International trade has, for decades, been central to economic
growth and improved standards of living for nations and regions
worldwide. For most of the advanced countries, trade has raised
standards of living, while for most emerging economies, growth did
not begin until their integration into the global economy. The
economic explanation is simple: international trade facilitates
specialization, increased efficiency and improved productivity to
an extent impossible in closed economies. However, recent years
have seen a significant slowdown in global trade, and the global
system has increasingly come under attack from politicians on the
right and on the left. The benefits of open markets, the
continuation of international co-operation, and the usefulness of
multilateral institutions such as the World Trade Organization
(WTO), the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have all
been called into question. While globalization has had a broadly
positive effect on overall global welfare, it has also been
perceived by the public as damaging communities and social classes
in the industrialized world, spawning, for example, Brexit and the
US exit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The purpose of this
volume is to examine international and regional preferential trade
agreements (PTAs), which offer like-minded countries a possible
means to continue receiving the benefits of economic liberalization
and expanded trade. What are the strengths and weaknesses of such
agreements, and how can they sustain growth and prosperity for
their members in an ever-challenging global economic environment?
The Handbook is divided into two parts. The first, Global Themes,
offers analysis of issues including the WTO, trade agreements and
economic development, intellectual property rights, security and
environmental issues, and PTAs and developing countries. The second
part examines regional and country-specific agreements and issues,
including NAFTA, CARICOM, CETA, the Pacific Alliance, the European
Union, EFTA, ECOWAS, SADC, TTIP, RCEP and the TPP (now the CPTPP),
as well as the policies of countries such as Japan and Australia.
General
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