A WTO GUIDE FOR GLOBAL BUSINESS
Carol C. George & Stephen J. Orava
No global enterprise can afford to ignore the regulation of international trade by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Companies must comply with the laws that apply in their home markets and those that apply wherever else they do business. Over 140 Member countries of the World Trade Organisation have now established international rules to define how governments can regulate trade through their national legal systems.
Currently in effect in over 140 countries, WTO rules have a direct impact on virtually all trade in goods, the international provision of services and the protection of intellectual property rights. These rules provide businesses with access to new markets and improved competitive conditions in existing ones. Enterprises conducting business across borders should therefore maximise the business advantages of operating with the WTO system and minimise any aspects of the WTO rules that are contrary to their interests.
As WTO rules continue to develop, there is still an opportunity to influence their formation. A ‘proactive’ business will pursue new and favourable disciplines or seek to limit developments that are potentially detrimental. Those who understand and work with the WTO rules will be far ahead of their competitors who do not. Those who fail to consider future developments will certainly lose out to the industry leaders who seek to shape the rules.
The purpose of this book is to provide business people with an introduction to the world trading system as well as a reference guide to the implementation of WTO rules and access to resources and remedies in the major trading jurisdictions around the world. Addressing countries individually, each chapter is prepared by local experts in international trade and WTO law. The book as a whole is closely coordinated to facilitate ease of reference and comparison of the methods by which the WTO agreements are incorporated into domestic law and the procedural routes available for addressing WTO-related interests in the various jurisdictions.
Each chapter (and in the case of the EC subchapter in regard to each Member country) addresses:
- the national context for trade liberalisation including the constitutional perspective on international law and details of WTO membership;
- the WTO agreements in national law, and in particular the question of direct effect and the implementing legislation that has been enacted or is anticipated;
- WTO law in the courts, which considers the impact of WTO law when in conflict with laws of national origin, its influence in judicial interpretation of domestic law and whether private complaints may be grounded on the WTO agreements, either directly or as implemented in national law;
- private WTO complaints, which directs industry participants to resources and procedures to ensure that their interests are addressed in the appropriate international forum, including the dispute settlement mechanism of the World Trade Organisation.
ISBN 10: 1 874698 83 X
ISBN 13: 978 1 874698 83 8
• Softback • 398pp • 2002 •
£75.00/US$120.00