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The question is, if the WTO can manage this trade areas. As we see in Doha many states are hesitating to make concessions and in spite turning to RTAs.download movies [view message]

Your name: Guestat 1:21 on 9/10/09

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Your name: Guestat 3:51 on 12/19/08

Dearest One, Please permit me to inform you of my desire of going into a relationship with you. This to the best of my knowledge will establish an everlasting relationship between me and your family. I am Sarah Kalulu the only daughter of the late Mr. Kalulu thoma, a devoted Christian who went on helping people but later was disappointed by his close relatives and business friends. My father was a very wealthy cocoa merchant here in Abidjan ; the economic capital city of Ivory Coast . My father was poisoned to death by his business associates on one of their outings on a business trip. My mother as well died when I was a baby. Since then, my father took me so special before his unfortunate death that made me a complete orphan today without mother, without father and without brothers or sisters. Before the death of my father on March 2005 in a private hospital here in Abidjan he secretly called me on his bed side and told me that he has the sum of ($8,500,000) which he deposited in a... [view message]

Your name: sarah_kaluluat 17:23 on 9/13/08

Is Regionalisation beating globalisation? Given the emergence of Regional trading bloc such as the EU, it raises concern about whether negotiations will eventually be represented by representative from different trading bloc since regionalization appeared to be effective. But if globalisation refers to not only involving trade, but also referring to the spread of technology, labor, capital and goods & services, globalisation seems to take a more important role than regionalisation. [view message]

Your name: ray_yeungat 16:38 on 5/8/08

dear vesolovsky alexander i understood what you meant. what i presesented were some questions on multilateral and regional trade or most favoured status agreements among nation states from the point of view of global free trade and i raised a point that much claimed agreements over one or more defined goods or services among nation state members of wto is not equal to free trade on all goods and services without political discrimination and that situation call for some limited federal world government under UN like ferderal governments in individual nation states like in US,Russia,India. I hope you will ponder over the point i tried to make and point out its feasibility. [view message]

Your name: lakshmaat 4:33 on 3/19/08

Dear colleague, I\'d like to make sure I\'m understood correctly - I hold a positive view on multilateral trade, including WTO law, harmful, from my viewpoint, are deviations of the national governments from the principle of free trade within the WTO. What concerns RTA definition, it refers to regional trade as GATT article XXIV provides it, two countries or more can be involved. North American Free Trade Agreement is an example of RTA, in Russian case, we have a custom union with Republic of Belarus. Best regards, Veselovsky Alexander Edited 27/03/2008 08:51 ET by Veselovsky Alexander (Alexander392) [view message]

Your name: Veselovsky Alexander (Alexander392)at 21:43 on 3/18/08

the point you are searching for will be found in answerring the last point i.e in identifying the restrictive busuness practices by three dimentional state,society, and citizens. that will also answer the query of why the region is not been able to effectively prosper,integrate or benefit out globalisation? [view message]

Your name: lakshmaat 15:47 on 3/2/08

dear lakshma i thank you very much for accepting my friendship and the free thought After With respect to the points that you raised I find myself agreed with you with regard to points 2 and 3. The first point, the limited natural and human resources in the region is not contained because the region is known as enjoy a rich resources such as oil and gas in the Arabian Gulf, Iraq, Libya, Algeria and some agricultural economies such as Sudan and Egypt The region counted more than 315 million people, 70 percent of them youth this, which is an indication of the tremendous potential for integration because the region will be a large market and high forces of labour. i think in this points that the region doesn\'t know how to exploit its resources and make it Blessing and not a curse in order to Greater prosperity and well-being of the region adilabdou note: i sent you a personal mail in your box . [view message]

Your name: adilabdouat 11:28 on 3/2/08

Thank you for the offer of personal friendship more than the the ideas! I liked your approach to cement the bond of freedom of thought. note my e mail - lakshma@aplegalservices.com [view message]

Your name: lakshmaat 17:49 on 2/28/08

dear lakshma i thank you again for your very high importans you have gave to my messages and i hope that we will keep contact with you more than exchanger of ideas i offer my friendship i will give you my personal e.mail touatabdou@yahoo.fr for more contact i will reply on your letter soon keep you well. [view message]

Your name: Guestat 15:35 on 2/28/08

you have rightly mentioned that there are lack of several aspects and encounterd several obstacles. lack of several aspects was further elaborated as lack of adequate productive structures and lack of diversity among member countries and on obstacles you mentioned restictive business practices which was further elaborated as cumbersome administrative proceedures,non- tariff barriers and informal payments. perhaps you have mentioned these as illustrative and not exhastive. these can be put under three broad headings 1) lack of diversity of natural and human resources 2) lack of business infrastructures and enterprising; 3) Restrictiv busines practices by state ,society and citizens I aggree with your observations and i like you further elabrate by way of some illustrations from day to day life on the ebove 3 factors for our further analysis and diagnosis of the real obstacles for development. [view message]

Your name: lakshmaat 14:24 on 2/28/08

Dear reader at the outset, I can only express my thanks to you for the very value of the points you have raised and I hope to continue to keep the contact for a greater exchange of ideas .With respect to the first point, on notification to the WTO the matter is not to say that the Greater Arab Free Trade zone informal but rather are carried out under the auspices of the Convention on the Arab League which it is the regional body which brings together all the Arab countries, but the matter for the latter not to notify the organization only an administrative measure, in my view, the present Convention constitute shallow integration Convention and therefore it pose a problem of any principle of notification will be governed (Article 24 of GATT or Article 5 of the GATTS or Enabling Clause) therefore better for the Arab states that expansion of the capabilities of the region to make them more consistent with WTO... [view message]

Your name: adilabdouat 9:08 on 2/28/08

Adilabdou i would like to exchange the ideas on the feasibility of greater arab free trade arrangements in the light of global division of labour and employments and an the light of WTO/GATT agreements.You said the organisation is not a notified body. does it mean an informal body with no official status? what according to you the strong points of arab nations in global conglomeration of nations from the point of view of economic goods and services. every body only knows about the economic value of the oil these countries possess and control and what approximate proportion of the gross domestic product the the oil revenue constitute and of other important commodities and services each of these group of countries produce to contribute to foreighn trade. how do you view the role of RTA of greater arab free trade arrangement in satisfying the needs and wants of the people without the necessity of global or multilateral trade? [view message]

Your name: lakshmaat 13:32 on 2/26/08

dear allfirst i want to thank too much all the participants inspite of their opinions and during them i thank the Supervisors on the site. then Allow me to consider myself one of interested peoples in the subject of regional trade arrangements because this subject had been lured me since I was a student in masters degree programs and I am continuing research in the same topic during the doctorate, and I naturally focus on the regions (Middle East) compared with other regions to determine the best alternative paths towards prosperity for of the region .The most important thing drew my attention is that most of the arrangements entered into by countries of the region, including special intera-arrangments have not been notified by the organization such as the Greater Arab Free Trade Area, is what raises questions about the feasibility of the region in itself especially in its relationship with the World Trade Organization (mostly states of the region member of... [view message]

Your name: adilabdouat 16:02 on 2/25/08

I wanted to know from the WTO admn and also from you as to the meaning of multilateral,regional,or bilateral agreements? do you mean agreements over one or more items of goods or services basket between or amongst the members or a member and other nation states? How these agreements fit with global free trade objective of WTO towards perfect competition for the benefit of global consumers and public? is it possible to bring about global free trade without dismantling of \"berlin wall\"s among the 193 nation states? Is it possible to prevent the global recessionary conditions( now showing the symtoms) or stagflationary conditions without global regulatory institutions? does the RTA or multilateral agreements in respect of one or more items out of national baskets will bring the necessary regulatory legal framework to prevent such situations where global economic disarray will occur resulting in huge unempolyments of labour and capital and... [view message]

Your name: lakshmaat 5:36 on 1/13/08

RTAs definitely can add to the progress, or increase welfare, if to speak in terms of normative economics, but in a case they provide an avenue of discrimination or other defection from the WTO free trade principles - RTAs would be steps back. Regulations with respect to the rules of the mutual recognition in the RTA under MFN obligation of the Article I:1 of GATT and Article XXIV do not completely eliminate space for RTA protectionism, there is room for harmonized national technical barriers to trade measures to form a \"fortress\", discriminating against the outside commerce or regulating unnecessarily. Since such an action is prohibited by GATT Articles I and III, and the TBT agreement, national states should be held responsible for such violation. Given that to identify violations \"de facto\" can be much harder, compared to the violations \"de jure\", discipline of the RTA participants is to be emphasized. At the same time, RTAs may assist in archiving the goal of multilateral... [view message]

Your name: Veselovsky Alexander (Alexander392)at 8:26 on 1/10/08

FULLY AGREE WITH YOUR VIEW ON \"RICH IS GETTING RICHER AND POOR IS GETTING POORER\" [view message]

Your name: Guestat 9:58 on 9/30/07

Hi G-->reg Are we saying ETO now asumes the role of a govering body and RTA\'s the executioner of regional economic agenda\'s as the former has become too broad based and controversial in ots outlook and has lost fait of lot of countries, specially the smaller ones who are feeling left out in the development process. Is WTO now seen as US poddle more than a global body which really wants to do something for all member nations. Vikram SINGH IIFT-Delhi --> [view message]

Your name: Guestat 9:53 on 9/30/07

Dear Rahul Request you to be more explicit on each of the cohorts you have alked about as to how they are affected and , coming back to the question on RTA\'a , will it be or not a stepping stone in the above cohorts. Vikram Singh IIFT-Delhi [view message]

Your name: Guestat 9:46 on 9/30/07

Dear coleagues,I\'d like to support the point of view that it\'s impossible to characterize RTAs as a definite stepping stone or definite obstacle for the further liberalization of trade in global scale. As Prof. Bhagwati mentioned, it depends on the scale and dimension of the RTA and on the problem of its compatibility with general WTO rules. I am currently wokring on a book about EU common trade policy. The resarch of the issue shows that the evolution of the EU trade policy made it possible to adopt national policies to the WTO system via common trade policy and EU active participation in GATT/WTO negotiations. Taking into consideration the expansion of the EU the trade policy of newcommers becomes clear and transparent since they joing the ecxisting system of measures and are not applying the variety of measures and preferences that could desorient their partners. [view message]

Your name: isachenko@mgimo.ruat 15:04 on 9/27/07

RTAs will remove \'globaphobia\' and generate confident for developing countries to face full trade liberalization. It is to some extent RTA will be a stepping stone to the multilateral trading system. Once we can eliminate globaphobia and starting to think that foreign competition is something we can cope up with, then they will gain confident to step further to a broader zone of trade liberalization. [view message]

Your name: nur-rakhman.setyoko@anu.edu.auat 0:51 on 9/26/07

In my opinion there is flaw at the root of the market regime WTO is envisaging. The masses are an integral part of any market. Every one in an economy is a buyer at some point of time. By WTO we are talking about a big global market. The talk is about taking political, economical, environmental and legal advantage to maximize the output and ultimately maximize the profits. Advantage is revolving around the giant trans-national corporate world. Weather it is RTA or Multilateral trade agreement, the difference is only of micro and macro level. Size of the market is immaterial until the basics are not corrected. It may look strange that why NGO, students, farmers and common men are interested in talks for moving ahead with the agenda of multilateral trade system? Each Ministerial Conference witnessed sea of people in front of the conference venues. Because they have been forced to become a part of a system in whose making they have virtually no role. It is to be understood that the... [view message]

Your name: Rahul Dutta, mail@iplab.in, Indiaat 21:26 on 9/25/07

bonjour [view message]

Your name: Guestat 15:06 on 9/25/07

RTAs are neither steppingstones nor obstacles, they are a safety valve that are permitting trade liberalization to continue in the face of the stalled and ill-conceived Doha development agenda. The WTO today is filled with many countries who do not fundamentally believe in the principles of the WTO, and while consensus is the only system the WTO can operate under, the WTO has undertaken a far too broad and controversial agenda to make its decision making process effective. The solution to the RTA proliferation is to pare the extraneous issues out of the WTO. [view message]

Your name: Bob Haywoodat 6:33 on 9/24/07

I am currently wokring on a thesis about an emerging ASEAN Free Trade regimes and try to comment on wether this trade regime will exist in or out the WTO. In my opinion, RTAs are a middle step on the way to regional trade regimes. The question is, if the WTO can manage this trade areas. As we see in Doha many states are hesitating to make concessions and in spite turning to RTAs. This shows for me to different paces in the trade liberalising process. Therefore the WTO has to find basic rules and principles to conduct bilaterale negotiations for RTAs, but this could not be, because of the nature of the WTO, law enforcing anyway. At least it depends on the commitment of the states to develop the multilateral negotiations. However the states should agree about fundamental goals of the WTO, because it is a state driven process. The RTAs are like a sideway of the liberalising process of the states, who want to go further than the recent mulitlateral commitments. [view message]

Your name: gregorroehrig@googlemail.comat 9:51 on 9/21/07

RTAs, multilateral trade liberalisation via the WTO and indeed globalisation are taking place simultaneously so much that it is opossible to argue that for instance NAFTA, EU, and East Asia are regional actors as well as multilateral and global actors. However, it is difficult with the current level of evidence to categorically say that regionalism leads to multilateral trade liberalisation or globalisation. What is emerging is the development of RTAs that have shown political consistence with liberalisation and indeed globalisation, in the sense that members of the blocs are opening trade and investment flows to both memebrs within the region and outside it. Whilst this is happening, the world seems to be rapidly evolving towards closed regional blocs with less speed towards trasn-regional trade and investment relationships facilitated by open regionalism. [view message]

Your name: Collin Zhuawuat 15:35 on 9/20/07

The discussion group is astarting point for fostering groups and communities in international developments. [view message]

Your name: patrickonono@hotmail.comat 11:22 on 9/19/07

Les accords commerciaux r?gionaux constituent un pas vers une ?tape plus importante qui est la mondialisation. Pour certains pays tels que les pays en d?veloppement ce mod?le d\'int?gration ?troite est un essaie pour une int?gration plus large. Passer par une int?artion r?gionale leur permet de tester les march?s ext?rieurs de la zone. Ceci ne peut pas ?tre sans avantage sur leurs conceptions futurs et leurs stragt?gies ?conomiques. [view message]

Your name: Houda Bhouri at 15:52 on 9/18/07

who voted for you anyway? and dont forget the enviroment in all these man made codes and modes that explain your nodes??Growing economy = growing pollution waste, we should first bring our consumtion towards more ethical and ecological activities, provide the minimum every humain needs around the world and then make people rich and keep others poor!! but at least poor with good homes food education health and access to culture. For all the RTAs MTCs HSBCs BBs MDMAs that we can talk about there are still every day people who dont have clean water sufficient food education etc. Go on thats a chalenge prove to anti G8 WTO WB etc people that you can take care of the world, go on justify your existance. We need you to work for everyone! because one we sum! [view message]

Your name: Learnomics@gmail.comat 15:36 on 9/18/07

RTAs have assisted countries to have a rule based trading system which otherwise they have not been able to reach under the WTO. Countries seem more comfortable as RTAs, hence the profilerations and the less need to bargain under the multilatral trading system. where the North and South countries in WTO fail to offer themselves concession that would remove the distrust and unfair trade practices, the RTAs would remain stronger trade promoting structures. The issue here should be fair trade practices. [view message]

Your name: Omotunde Dukeat 13:05 on 9/17/07

I think much depends on how a FTA is concieved and designed.Many FTAs are politically motivated.An FTA with natural partners and major trading partners should good results.Take for instance Gulf countries major trade is with East Asian countries but they are in GAFTA.Many countries are negotiating FTA with GCC whereas an FTA with UAE would be good enough.UNCTAD has lately come up fallacious arguments saying that an FTA with developed countries leads to a liberal regime for IPRS, Investment etc as if this is bad.FTAs are proliferating because of domino effect.Pakistan concluded an FTA with Sri Lanka because India had done so earlier and Pakistan\'s exports were losing the market.South Asia has not proceeded forward on the FTA though historically South Asia and even Central Asia constituted a free trade agreement. According to KM Pannikar a travellor cheques (hundi)issued in Benarus was valid in Bokhara. As this region got divided politically the regional market was fragmented leading... [view message]

Your name: A.Bajwaat 1:48 on 9/17/07

As seen today RTAs are no longer stepping stones these RTAs must be seen now as a system to defeat rule based mechanism of the WTO. To examine the problems pertaining to multilateralism and RTAs spaghetti bowl phenomenon could be helpful, which reveals a death blow to multilateralism if RTAs are allowed to grow the way they are growing.spandey Edited 16/09/2007 16:49 ET by pandeysanjay [view message]

Your name: pandeysanjayat 16:36 on 9/16/07

RTAs are really ways in which smaller island nations are empowered.....it is also a stepping stone to a really global communitty. [view message]

Your name: Turaat 2:48 on 9/16/07

Aujourd`hui les Accords Commerciaux Regionaux < ACRx> sont devenus un element dominant du systeme commercial multilateral juste parce que ces accords sont un input dans le developement des pays des zones dites sous developpes et ces accords apportent plus aux petits groupes organises des agriculteurs. Et je ne pense pas que les deux conferenciers qui sont issus desd zones commerciales differentes bien avant leur naturalisation pour le professeur Jagdish Bhagwahi, aient eu a epiloguer sur l`importance de la cooperation sous-regionale dans les accords commerciaux regionaux. Car il est important de voir l`impact au sein de la sous-regional avant de voir la prospective dans le regional. Et comme c`est a partir de la sous-regiona que l`on peut reellement ressentir un impact de la cooperation, alors je dirais que les accords commerciaux regionaux bases sur le strict principe du rescpect de la concurrence et aussi le developpement regional des pays seraient consideres comme une... [view message]

Your name: Charles ATANGANAat 14:02 on 9/15/07

RTA is a stepping stones not obstacles to the trading system.The reasons are as follow:first of all ,many of RTA agreement is WTO-PLUS,that means RTA agreement can assistant to improve the multilateral trade system;second,RTA can let developing countries practise the trade game and get the profits meanwhile,and let developed countries can get the profits as well ,that means win-win situation in an area;third,there are other significant in an area,political and area safe and culture communication.RTA is the better way under WTO can\'t operate well. [view message]

Your name: Prof. Liyan Yang Chinaat 11:15 on 9/15/07

I believe RTA\'s (i.e. only those which relate to a defined geographical region) are not conceived with the thought of being a stepping stone to the WTO trading system but could nevertheless become an important component to the multilateral trading system in the future. Regionalizaing trade and promoting more self sufficiency within regions is more conducive to achieving sustainable development goals which makes RTA\'s something that cannot be ignored. I would agree that RTA\'s are an obstacle to the WTO trading system at present as they lessen the attention towards developing nations and in particular, least developed developing nations. Edited 14/09/2007 17:42 ET by SydMartin [view message]

Your name: SydMartinat 17:41 on 9/14/07

Whereas RTAS are a stepping stone to economic regional integration i strongly believe that the same cannot work if all RTAs are to integrate into one. Ther must remain separate RTAs for deeveloped and developng nations so that each region can protect its market otherwise the developed nations will have an upper hand against he developning and the least developed. [view message]

Your name: yuf okuboat 14:25 on 9/14/07

Wether the RTAs would be obstacles or stepping stones to multilateral trading sytem, will depend upon the nature, content and context of these agreements. It will also depend upon who are the parties and what is the level playing field, and whether these agreements are WTO plus or not. Theoritically these agreements should not be trade restrictive or imposing trade barriers as against the non-members, yet as the experience and as the no. of such agreements have inreased manifold over the years, there is a positive for the arguments that multilateral trading is becoming the victim. And also these agreements have imposed unrealistic conditions on the weak coalition partners, which goes against the very idea of free-trading. Some authors (Bhala) are justified in saying that these types of structures are examples of competitive imperialismjlkaulDelhi University. [view message]

Your name: Guestat 12:25 on 9/14/07

Regional intergration is only astepping stone to full economic economic intergration the relevancy of which will depend on full intergration at union level and this requires new regulatory framework for atrading system. [view message]

Your name: patrickonono@hotmail.comat 10:50 on 9/14/07

Many of the RTAs are WTO-plus agreements. RTAs contains provisions that go beyond the WTO rules in areas such as services and intellectual property, much to the detriment of developing countries. I believe that if developing countries stick to the mutlilateral trading system, they would have a better chance in advancing their interests. Dr. Bashar Hikmet MalkawiHashemite University, Jordan [view message]

Your name: Bashar Hikmet Malkawiat 10:49 on 9/14/07

RTAs are neither stepping stones nor obstacles to the trading system. They are a creation of WTO whose members are perfecting them to suit individual economic interests. RTAs are simply taking a legal and valid route that the WTO members and WTO did not anticipate. [view message]

Your name: Hilda Namuat 0:56 on 9/14/07

RTA\'s are a step in the integration process for a real multilateral community and a real global trade. Is impossible that multilateral process can work by itself, specially when interests are so different between developed and developing countries. Regional groups can get a strong positions againts and can work jointly to get a common position on differents subjets of international trade. RTA\'s can solve trade issues of multilateral system and work for the strengthen of the trading system. [view message]

Your name: Michael Torresat 22:19 on 9/13/07

Les accords commerciaux r?gionaux sont des ?cueils pour le fonctionnements du syst?me commercial multilat?ral .Car, cela n\'aide pas les pays en voie de d?veloppement qui defrait gagner plut?t ? avoir des accords entre eux ,mais aller en bloc dans le cadre multilatt?ral. [view message]

Your name: Guy Constant Ehoumiat 21:40 on 9/13/07

Are RTAs stepping stones or obstacles to the trading system? [view message]

Your name: WTOadminat 12:25 on 9/13/07

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