The international trading order at the crossroads
As economic theory shows and experience underlines, international trade and the specialization associated herewith is one important source of economic growth, employment creation and technological innovation in participating countries. In awareness of this potential for increasing economic prosperity throughout the world, the architects of the international trading system, which was to emerge from the ashes of World War II, envisaged a framework of rules leading to, and securing, open markets. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which came into being in 1948, laid down such trade rules, basically the principles of non-discrimination and multilateralism in world trade. The aim was not to establish free trade, without any government intervention. What was meant is liberal trade, in which governments may interfere, but using price measures which are transparent and do not rule out competition (i.e. non-prohibitive tariffs rather than quantitative restrictions or subsidies). Adherence by the member countries to the principles of multilateralism and non-discrimination was expected to give rise to the production of an international public good: stability and predictability of trade rules.
Alternative Liberalization Strategies
This paper examines various strategies that have been proposed for halting the recent drift toward protectionism and restoring a more liberal trading regime. A number of groups and individuals propose a multilateral approach aimed at immediately reducing all forms of import barriers and export subsidies on a nondiscriminatory basis across all commodities. Others, who doubt that all major countries are prepared at this time to pursue this approach, favor a bilateral and regional strategy in which those countries willing to liberalize conclude agreements that are left open for others to join. They believe that this approach will eventually lead to multilateral liberalization. Some groups believe that neither of these approaches will succeed and that an aggressive strategy of quickly retaliating against the unfair trade practices of other countries is the best way to bring countries to the bargaining table for multilateral negotiations. The merits and problems of these various strategies are considered as well as their prospects for implementation. The importance of other conditions necessary for trade liberalization such as satisfactory domestic and international macroeconomic conditions are also discussed.
Allokations- und Verteilungswirkungen alternativer Regelungen von internationalen Gemeinnutzungsressourcen
Im vorliegenden Papier werden Allokations- und Verteilungswirkungen analysiert, die von alternativen Zugangsregimes zu zwei wichtigen Gemeinnutzungsressourcen mit internationalem Charakter ausgehen: den Fischbestanden und den auf dem Meeresgrund lagernden Manganknollen. Zur Diskussion stehen ein Regime des offenen Zugangs, die Regelungen nach dem neuen Seerecht und die Schaffung von privaten Eigentumsrechten. Ferner werden Schlusfolgerungen fur die kunftige Regulierung der Antarktis und des Weltraums gezogen.