This book examines the development of national legislative regimes for the protection of intellectual property rights in the Arabian Gulf states: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. David Price analyses IP rights in these states in the context of WTO membership, and consequent compliance with the requirements of the WTO's TRIPS Agreement. The challenges of domestic enforcement of the states' IP laws receive critical attention. A particular focus of the book is on foreign forces which have shaped or influenced the character of the states' IP protection regimes. It includes commentary on the contribution of foreign states, the WTO and WIPO in the pre-TRIPS and TRIPS compliance stages, and the US bilateral trade strategy for pursuing IP protection standards that exceed those enshrined in TRIPS, and the impact of these forces upon the states' enforcement performance. The role of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the Special 301 provisions as a powerful tool in the US' bilateral strategy receives particular attention. The intellectual property laws of these states have been developed virtually in the span of a single generation, and the process of change is continuing. As such, this book will interest practitioners both in and outside of the region, and those with an interest in intellectual property law, comparative law, Middle East legal systems and affairs, and international trade.

Examining institutions rather than themes, this critical book provides a comprehensive survey of the inter-relationship between trade-induced economic growth and the environment and its impact on the global quest for sustainable development. Focusing in particular on the interests and concerns of developing countries and the skewing of international environmental policies into justifications for trade protectionism Shawkat Alam argues that environmental protection issues are inextricably linked with the economic development of developing countries whilst offering arguments for reforming the current international trade and environmental paradigms. Covering contemporary developments on both a global and regional level in a systematic fashion and examining the United Nation's approach to sustainable development, this book is of interest to those studying in a range of disciplines, including development studies, environmental economics, the politics of international trade and environmental politics.

China's joining the World Trade Organization at the end of 2001 signifies a milestone in the country's global integration after two decades of economic reforms that have fundamentally transformed the economic organization of China. This collection seeks to identify the gendered implications within China of the country's transition from socialism to a market economy and its opening up to international trade and investment. The changes have created greater wealth for some, while at the same time, serious gender, class, ethnic, and regional disparities have also emerged. Drawing from historical, analytical, and policy-oriented work, the essays in this collection explore women's well-being relative to men's in rural and urban China by looking at land rights, labor-market status and labor rights, household decision-making, health, the representation of women in advertising and beauty pageants. This book was previously published as a special issue of the journal, Feminist Economics, the official journal of the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE). All contributions have been subjected to the journal's rigorous peer review process and comply with the journal's editorial policies, as overseen by the editor, Diana Strassmann, and the journal's editorial team, including the associate editors, the editorial board, numerous volunteer reviewers, and the journal's in-house editorial staff and freelance style editors. The special issue and book have been made possible by the generous financial support of Rice University and the Ford Foundation-Beijing.

Between the 1930s and the 1950s rural life in Europe underwent profound changes, partly as a result of the Second World War, and partly as a result of changes which had been in progress over many years. This book examines a range of European countries, from Scandinavia to Spain and Ireland to Hungary, during this crucial period, and identifies the common pressures to which they all responded and the features that were unique to individual countries. In particular, it examines the processes of agricultural development over western Europe as a whole, the impact of the war on international trading patterns, the relationships between states and farmers, and the changing identities of rural populations. It presents a bold attempt to write rural history on a European scale, and will be of interest not only to historians and historical geographers, but also to those interested in the historical background to the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union, to which the changes discussed here provided a dramatic prologue.

For several decades, social enterprises have been pioneers in the conception and implementation of a pathbreaking social innovation: Fair Trade (FT). Fair Trade Social Enterprises have created a movement which has challenged mainstream trading practices and offered development opportunities for disadvantaged producer groups in the South. Starting from a niche market aimed at convinced customers, FT has expanded and entered mainstream retailing outlets, growing in visibility and market share, while simultaneously experiencing diversification of its organization models. While pioneer Fair Trade Social Enterprises in the early years were largely nonprofit organizations relying on voluntary work, they have become increasingly diversified in terms of legal forms, governance models and organizational practices. These diversified models seem to reflect the hybrid nature of FT itself, through different ways of combining a commercial activity (trading of FT products), a social mission (support to producers), and an explicit or implicit political message (often expressed through education and advocacy). Based on the study of Fair Trade Social Enterprises across Europe, this book builds a typology of organization models for FT. Author Benjamin Huybrechts further examines how the different organization models combine the economic, social, and political dimensions of FT, and how they manage the possible tensions between these dimensions. Fair Trade Organizations and Social Enterprise proposes a range of theoretical approaches to interpret the diversity of Fair Trade Social Enterprises and offers concrete avenues for managing social enterprises and hybrid organizations in general.

This book considers foreign investment flows in major Asian economies. It critically assesses the patterns and issues involved in the substantive law and policy environment which impact on investment flows, as well as the related dispute resolution law and practice. The book combines insights from international law and comparative study and is attentive to the socio-economic contexts and competing theories of the role of law in Asia. Contributions come from both academics with considerable practical expertise and legal practitioners with strong academic backgrounds. The chapters analyze the law and practice of investment treaties and FDI regimes in Asia looking specifically at developments in Japan, India, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea and Vietnam. The book explores the impact of the Asian Financial Crisis in the late 1990s and the Global Financial Crisis a decade later, examining actual trends and policy debates relating to FDI and capital flows in Asia before and after those upheavals.

Foreign Investment and Dispute Resolution: Law and Practice in Asia is a valuable resource for practitioners, academics and students of International and Comparative Law, Business and Finance Law, Business, Finance and Asian Studies.

Many firms operate in complex legal environments where several States may regulate the same activity against a background of international law. International competition law has grown in importance as national economies have become more integrated, at the same time as national competition laws have proliferated and enforcement efforts have been strengthened. This system is beset with conflicts arising where States perceive that the way that another country does or does not apply its competition law adversely affects its interests. This book clarifies the nature and origin of these conflicts, and explores possible ways to reduce them.
Noonan analyses the legal and policy issues associated with the control of restrictive business practices and anticompetitive mergers in international markets. The book discusses international cartels, dumping, private market access barriers, and mergers between international firms subject to multi-agency review. Subjects covered include the harmonization and coordination of competition laws, cooperation between enforcement agencies, international judicial assistance, and the role of trade agreements and the World Trade Organization in international competition law. Noonan also examines the problems that States have in regulating conduct beyond their borders and the merits of a variety of potential responses.
He contends that there is an evolving international competition law system, albeit a somewhat chaotic one. States are only just beginning to see the system as a whole and are struggling to identify where their long-term interests lie. This book describes the elements of the system and their interactions, and explains how the system isevolving; suggesting what States, individually and collectively, could do to modify the system to their mutual advantage.

More than thirty years ago the political turn that brought the dismantling of agricultural collectives and exclusive rights to small plots of farmland for rural families initiated a historic return to smallholding in the People's Republic of China. Today, agriculture in China is changing again. In many villages smallholder farming is giving way to large agricultural enterprises. This book explores this latest transformation of Chinese agriculture. It traces how the peasantry's frustration with the farming conditions, the priorities of national and local political agents and the changes in the management of collective land since the return to family-based farming have paved the way for a unique Chinese agrarian transition. The argument is based on careful analysis of agricultural politics since the early 1980s and data gathered in three field trips to Shandong, Sichuan, and Guizhou Provinces between 2008 and 2010. The findings highlight the importance of institutional path-dependencies and strategic government intervention (or its absence) for economic transformation. China's Agrarian Transition is one of the first comprehensive accounts of the latest developments in agriculture in the People's Republic and will provide a stimulating read for political scientists, sociologists, economists, and experts on China interested in the ongoing transformation of China's countryside.

Public procurement is big business. International organisations and governments at national, regional, state and city levels are major buyers of goods and services. However, public procurement is a relatively under-researched and new discipline, which, uniquely, brings together contributions from the fields of economics and law. This two-volume set presents some of the major contributions in the field. It includes papers on outsourcing versus internal provision; public procurement and the role of competition and transparency; corruption; public procurement as a tool of industrial, social and environmental policy; public procurement as a trade barrier and its regulation under international trade agreements; and enforcing public procurement rules.

'This Handbook is a long-needed, comprehensive examination of fair trade's multifaceted and shifting coordinates by leading scholars from a wide range of disciplines. An invaluable resource for researchers and students alike.' - Daniel Jaffee, Portland State University 'Raynolds and Bennett have done a major service with this excellent Handbook, providing a sweeping overview of the past quarter century of fair trade work and research. The book offers wide-ranging insights from top experts concerned with theory and practice, and careful attention to fair trade's gains and losses. It will be of great interest to practitioners, activists, and scholars, and bound to be a cornerstone for the next phase of fair trade work and research.' - Gavin Fridell, Saint Mary's University, Canada Fair trade critiques the historical inequalities inherent in international trade and seeks to promote social justice by creating alternative networks linking marginalized producers (typically in the global South) with progressive consumers (typically in the global North). This unique and wide-ranging Handbook analyzes key topics in fair trade, illuminating major theoretical and empirical issues, assessing existing research, evaluating central debates and identifying critical unanswered questions. The first of its kind, this volume brings together 43 of the foremost fair trade scholars from around the world and across the social sciences. The Handbook serves as both a comprehensive overview and in-depth guide to dominant perspectives and concerns. Chapters analyze the rapidly growing fair trade movement and market, exploring diverse initiatives and organizations, production and consumption regions, and food and cultural products. Written for those new to fair trade as well as those well versed in this domain, the Handbook is an invaluable resource for scholars and practitioners interested in global regulation, multi-stakeholder initiatives, social and environmental certification, ethical labeling, consumer activism and international development. Contributors: C.M. Bacon, G. Balineau, L. Becchetti, E.A. Bennett, V. Bezencon, K. Brown, S. Brown, S. Castriota, P. Conzo, E. Davenport, B. Doherty, C. Getz , M.K. Goodman, N. Greenfield, A. Herman, A. Hughes, B. Huybrechts, J. Keahey, R. Le Velly, A. Linton, M.A. Littrell, W. Low, S. Lyon, R. Makita, A.M. Martin, H. Maryanski, M. McConway, G. Moore, T. Mutersbaugh, V. Nelson, L.T. Raynolds, D. Reed, M-C. Renard, R.A. Rice, L. Riisgaard, C. Rosty, A.M. Smith, S. Smith, D. Stevis, S. Suranovic, A. Tallontire, P. Utting, B.R. Wilson

"The Clean Clothes Campaign is a worldwide movement that aims to improve the wages and conditions of sweatshop workers. This is the story of their struggle. Large retailers such as Tesco, Walmart and Carrefour lure shoppers in with prices that seem too good to be true. This book shows that they're too good to be fair. All along the industry's supply chain, workers, often children, are exploited through poverty wages, unpaid overtime and harsh anti-union measures. The campaign urges those in charge of the garment industry's supply lines to protect their workers and treat them fairly. This dynamic account of direct engagement by concerned consumers is a must read for those that see globalization differently and want their shopping choices to support the most vulnerable people involved in the clothing industry"--Publisher description.

What role does the EU play in WTO trade negotiations? What are the implications for the EU of the expansion of the international trade agenda that has taken place in the last fifteen years? The European Union and Multilateral Trade Governance examines the EU's role in global economic governance and the negotiations of the Doha Round. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the EU's role in the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations. The empirical study is grounded in a theoretically driven discussion, in order to understand trade politics dynamics in the present international economic system. By providing both conceptual and empirical arguments, the volume provides an innovative perspective on the analysis of the EU as a global economic influence. The European Union and Multilateral Trade Governance will be of interest to students and scholars of European Union politics and international political economy.

These two volumes survey the most important scholarly writings in economics and political science that explain the drivers and constraints to freer world trade. This authoritative collection, with contributions by leading academics, includes seminal studies that have changed the course of thinking about international trade over past centuries and considers both pro free trade and anti free trade arguments. Along with an original introduction, the editors have also selected a few non-academic pronouncements that have shaped popular views about free trade. This collection will be of immense value to anyone with an interest in the economics of free trade and will serve as an excellent reference source to students and academics.

In an era of accelerating change in the world economy, services are assuming greater importance for the economies of both developed and developing countries. As technological developments allow increasing tradeability of services, huge global firms are offering services across national boundaries. This important book explores the global impact of this economic phenomenon from both empirical and theoretical perspectives.

This volume seeks to examine the evolving contours of Asian multilateralism through emerging China and how it is likely to impact on the growth trajectories of Asian countries. From this perspective, it explores the prospects for 'partnership' in Asia, especially in terms of China's engagement with its principal Asian neighbours, especially India. A substantial part of the volume is devoted to debating China-India relations, highlighting their mutual stakes through their economic and security cooperation as well as their engagement with other countries and regional forums. The book furthers the understanding of the rise of China from an Indian perspective while simultaneously locating China's rise in the economic dynamics of an emerging Asia. The volume offers illuminating viewpoints, analyses and insights from multiple perspectives, mixed with academic rigour and up-to-date information. It will be of interest to those engaged in economics, politics, trade relations, Indo-China relations, foreign policy, area studies, public policy, and strategic studies.

Australia's Uranium Trade explores why the export of uranium remains a highly controversial issue in Australia and how this affects Australia's engagement with the strategic, regime and market realms of international nuclear affairs. The book focuses on the key challenges facing Australian policy makers in a twenty-first century context where civilian nuclear energy consumption is expanding significantly while at the same time the international nuclear nonproliferation regime is subject to increasing, and unprecedented, pressures. By focusing on Australia as a prominent case study, the book is concerned with how a traditionally strong supporter of the international nuclear nonproliferation regime is attempting to recalibrate its interest in maximizing the economic and diplomatic benefits of increased uranium exports during a period of flux in the strategic, regime and market realms of nuclear affairs. Australia's Uranium Trade provides broader lessons for how - indeed whether - nuclear suppliers worldwide are adapting to the changing nuclear environment internationally.

This authoritative collection presents the most important published articles on barter and countertrade from early scepticism to the recent sophisticated theoretical models and empirical evidence. The papers selected focus upon the policy and managerial implications of barter and countertrade and explain the reasoning behind these arrangements in an environment characterized by transaction difficulties. They demonstrate that appropriately designed transactional governance is crucial for the efficiency of successful trading relationships between different parties. The Economics of Barter and Countertrade is a timely collection due to the resurgence of barter and countertrade following the Russian and Asian financial crises. It is an essential reference source for those with an interest in trade and international economic relations.

This book explores the essential nature of regionalism by conducting a comprehensive analysis of more than 30 regionalist proposals made by Japan and other Asian countries throughout the post-war period. Shintaro Hamanaka examines the whole post war period and covers all regionalist proposals since then, while most existing studies cover only the development of Asian regionalism in the recent decade. A significant number of cases in the proposed book enable the readers to go beyond an understanding of each regionalist project, to a deeper understanding of theoretically generalizeable behavior pattern of Japan and other countries. The book also comparatively analyzes political, financial and trade regionalisms. The central aim of the book is to reveal the fact that policies with regard to regionalism have a pattern, in this case with a principal, though not an exclusive focus, on Japan. The author demonstrates that the behavior pattern of external policy is extremely consistent in terms of the membership of regionalist organizations and discusses whether this new approach to regionalism holds explanatory power vis-a-vis regionalism outside Asia. This book will be of interest to scholars, postgraduate students and policy makers in the fields of international relations, Asian studies, international trade and regionalism.

It is an appropriate time to rethink the relationship between trade regionalism and multilateralism in the Asian context as we witness the proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs) in Asia. In the 1980s and 1990s, many scholars and policymakers believed that Asian integration was market-based, rather than legal-based, and that Asian integration would never be codified through agreements. Yet today, there are a large number of FTAs signed and under negotiation in Asia.This book investigates the appropriate relationship between regionalism and multilateralism, with a special reference to recent FTAs in Asia. It is undeniable that past trade multilateralism-regionalism debates centered on the trade-in-goods aspect. However, the majority of recent FTAs in Asia cover issues beyond trade-in-goods and tariff liberalization, such as trade facilitation, services, and economic cooperation. While the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Article XXIV governs regional integration initiatives in trade in goods, there is no (or at most a thin) World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement that stipulates the relationship between regionalism and multilateralism in issue areas other than goods.Thus, this study carefully considers the meaning of "WTO-compatible FTAs" by distinguishing "WTO consistency" and "WTO friendliness", going beyond GATT Article XXIV debates and proposes a general framework for examining the openness of regionalism in various issue areas by identifying tree-type questions to distinguish several types of exclusiveness. It then specifically asks the following questions: Can Asian FTAs that cover several issues be considered multilateralism friendly? How does the relationship between regionalism and multilateralism differ between trade-in-goods and non-goods issue areas? What are policies that might reduce the exclusiveness of regional initiatives? The study concludes by listing counterintuitive policy suggestions to make FTAs truly WTO compatible. The book also includes a comprehensive list of FTAs in Asia and several WTO Agreements relating to trade regionalism.

The Rise of Asia examines emerging trends and patterns of foreign trade and investment in Asia with a view to contributing to the policy debate on how development strategies should be adopted in response to challenges to economic globalization.

The existing body of knowledge in this subject area has predominantly been shaped by the experiences of the newly industrialized countries (NICs) in East Asia. This volume is inspired by the conviction that generalization from the NIC experience is hazardous because the on-going process of economic globalization over the past two decades has dramatically transformed the international context of national development policy making. Moreover, as 'embracing market', albeit at varying degree and rapidly, has now become an Asia-wide phenomenon, it is vital to look at the issues from a broader relational perspective, paying attention to opportunities for intra-regional division of labour within the wider context of global economic integration.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars with an interest in Asian studies, economics, political economy and globalization.

The Mediterranean sea is set to achieve the highest volume of shipping trade in the world in the 21st century. This anticipated expansion will be due in part to the growth of the AsiaEurope trade corridor, complemented by the proposed Suez Canal enlargement. The Catalan ports of Barcelona, Valencia and Tarragona Catalan offer the most efficient and cost-effective port entrance to the Mediterranean, and are poised to gain ascendancy over other European ports offering similar services. Economists and business leaders predict that Asia will become the main industrial platform of the world and Europe will become the main purchasing market of the world. Such forecasts seem to be on track given that in 2008 the ports of Barcelona and Valencia surpassed the container traffic (measured in TEUs) of the French port of Marseille and the Italian port of Genoa, and this for the first time ever. Only Catalonia has modern important industrial bases near to the port areas in the Mediterranean sea (this is not the case for Marseille, Genoa or Algeciras); Catalan ports are thus able to add value to semi-manufactured goods imported from the emerging economies in Asia, Africa and South America. It is anticipated that Catalan ports will play a similar role to the Flemish and Dutch ports, which in the twentieth century were at the forefront of the expansion of trade across the Atlantic ocean. Under these circumstances it is not surprising that global logistic operators rate Barcelona as the dominant and most important entrance port for Asian and African trade with Europe in the Mediterranean sea. Published in association with the Canada Blanch Centre for Contemporary Spanish Studies.

The slow pace of the Doha Round has boosted the proliferation of regional and bilateral trade agreements. Paradoxically, the more powerful actors, the US and the European Union, who at the same time have benefited the most from the multilateral system, have also been engaged in bilateral and regional negotiations in order to sign WTO-plus agreements with developing countries. Combining a clear theoretical exposition with systematic cross-regional analysis, 'Asymmetric Trade Negotiations' offers a coherent picture of strategic, design and political economy aspects of North-South trade negotiation processes, from African, Asian and Latin American perspectives. Skilled area specialists gather to provide negotiators and policy makers in the South with recommendations, best practices, and benchmarks and contribute to the understanding of these recent processes.

This title was first published in 2000: United States economic assistance programs in Latin America have been frequently restructured during the course of the past four decades. This book examines the evolution of US aid to the region, describes and explains US aid to the region since 1960. Focus is placed on four successive initiatives, the Alliance of Progress for the 1960s, the New Directions Mandate of the 1970s, the Private Enterprise Initiative of the 1980s and the Democracy Initiative of the 1990s. Empirical examples of actual programs, drawn from primary source documents, are used to illustrate more general propositions. The primary objectives of this study are to describe and explain US assistance policy toward Latin America during the past four decades and account for changes in the aid regime over time. Such assistance is typically linked to either the developmental needs of recipient countries, or the economic interests of transnational corporations.

The two volumes incorporate major new papers contributed by leading international economists, on a range of topics that reflect the breadth of Professor Lloyd's own distinguished contributions to the field of international trade and policy during a career spanning over four decades. This first volume, Trade Theory, Analytical Models and Development, comprises 11 essays offering new contributions on the following topics: * trade and wages * factor endowments, factor mobility and political economy of trade * optimality of tariffs * measurement of welfare * customs union theory * endogenous mergers and tariffs * intra-industry trade * state trading enterprises and trade liberalisation * general equilibrium effects of e-Commerce, and trade * economic growth with production and consumption externalities * environmental pollution and resource degradation. The diversity of the topics covered by the contributors will appeal to international economists, and particularly to those with an interest in international trade theory and applications.

A Basic Guide to International Business Law aims to give students an understanding as well as practical knowledge of legal problems arising in the area of international business, and to equip them with the skills needed to prevent and tackle these problems. All Chapters employ the same didactic structure. Introductory case studies, examples, annotated case law, glossaries, diagrams, summaries and exercises are all designed to familiarize students quickly with relevant aspects of international (business) law. A Basic Guide to International Business Law deals with the following topics: * Introduction to International Private Law and European Law * Legal aspects of negotiations * International contracts: matters of jurisdiction and the law applicable to these contracts * International contracts of sale * Competion law * Free movement of goods, workers, the freedom of capital and establishment and the freedom to provide services * International payments * Carriage of goods by road and sea * Incoterms * Entry modes (agents, representatives, distributors, licensing, franchising)