• THE INTERNATIONAL COMMERCE & LAW REVIEW
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• v.12
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• pp.615-641
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• 1999

Trade and the environment emerged as a major and complex issue for trade negotiators in the final stages of the Uruguay Round negotiations. The agreements and other international measures employing trade measures and trade sanctions for achieving global environmental objectives are Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer(1985), the Montreal Protocol on Substances that deplete the Ozone Layer(1987), The Framework Convention on Climate Change(1992), the Convention on Biological Diversity(1992), the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste and their Disposal(1992), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Faunna and Flora(1975), the Rio Declaration, the Agenda 21, etc. The texts of the World Trade Organization(WTO) incorporated certain provisions which were designed to reflect some of the environmental concerns are Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Properity Rights(TRIPs), Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs), the General Agreement on Trade in Services(GATS), and Technical Barriers to Trade(TBT) There is the possibility of conflict between multilateral environmental agreements and WTO agreements granting waivers against trade measures and sanctions. This remains a possibility, especially between countries which are Member of WTO and which are not Members of the relevant multilateral environment agreements, and countries which are Members of both the WTO and the relevant MEAs. Measures taken under the trade-related provisions of MEAs could potentially give rise to conflicts under obligations arising in WTO texts. If the parties in dispute are WTO members while they are not members of MEAs, the WTO provisions can be granted a certain priority in terms of international norms and vice versa. When the parties concerned are both WTO members and MEAs, it will be rational to grant the WTO provisions a priority. However, such measures should neither constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination between countries where similar conditions prevail, nor create a disguised restriction on trade. Also any trade measures taken should be necessary to prevent developments in trade from endangering the effectiveness of an MEA and they should be proportional and least trade restrictive.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.47 no.5
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• pp.201-221
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• 2022

This study aims to analyze a harmonious approach between trade norms for the protection of human rights and the WTO agreements is increasingly necessary and important. conflicts and harmonization that may occur between major human rights protection trade norms and WTO agreements were comprehensively reviewed. The hard legalization of corporate social responsibility for sustainable development, such as human rights protection, was in conflict with the WTO Agreement, which was based on the principle of non-discrimination. As the currently expanding human rights protection trade norms reflect differences in the positions of developed and developing countries, it was also pointed out that there may be disputes over WTO compatibility and distorted protectionism measures. Accordingly, the applicability of the general exceptions to Article 20 of the GATT were reviewed together, and Article 20(a) of GATT, "necessary to protect public morals" may differ between developed and developing countries, and thus limitations were also considered. At the same time, When it is necessary to take regulatory measures such as prohibition of imports from a specific country for human rights protection, it was reviewed and proposed domestic trade norms revision.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.337-348
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• 2020

Although the WTO has fulfilled several key tasks it was set up to do - providing periodic reviews of members' trade policies, resolving disputes, supporting negotiations - with the notable exceptions of the Trade Facilitation and Information Technology agreements, WTO members have not been able to negotiate new rules on "bread and butter" trade policies. The importance of doing so was illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic which saw widespread uncoordinated recourse to trade policy instruments. This paper highlights four reforms that would bolster the effectiveness of the WTO as a forum for trade cooperation: (1) improving collection and reporting of information on trade-related policies; (2) supporting analysis-informed deliberation to establish a common understanding of the need and scope for cooperation in specific policy areas; (3) putting in place a stronger multilateral governance framework for plurilateral cooperation between groups of WTO members; and (4) reestablishing an effective dispute settlement system.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.243-273
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• 2018

A consequence of global trade liberalization is that domestic regulatory policies have become a focal point for efforts to reduce the costs of engaging in cross-border production and exchange. This article discusses the general challenges of reducing trade frictions created by regulatory differences, focusing specifically on the role trade agreements might play in addressing regulatory spillovers. A case is made for a greater focus on plurilateral cooperation under the umbrella of the WTO.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.108-115
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• 1998

The objective of this study was to estimate the quantitative loss of the consumer surplus due to the tariffs on clothing imports during the WTO starting periods. For 1984-1996, the import price elasticity of the clothing was estimated from the regression of pet capita clothing imports on Per capita GNP, import price index and domestic producer price index. Then the quantitative losses of the consumer surplus in clothing were obtained from the simplified formula for 1990-1995. In spite of the decrease in textiles St clothing tariff rates, consumer costs were increasing, which was caused by the tremendous increase in clothing imports during the same period. The loss of the consumer surplus was 7131 billion wonts in 1995, which accounted for 6.4% of the total clothing expenditure.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.92-100
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• 2015

This paper examines the extent of China's market liberalization in the construction market seen through the point of view of WTO agreements and Korea-China FTA. Since the environment set by these agreements form the institutional background that Korean firms must work with to successfully access the market, the Korean government must work to reduce Chinese barriers as much as possible through international negotiations on these agreements. The paper sets out three goals for negotiations and the appropriate agreements and fora the government can use to advance these goals.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.285-301
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• 2023

The growing impact of cross-border movement of information is increasing interest in information policy through digital trade agreements in major trading countries. Major trading partners are calling for the inclusion of their digital policies in trade agreements to strengthen market dominance and protect personal information. This study analyzes the meaning and disputed settlement cases of the WTO's public policy objectives and examines the tendency of stakeholders to standardize legitimate exceptions to public policy objectives in digital trade. The study also examines the desirable direction of digital trade standardization suitable for the changing international trade environment. There is still debate about the specific objectives that should be included and the extent to which they should be allowed to restrict trade, however this study finds that there is a growing consensus on the need for legitimate public policy objectives to be included in digital trade agreements. The study concludes that the desirable direction of digital trade standardization is to strike a balance between the need to protect legitimate public policy objectives and the need to liberalize digital trade. This balance will need to be adjusted as the international trade environment continues to change.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.3-28
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• 2018

This article discusses the deadlock in the WTO on multilateral harmonization of nonpreferential rules of origin (RoO) and reviews some of the RoO included in recent preferential trade agreements. We argue that there is a trend towards adoption of similar approaches and that this suggests that cooperation to reduce the trade-impeding effects of differences in RoO across jurisdictions is more feasible than often is assumed by observers and policymakers. From a trade facilitation perspective such cooperation could be based on plurilateral initiatives under the umbrella of the WTO. These could include a focus on pursuit of greater convergence between preferential and nonpreferential RoO helping to achieve the long-standing goal of moving towards harmonization of rules of origin.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.117-137
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• 2012

The objective of this article is to examine the characteristic features of contemporary policy-led regionalism in Asia. It identifies the positive and negative features associated with the free trade agreements that have proliferated in Asia during the first decade of the $21^{st}$ century. There has been a marked transformation in Asia's regional architecture in a short span of a decade-and-a-half. The mode and conduct of multilateral trade has been significantly transformed during recent years and Asia could not possibly remain immune to this transformation. The importance of regionalism in multilateral trade has increased steadily. In addition, the trade-investment-services nexus has developed and grown increasingly important. As business firms now manufacture parts of their products across the border, bilateral trade agreements (BTAs), regional trade agreements (RTAs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) of the contemporary period need to take into account the new kind of trade barriers that have been created due to the changing mode of trade. The contemporary regional agreements need to be designed to facilitate the new modes of conducting business and trade. It was understood rather late in Asia that the 'WTO-Plus' FTAs are more functional and result-oriented than their predecessors.

• International Commerce and Information Review
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.323-349
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• 2011

As China is one of WTO member nations, It has an obligation to have to certainly keep a standard regarding anti-dumping systems deciding in WTO agreements. Nonetheless the Chinese anti-dumping laws is causing legal uncertainty because of insufficient details regulations about the account of dumping margins, the termination of an investigation in case of negligible imports, and sunset review And a part of regulations are disagreed with WTO anti-dumping agreement about price undertakings. Therefore, South Korea should indicate them and urge the Chinese government to revise them so that its anti-dumping Law is agreed with WTO agreement. Aside from this, if the anti-dumping investigation is initiated, South Korea government must observe how the Chinese authorities operates its anti-dumping law that do not agree with WTO agreement, and should prepare the countermeasure accordingly. The analysis of this study is concentrated on the compatibility of the WTO anti-dumping agreement with China's interpretation of the antidumping policy and public law. Also, Including our export company, government agencies, academic circles being related, and international trade advisory agencies must expand opportunity of information sharing.