Until the February 2004 gas crisis when Gazprom cut off all gas flows via Belarus, the issue of Belarus as a gas transit route was not addressed seriously despite this country's transiting around 20% of Russia's gas exports to Europe. The gas crisis threatened the reliability of gas supplies to Europe. It demonstrated the necessity of bringing Belarus back into focus, explaining how and why the seemingly amicable Russian-Belarussian relationship had deteriorated to such an extent, and suggesting how the problem might evolve in the future. This book shows that the reliability of the Belarussian gas transit routes is influenced by changes in the intensity of the Russian-Belarussian integration and explores whether Belarus is in a position to manage (or, indeed, survive) within the new, 'commercial' framework to which the gas issues had shifted following the failure to establish political union. The book predicts that the mainstay of Belarussian welfare is bound to deteriorate as Russia continues to increase its domestic gas prices at 20% annually as part of its energy strategy and in line with WTO requirements - thus, also making Belarus's independent stance vis-a-vis Gazprom unsustainable. In order to secure gas prices at the level of, at least, Russian domestic prices, Belarus is likely to return to negotiating a joint venture operating the Belarussian transit network together with Gazprom. Yet, even if such a joint venture were to be formed, it would not eliminate the main reason of the unreliability of gas transit via Belarus - the weakness of the national economy. Therefore, unless Belarus embarks on reforms leading to substantial gas conservation, it will continue to be tempted to resort to unauthorised gas off-takes and non-payments undermining the reliability of transit.

The announcement by China that it will implement a national emissions trading scheme confirms the status of this instrument as the pre-eminent policy choice for mitigating climate change. China will join the dozens of existing and emerging schemes around the world - from the EU to California, South Korea to New Zealand - that use carbon units (otherwise known as emissions permits or carbon credits) to trade in greenhouse gas emissions in a multi-billion dollar global carbon market. However, to date, there has been no consensus about this pre-eminent policy instrument being regulated by international economic law through the World Trade Organization, international investment agreements, and free trade agreements. Munro addresses this issue by evaluating whether carbon units qualify as 'goods', 'services', 'financial services', and 'investments' under international economic law and showing how international economic law applies to emissions trading scheme in diverse and unexpected ways. Further, by engaging in a comparative assessment of schemes around the world, his book illustrates how and why all emissions trading schemes engage in various forms of violations of international economic law which would not, in most instances, be justified by environmental or other exceptions. In doing so, he demonstrates how such schemes can be designed or reformed in ways to ensure their future compliance.

This book explores whether the world economy is breaking up into regional trading and currency blocs centred on the European Community, Japan and the United States. Frankel uses trade, investment and financial data to assess this issue. He concludes with an analysis of how trends in regional economic integration can be used as building blocks for a stronger multilateral system.

The share of the US economy controlled by foreign firms has tripled since the mid-1970s. The authors find that foreign firms appear to invest in the United States mainly to exploit their individual advantages in management and technology - the same reasons why American firms invest abroad - rather than because the United States is now running large deficits and has become a large debtor nation. Foreign-owned firms do not pay lower wages or shift good jobs and research and development away from the United States. Foreign-owned firms and especially Japanese firms do, however, have a marked tendency to import more of their production inputs. The authors warn that the President's new legislative authority to screen FDI on national security grounds could easily be abused, but endorse using this authority to ensure access to critical technologies or production processes including a requirement on some foreign firms to invest in the United States. They propose new international rules to minimize governmental interference and harmonize policies toward multinational firms.

This book is a political history of the Tokyo Round (1973--1979), the largest and most significant multilateral trade negotiation since the founding of the GATT in 1947. Gilbert Winham provides a detailed account of the processes by which the negotiation was accomplished and an assessment of the Tokyo Round's substantive impact on the international trading system.

Originally published in 1987.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Conditions on the US-Mexico border are often so deplorable that they seem "made for TV." Air and water pollution blighted northern Mexican cities long before NAFTA was a glimmer on the political horizon. Not surprisingly, when NAFTA became a political reality, environmentalists reacted. They argued, among other things, that commercial competition would weaken environmental standards in all three countries, and that industrial growth in Mexico would further damage its weak environmental infrastructure. The demands for action against current and potential abuses posed a serious obstacle to the completion of NAFTA negotiations. A side accord -- the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) -- helped alleviate some of these concerns. But in the aftermath of NAFTA's economic success, poor living conditions persist in most of Mexico. Many environmental groups blame NAFTA and, drawing on its experience, now oppose new trade initiatives.

Does the NAFTA record on the environment since 1994 justify its criticism? Seven years is too short to redress decades of environmental abuse, but it is not too soon to assess NAFTA's achievements and shortcomings in meeting its environmental objectives. In this analysis, the authors review (1) the environmental provisions of the NAFTA; (2) the NAAEC; (3) the situation at the US-Mexican border; and (4) the trends in North American environmental policy. They emphasize that the environmental problems of North America were not the result of NAFTA nor was the NAAEC devised to address all of them. But with its huge success in expanding free trade, NAFTA has concentrated population and environmental abuse at the US-Mexico border -- where it ismost visible to Americans.

The authors offer recommendations to better NAFTA's environmental dimension in all three countries, and improve living conditions where economic growth is greatest -- at the US-Mexican border. It makes more sense to tackle the shortcomings than to lament NAFTA and the economic growth it promotes.

Japanese journalist Yoichi Funabashi has written the first in-depth study of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum based on extensive interviews with heads of state and government officials in the region. A key force behind APEC, he argues, is a potential "fusion" of Asia-Pacific civilizations propelled by the region s dynamic economic integration. He recounts APEC s six-year history, assesses its potential, and examines the power politics of the region. Released just before the Osaka summit hosted by Japan in November 1995, this book looks closely at Japan's interests in APEC and its relations with countries in the region. It provides an intellectual framework for the future evolution of APEC itself and for Japan's role in that institution.

Should the United States use retaliatory threats to open foreign markets or deter unfair trading practices? This study reexamines the arguments for and against reciprocity and retaliatory threats in light of actual experience since early 1975, especially the United States' aggressive use of the section 301, special 301, and super 301 provisions of US trade law, which gives the president broad authority to retaliate against "unjustifiable, unreasonable, or discriminatory" foreign trade practices. It analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of these policies and the circumstances under which they are likely to succeed or fail.

This report compares the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with other free trade agreements and suggests how policy makers can promote its successful implementation. The analysis in this report aims to support policy makers and negotiators in RCEP implementation by identifying areas where further work is needed to make the agreement more attractive to firms and investors. The report shows that despite RCEP's shortcomings it presents valuable opportunities to deepen regional economic integration. Critically important are the agreement's built-in provisions and economic and technical cooperation measures that make it possible to expand its depth and coverage in the future.

This publication explores how Bhutan could boost its exports by addressing nontariff barriers to trade. It focuses on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade, and on export products that have the potential to increase their market share in Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. It considers options including legal reforms, the upgrade of quality standards and laboratory equipment, and institution building of accrediting bodies and conformity assessment bodies. Practical recommendations suggest ways forward for both the public and private sectors.