        3.    Case Study

                    EU Directive 95/46/EC   Art. 25 - 26
                    US Dept. of Commerce, Safe Harbor Overview

                     María Verónica Perez Asinari,  The WTO and the Protection of Personal Data: Do EU Measures Fall within GATS
                    Exception? Which Future for Data Protection within the WTO e-commerce Context? , 18th BILETA Conference (April 2003 )

                    Note, Eric Shapiro, All is Not Fair in the Privacy Trade: The Safe Harbor Agreement and the World Trade Organization ,
                    71 Fordham L. Rev.  2781 (2003) (excerpts)

F.  Dispute Settlement and Trade Sanctions

        1.     The WTO Mechanism 

                    WTO, Understanding the WTO: Settling Disputes
                    WTO, Case Study: The timetable in practice
 
                            Reference Materials:
                                   WTO Agreements Annex 2 Dispute Settlement Understanding

       2.    US Trade Sanctions 

                 a)    Domestic enforcement mechanisms

                          USTR Special 301 Statutory Requirements
                          USTR Executive Summary 2004 Special 301 Report   


                b)    Retaliation

                    USDA, The EU - US Hormone Dispute
                    USTR, US to request WTO Authorization to Retaliate                  
                    EU Beef Hormones (July 19, 1999)
                    USTR Announces Procedures for Modifying Measures in EC Beef and Bananas Cases (May 26, 2000)

                            Optional

                                    USTR, Dispute Settlement Update (March 9, 2004) 
                                    USTR, Snapshot of WTO Cases involving the US (July 8, 2004)


G.    Opposition to the WTO

        1.    The Discontent

                    Oxfam-Great Britain. " Institutional Reform of the WTO "  March 2000
                    Patricia Ranald, Seminar on Alternatives to the WTO Agenda (Nov. 10, 2002)
                    Aileen Kwa,  Power and Politics in the WTO , Australian Fair Trade & Investment Network (Nov. 10, 2002)

                                    Reference Web Sites
                                            www.gatt.org
                                            Protest.net

       2.    Seattle and its aftermath

                Uncommon Ground, MoJo News Wire (Dec. 2, 1999)
                Sam Vincent Medis,  Digital Activism in Seattle , USA Today (Dec. 7, 1999)
                James Cox, WTO Meeting shrinks amid attack fears, feuds , USA Today (Nov. 7, 2001)

       3.    The Doha Agenda

            WTO Ministerial Declaration of the Doha Conference , WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1 (adopted Nov. 14, 2001)

            EU Press Release: WTO Doha Development Agenda: WTO mid-point agreement paves the way for
             future conclusion of trade round – a stronger multilateral trading system  (July 31, 2004)


III.     INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REGULATION    (PDF Part III)

A.    Foreign Exchange and the IMF

      1.    Currency stabilization

              Article VIII , Articles of Agreement of the IMF
              Libra Bank Ltd. v. Banco Nacional de Costa Rico ,  570 F. Supp. 870  (S.D. 1983)

      2.        IMF Lending

            IMF,  IMF Lending  (May 2004)
            IMF, Quotas and Quota Reviews (Aug. 2002)
            IMF, IMF Borrowing Arrangements (Nov. 2002)

            Ezequiel Burgo and Heather Stewart, IMF policies 'led to Malawi famine' , The Guardian (Oct. 29, 2002)
            BBC News, IMF Denies telling Malawi to sell food , May 29, 2002

B.    Foreign Investment

    1.    Trade and Investment Regulation

            WTO, Trade Related Investment Measures: Background
            WTO, Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures (skim) 

    2.    Trade and Investment Protection

                Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, About MIGA
                Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, Investment Guarantee Guide 
                MIGA Convention (skim Chapt. III only-- art. 11-24)

 

date last modified: Aug. 9, 2004

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