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INDEX

1. Trade Barriers

2. Economic Integration or Trade Blocs

3. Multilateral Trading Organisations

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International Business - I
Trade Barriers
Government of nations regulate international trade by changing trade
policies periodically to achieve following objectives :
1. Economic Growth –
Govt. policies influence demand conditions by supporting ‘infant
industries’ or levying taxes.
Govt. controls its industries and business for requisite growth.
2. Generating Employment -
Productively employed people are its economic and social assets.
In US & E.U.nations level of unemployment is high. People feel that
India is exporting ‘unemployment’ to them by snatching jobs. .
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3. To Achieve International Political Objectives
International Trade are important instruments in political
goal achievement.
Generating Revenue for nation
Checking Outflow of Foreign Exchange

Govts. achieve these objectives through


Trade Barriers :
·       Tariffs ·      
Subsidies ·       Import
Quotas ·       Voluntary Export
Restraints ·       Local Content
Requirements ·       Administrative policies etc.

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•Trade Barriers are classified as
 
Tariff Barriers &
Non-tariff Barriers

A. Tariff Barriers – These are artificial blockades put in the path of


foreign trade through taxes and duties.
Pattern of Tariff Barriers :
· Specific Duty : Duties realized in import and export per
unit, weight, volume etc. · 
       Ad valorem Duty : Levied as a percentage of value or
price e.g.10%, 50% or 100% of FOB price ·        Compound
Duty : Combination of specific and ad- valorem
duties.
Depending upon the purpose for which tariff is levied, it is also
called Protective or Revenue
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Presented by Prof. Ganguly 4
Gains from Tariff :
·  Govt. of importing country – earns revenue
·  Industry & business of importing country gets protected market
·  Employment in domestic nation
·  Duty on exports makes cheaper raw material available locally
·  Encourages FDI in manufacturing industries
·  Protects key industries useful for defence of country

Adverse effects of Tariff :


·   Consumers in importing country are to pay higher price
· Prolonged tariff curbs competition thus quality improvement
and price become casualty.
    Demand in exporters’ country industries fall

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B. Non-Tariff Barriers
Tariff barriers are on decline globally because of WTO
But artificial barrier through means other than tariff are on
the rise called non-tariff barriers.
These are levied for protective and political purposes.
Non-Tariff Barriers are classified as

·  Price-influencing NTBs or
· Quantity-influencing NTBs 

Price-influencing NTBs :
1. Production Subsidy –Monetary assistance given to make
products competitive in export market e.g., USA, E U, Japan
provide subsidy on agricultural items to farmers. 
2. Indirect Subsidy – When some expenses are defrayed by Govt.
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3. Export Subsidy – Monetary assistance given in export by Govt.
when products are exported below their production cost.

4. Conditional Subsidy – Monetary assistance provided to fulfill


specified conditions like export targets or use of domestic
raw material.
5. Customs Valuation – Customs officials may decide higher price
or customs duty in case they suspect the import is ‘undervalued’.
Common Worldwide customs nomenclature known as
Brussels Tariff Nomenclature (BTN) has reduced magnitude of
this problem. 
6. Countervailing Duties – If importing nations’ economy is hurt
by subsidy of exporting nation, it may levy extra duty on this
import called ‘Countervailing
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7. Anti-Dumping Duty – When a product is exported at price lower
than its home-country price or cost of manufacture, it is called
‘Dumping’
Importing nation may charge extra duty on such product to
remove injury to domestic industry called Anti-Dumping Duty.
8. Administered Minimum Import Price – Importing nations set
minimum import price for items to protect local producers.
9. Consular Formalities – Some countries insist on legalisation of
exporters documents by their consulate in exporters country. 
10. Customs Deposits – Some countries insist upon deposit of import
duty before issuing import licence. 

II. Quantity-influencing NTBs

1. Import Restriction- Some nations insist upon ‘Import Licence’


for import of ‘restricted’ items.
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2. Quantitative Restrictions –Quantum of specified item to be
imported is declared in advance. Now discotinued by nations.

3. Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) – Since 1974 developed


nations imported textiles and clothing from developing and
underdeveloped nations upto specified quota called MFA.
It has been discontinued since 2005. 

4. Export Quotas – Many nations levy quota on exports to


conserve natural resources e.g., OPEC.

5. Embargo or Boycott – Nations block trade with specified


nations called ‘Trade sanctions’ or embargo under UN or other
authority e.g. Trade with Iraq under Saddam Hussain.

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6. Country of Origin Rule – Country of manufacture is to be
declared to avoid rerouting of exports through third countries.

7. Voluntary Export Restrictions – Economically and politically


powerful developed countries insist upon weaker developing
countries to restrict exports ‘voluntarily’.
 8. Safeguards – A nation may temporarily suspend import of items
if such import ‘seriously injures’ domestic trade.
 9. Domestic Contents Requirements - Importers are made to use
indigenous inputs to specified extent to be eligible for import.
It is permitted under TRIM in specialcircumstances.

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10. Government Procurement – Generally, sale and purchase by
Govt. is restricted to local suppliers only.

11. Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures - To prevent spread


of pests or diseases among animals & plants, SPS Agreement allow
nations to use standards and methods of inspection in imports.
 12. Foreign Exchange Regulations – Nations suffering from ‘Balance
of Payment’ crises put restriction on imports and foreign
payments to conserve foreign exchange.
13. Technical & Administrative Regulations – Many nations make
regulations about packaging and information on labels. 

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14. Trading Blocs – Many nations form preferential trading arrangement
between them which may act as Non Tariff Barrier for other
nations e.g., ASEAN, NAFTA, EU etc.

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Economic Integration or Trade Blocs
Some nations create greater trade opportunity among themselves by
reducing competition through Preferential Trading
Arrangement also called Economic Integration.
Economic Integration in a few nations may extend from a single
commodity to all items for Regional Economic Co-operation.

The extent and degree of co-operation among nations depict different


types of Trade Blocs or Regional Market Groups.
Broadly, Regional Trade Blocs or market groups come into existence
“when two or more countries agree to reduce trade and tariff
barriers among them to facilitate trade”.

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Factors that facilitate formation of market groups are
·  Economic factors · 
Political factors & ·  Geographic
factors

Types of Trading Blocs or Market Groups


1. Free Trade Area (FTA) –
When two or more nations agree to reduce or eliminate tariff
restrictions and non-tariff barriers in trade among them, it is
called Free Trade Area.
An extension of market takes place without barriers in FTA.,
e.g., Association of South-East Nations ( ASEAN ), North
American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), European Free Trade
Area (EFTA ) etc. 
2. Customs Union (CU) –
When FTA nations operate common external tariff on imports
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from non-member nations, it is called Customs Union (CU).
3. Common Market (CM) --
When ‘Customs union’ countries allow free flow of capital and
labour among member nations, it is called Common Market.
E.g., European Union (EU), Southern Common Market
(MerCoSur) etc.
4.  Economic Union (EU) –
When ‘Common market’ nations undertake unification of
economic policies of member nations for overall economic growth, it is
called Economic Union. For example, Afro-Malagasy
economic Union.
5.   Political Union (PU) –
When nations integrate politically with each other, it is called
Political Union. E.g., East and West Germany to Germany.

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Prominent Regional Market Groups
1. European Union [EU] : EU is an Economic and Monetary Union
comprising of 27 nations (as on 31 Jan.2008) viz. Austria
(GDP $195.9 b), Belgium (233.9), Denmark (163.0), Finland
(126.3), France (1358.0), Germany (1887.5), Greece (126.3),
Ireland (111.6), Italy (1100.5), Luxembourg (20.6), the
Netherlands (372.7), Portugal (107.4), Spain (603.8), Sweden
(250.8), the United Kingdom (1527.3), Czech Republic (59.8).
Estonia (6.6), Cyprus (9.7), Latvia (9.6), Lithuania (14.1), Hungary
(51.7), Malta (3.8), Poland (177.0), Slovenia (20.8), Slovak
Republic (22.8), Bulgaria (14.4) and Romania (42.7) tending
towards European Political union.
In 1999, EU initiated common currency called EURO in eleven
member nations along with their currencies, Greece joined on
1 January 2001. Denmark, Sweden and UK are yet to adopt
Euro.
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The main administrative body of EU is European Council where
member nations are represented by a minister. Each
member country holds ‘presidency’ of the council for six- months
by rotation. In addition there is a committee of permanent
representatives called Corper that acts as main link between EU and
member nations.
Other principal organs of EU are – 1.    
Court of Justice – to adjudicate disputes regarding
agriculture, social security and competition policy. 2.     Court of
Auditors – to audit EEC budget, monitor expenditure
and improve procedure. 3.     European Commission- the
executive wing of EU that assists the council.
4.     European Parliament – to provide
information and consultation to approve or reject
draft budget. 5.     Advisory Committees – to advise the commission on
economic, social, monetary, coal and steel related
matters.
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Euro System : The national banks of Euro-area nations along with
European Central Bank constitutes the Euro system that decides
and implements monetary policy, conducts foreign exchange
operations and operates payment system.
Reciprocity : Unified Europe has adopted ‘Reciprocity’ as an
important aspect of their trade policy. If an outside country does
not open their market to EU firms, it can not expect access into
EU market.
Marketing Mix Strategy :
Companies from within and outside EU adjust Marketing mix
strategies assuming EU as single market. It helps in avoiding
‘parallel imports’. For example, Unilever has narrowed down its
number of brands from 1600 to 400 only in Europe.

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2. European Free Trade Area [EFTA]
EFTA is a Free Trade Area presently comprising of four nations
viz. Iceland (GDP $ 8.9 b.), Liechtenstein (-), Norway (184.7)
and Switzerland (248.2). EFTA was formed in 1960 by Britain
when it was reluctant to join European Economic Area. EFTA is
likely to dissolve and members may join EU.

3. Commonwealth of Independent States [CIS]


With dissolution of Soviet Union, Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS) came into existence in 1989 with 12
nations viz. Russia (GDP $306.7), Ukraine (39.3), Belarus
(15.0), Armenia (2.7), Moldova (1.6), Azerbaijan (8.2), Uzbekistan
(7.1), Turkmenistan (4.8), Tajikistan (1.3), Kazakhstan (24.9),
Kyrgyzstan (1.5) and Georgia (3.7). CIS is a loose economic and
political alliance with open borders and new ‘economic
integration
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4. North American Free Trade Area [NAFTA]
NAFTA is a Free Trade Area comprises of Canada (GDP
$766.1b.), Mexico (592.5) and the United States (10343). It
came into existence on 1 January 1994. All tariff and trade
barriers shall be eliminated by 2009. In addition to being an
FTA, residents of NAFTA can move freely for employment,
business and investing freely in other NAFTA nations.

NAFTA has helped Mexico in attracting substantial


investments from USA and Canada, whereas, Mexico has supplied
cheap labour to US and Canada, beside being export market for
high tech goods manufactured in US.
Because US imports cheap and low-skilled goods from Mexico,
US workers feel insecure of their wages and union activities
due to employers moving manufacturing activities overseas.

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5. Southern Common Market [ Mercosur]
It is the second largest trading bloc after NAFTA. It is a
common market comprising of Argentina (GDP $263.5 b),
Bolivia (9.0), Brazil (619.9), Chile (82.0), Paraguay (7.9) and
Uruguay (17.7) established in 1995.
Mercosur permits free movement of goods, capital, labour
and services among members with uniform external tariff.
The rate of growth of Mercosur is high because of its free
trade areas with Mexico, Canada, Chile and EU.

Mercosur is providing leadership to South American nations in


forming South American Free Trade Area (SAFTA). 

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6. Latin American Integration Association [LAIA]
It is also known by its Spanish acronym ALADI. It is a FTA,
going to become a Common Market comprising of Argentina
(GDP $263.5 b.), Bolivia (9.0), Brazil (619.9), Chile (82.0),
Colombia (90.0), Ecuador (17.8), Mexico (592.5), Paraguay
(7.9), Peru (57.8), Uruguay (17.7) and Venezuela (102.9).
A distinguishing feature of LAIA is that it allows bilateral trade
agreements among member countries.

There are a number of trade blocs in Africa, the most active and
largest are

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7. Southern African Development Community [SADC]
It is a Free Trade Area that shall eliminate all tariff in trade by
2012. It comprises of Angola (GDP $11b.), Botswana (6.1),
Congo (4.6), Lesotho (1.0), Namibia (3.7), Malawi (1.7),
Mauritius (5.1), Mozambique (4.8), Seychelles (0.6), South
Africa (138.7), Swaziland (1.5), Tanzania (11.1), Zambia (3.7) and
Zimbabwe (6.2). SADC
nations are mostly very rich in natural resources.

8. Economic Community of West African States [ECOWAS]


It is a Customs Union comprising of Benin (GDP $2.6b.),
Burkina Faso (3.1), Cape Verde (0.6), Cote d’lovoire (10.1),
Gambia (0.5), Ghana (5.7), Guinea (3.4), Guinea-Bissau (0.2),
Liberia (0.4), Mali (3.0), Mauritania (1.1), Niger (2.1), Nigeria
(48.8), Senegal (5.0), Sierra Leone (0.8) and Togo (1.4) trying to
achieve regional monetary integration i.e., a common currency for
west African nations.
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9. Association of South East Asian Nations [ASEAN]
ASEAN is the primary multinational trade group in Asia with goal of
economic integration and co-operation as Free Trade Area. It
comprises of Brunei (GDP -), Cambodia (4.2), Indonesia (167.7),
Laos (2.0), Malaysia (99.4), Myanmar (-), Philippines (85.3),
Singapore (93.2), Thailand (141.2) and Vietnam (38.3).
ASEAN nations achieved spectacular economic growth mainly
because of: i)  
Commitment of member nations to deregulate, liberalise and
privatize their economies. ii)   Shifting
commodity-based economy to manufacturing-based. iii)  Decision
to specialize in manufacturing components in cases of
comparative advantage so as to expand exports. iv) Japan’s
providing technology and capital to upgrade and start new
industries in ASEAN countries.
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After South Asian financial crisis of 1997-98, concept of ASEAN
+ Three [China (1375.2), Japan (4876.1) & South Korea
(586.1)] came into existence to deal with strained trade and
monetary issues of these nations.
Now ASEAN Plus Three is being shaped as a common market
with common currency.

10. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation [APEC]


APEC was formed in 1989 to provide a structure for Asia Pacific rim
including US and Canada to open trade and enhance
collaboration. It is yet to constitute a Free Trade Area, but with every
annual meeting, nations are coming close to their objective. It
comprises of 21 nations at present.

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11. SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement [SAPTA] Seven
nations of South Asia viz. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka had formed a cultural bloc called
SAARC.
In 1993, an agreement to promote trade and economic
cooperation among them was signed by exchanging tariff and
non-tariff concessions.
12. South Asian Free Trade Area [SAFTA]
In 2004, at Islamabad SAARC Summit agreement to form
SAFTA was signed. It agreed on Tariff Liberalisation Programme
[TLP] to bring down existing tariff between zero to five percent
within ten years for all items excepting those in negative list.
A unique feature of SAFTA is that it has a ‘Dispute Settling
Mechanism’ for proper interpretation and application of TLP
agreement.
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Worldwide Economic Trend

After World war II, nations started opening up their economies


to integrate with economy of other nations at different points of
time for different reasons called Economic Liberalisation.

Economic Liberalisation is a process to enforce free-market


economy I.e., wealth creation being driven by demand and
supply.  
In the last century, this pattern of economic reform became a
common phenomenon with nations like U.K., Germany, China,
Korea etc.; where interference of Govt. started declining.

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In 1991, India was face to face with a serious economic disaster
due to ‘macroeconomic imbalances’.
1. India’s foreign exchange reserve was at low level of $1.2 b.;
2. Indian exports were not accepted in foreign markets due to
low quality and high price;
3. Faulty economic policies gave rise to high rate of inflation;
4. Trend of FDI to country was very poor ;
5. Rate of unemployment was high etc..

Major Reasons being :


a) Gulf War leading to inordinate rise in oil prices.
b) Severe decline in nations’ foreign exchange reserves.
c) India’s public debt both internal and external went so
high up that other nations lost confidence to trade with India
d) It was leading to external trade disruption resulting in
industrial dislocation to severe loss of employment to economic
doom.
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Dr. Manmohan Singh the then Finance Minister under
leadership of Prime Minister adopted a series of pragmatic
economic steps to salvage the situation which is known as economic
liberalisation of India.
In addition urgent steps were taken to save economic situation.
A. Economic Liberalisation of India
In order to tide over the crisis, immediate steps taken were:
i) SBI was made to sell 20 mt. of gold in London market
against foreign exchange,
ii) RBI was allowed to pledge 47 mt. of gold to Bank of England
to pay to any creditor who did not receive payment in time
for supplies to India. It helped in restoring confidence of
foreign suppliers and investors,
iii) Devaluation -- Indian rupee was devalued by about 25%
against major currencies to boost exports and restrict imports,
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iv) Fiscal reform – To improve fiscal balance, subsidies were
discontinued and expenses directed towards infrastructure,

v) Foreign Trade Liberalisation – To boost foreign trade and to


attract foreign investments, tariff rates were reduced. List of
banned and restricted items for import was reduced,

vi) LIBERALISED EXCHANGE RATE MECHANISM SYSTEM


[LERMS] was introduced to improve inflow of foreign
exchange into country,

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vii) Industrial Policy Reform – System of industrial licencing
was abolished excepting for 18 strategic industries.
viii) Foreign Investment Liberalisation -- To attract FDI,
automatic approval of 51% foreign equity in Indian firms was
allowed. In infrastructure industries, 100% foreign equity was
permitted and FERA was modified.
ix) Public Sector Reform – Steps were initiated to improve
performance of Public Sector Units to curb excessive loss on
Government investments.
These initial steps helped in opening Indian economy and
integrating it to world economies also reducing excessive
Govt. influence on trade and industry – called ‘First
Generation Reforms’.
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B. Privatisation
It is the process of disinvestment or divesting ownership
rights in PSUs by Govt. in full or part in favour of private
parties to improve their efficiency.

Forms of Privatisation
Outsourcing non-core functions from private parties.
Private parties are given specific tasks to perform under
supervision of PSU management ; eg., in ONGC, FCI, Indian
Airlines etc.
Hiring top private sector executives to man PSU positions.
Successful executives of private sector like Russy Mody,
Y.C. Deveshwar and others were appointed to Indian Airlines, Ai
India etc. to improve their performance.
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Formation of Navaratnas and Memorandum of Understandings
Disinvestment of PSU Shares
Divesting a part of Govt.ownership in PSUs to private sector
players to make them run these companies efficiently.

 C.  Marketisation
It is the process of increasing market efficiency through
‘competition’. In truly marketised state, the fittest player
survives in situation of level-playing field.
Marketisation evolves when role of Govt. bodies reduce and
responsibility of market forces increase. 
Free Market Economy evolves with change in Govt. policies to
bring greater freedom to market forces of ‘demand and supply’.
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In fact, Marketisation is the net result of liberalization
including privatization to take the economy towards
globalisation for economic prosperity.
In Marketised economy, role of Govt. is reduced and
responsibility of market forces increase to givr rise to efficient
marketing institutions.

D.    Globalisation
Globalisation refers to the process of internationalization where
businesses view the whole world as their arena of operation.A
globalised business thinks the entire world as a single market and
develops corporate strategies to suit the environment. 
Thus globalised business, plans its operations viz. manufacturing,
marketing, finance, HR, technology management etc. in manner
to gain competitive advantages and strengths.
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In today’s economic scenario, no nation can remain closed i.e.,
merely self-sufficient – producing for ‘self consumption’ rather
they are aim at producing for exports to finance for imports –
i.e., ‘self - reliant’.

Paths to Globalisation
Companies adopt different approaches to globalise which
depend upon their competitive strengths, like
1.  Attaining global parameters of production like Reliance
Industries, Bajaj Auto, Hero Cycles etc.
2.  Manufacturing of private brands like T.V.S.Sundaram
Fasteners, Sona Koyo Steerings etc.
3.  Expanding exports to nations and in greater volumes like
TCS, Infosys, Wipro etc.
4.  Setting up of foreign subsidiaries approach adopted by
Tatas, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Dr. Reddy’s Labs. etc.
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5.  Expanding manufacturing bases abroad like Bharat Forge and
automobile giants setting up their production units in India.

6.  Expanding global service base approach as undertaken by


Indian BPOs, Back-office support-service providers etc..
7. Indians and people of Indian origin are fast capturing
responsible positions in leading companies in India and
abroad.
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Home Assignment :

Presentation on the topic:


“ Indian companies who do not go global by next decade,
stand the risk of loosing their domestic business too”.
----------

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Multilateral Trading Organisations
A. United Nations Conference on Trade And Development
(UNCTAD)
The United Conference on Trade And Development (UNCTAD)
was established in 1964 mainly to promote trade of developing
countries to increase their share of total world trade.

The forum of UNCTAD has been used by developing nations to


press developed nations for trade concessions and also for grants
to achieve sustainable developments. 

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The main organ of UNCTAD is
TRADE & DEVELOPMENT BOARD under which functions  
1. Committee on Commodities
2. Committee on Manufacturing
3. Committee on Shipping &
4. Committee on Invisibles and Financing

UNCTAD had several rounds of discussion for achieving its goals.


UNCTAD I was held at Geneva where problems of developing
nations were identified in which 120 nations participated out of which 77
were developing nations.

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UNCTAD II was held at New Delhi in 1968. Notable achievements :
were
a) Generalised System of Preference [GSP]
b) Tourism recognized as development industry
c) Trade with socialist countries initiated
d) International Development Association [IDA] was formed to
provide soft loans to developing nations.

UNCTAD IV was held at Nairobi in 1976. Achievements :


a) Integrated Programme for Commodities [IPC] was established
as buffer stock to stabilize price of primary products.
b) Common Fund for Commodities [CFC] was created to provide
loans to underdeveloped & developing nations for purchasing
buffer items.
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UNCTAD XI -- the last round was held in June 2004 at Sao
Paulo in Brazil. The focus was on increasing coherence between
national strategies and global economic processes towards
economic growth and development.
After formation of WTO, trade related issues are attended by it in
place of UNCTAD.

B. General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)


After World War II, 50 nations came together to create
International Trade Organisation [ITO]. But ultimately 23 of them
formed a ‘Multilateral Treaty’ called General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT). 

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GATT was a provisional body that had set principles of non-
discrimination (MFN) to achieve its main objective viz.
1.     to serve as forum for nations to discuss trade related issues
2.     to negotiate reduction in tariff barriers particularly and 3.    
to sort out trade disputes between nations. It started
removing non-tariff barriers only during its last phase.

GATT had eight rounds of discussions. The eighth round called


Uruguay Round was held during 1986 –1994 that achieved a
number of agreements for smoother and dispute free trade among
member nations beside far-reaching conclusions including formation of
World Trade Organisation (WTO).
 C. World Trade Organisation
World
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Presented intoGanguly
by Prof. existence on 1st January42
C. World Trade Organisation
It came into existence on 1 January 1995, through Marrakesh
Declaration signed by 125 nations.
Present membership of WTO is 152.

Objectives of WTO
1. To raise global standard of living
2. To ensure full employment
3. To enlarge volume of real income and effective demand
4. To expand production and trade in goods and services
5. To protect and preserve environment
6. To achieve economic growth through sustainable development.

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Functions of WTO
1. Facilitate multilateral and plurilateral agreements
2. Provide forum for multilateral trade negotiation
3. Settlement of trade-related disputes
4. Administering Trade Policy review mechanism
5. Co-operate with affiliated agencies like IMF, IBRD etc.
Structure of WTO
1. Ministerial Conference – comprises of a representative from each
member ; it forms following committees to carry out its function
A. Committee on Trade and Development
B. Committee on Balance of Payment Restriction &
C. Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration.
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2. General Council –carries out decisions of Ministerial Conference
3. Dispute Settlement Body – General Council sets this body on receipt
of complaint, to settle members’ disputes
4. Trade Policy Review Body – reviews operation of agreements
5. Council for Trade in Goods
6. Council for Trade in Services
7. Council for Trade Related Intellectual Properties.

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Other Organs of WTO
I Secretariat
II Budget
III Status
IV Decision – making in WTO
V Amendments to WTO Agreements
VI Accession and withdrawl from WTO
VII Enforcement power of WTO.

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Important Agreements under Implementation by WTO
·       Agriculture ·       
Textiles and Clothing ·        Sanitary and
Phyto-sanitary measures ·        Technical barriers to
trade ·        TRIMs
·        Anti-dumping
·        Trade in services
·        Basic telecommunication
·        Marine transport services
·        Air-transport services
·        Movement of Natural persons
·        Financial services ·       
Professional services ·       
Trade-related intellectual properties ·       
Subsidies and countervailing measures ·       
Safeguards etc.
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Ministerial Meetings of WTO
World Trade Organisation is given direction by this apex body which
meets at least once in two years.

First Ministerial Meeting was held at Singapore in 1996


Four new issues viz. ‘Singapore Issues’ were discussed
·        Labour standards
·        Investments
·        Govt. procurement
·        Competition policies 
Second Ministerial Meeting was held at Geneva in 1998
to celebrate 50 years of multilateral trading 
Third Ministerial Meeting was held at Seattle in US in 1999.
Because of violent demonstration outside, the meeting was
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abruptly closed without a declaration.
Fourth Ministerial Meeting was held at Doha in Qatar 2001.
Talks restarted on agriculture, services, market access for
non- agriculture products, TRIPs, Dispute settlement,
environment measures, e-commerce and WTO rules.

Fifth Ministerial Meeting was held at Cancun in Mexico 2003.


Major issues discussed were on export and production-
subsidy by developed nations on agricultural products. Group of G-
22 nations were formed to oppose the subsidies. 
Sixth Ministerial Meeting was held at Hong Kong in 2005.
US forged partnership with developing nations in Agri-
subsidy talks. EU nations agreed to terminate agricultural
export subsidy by 2013 instead of 2010. Market access in agri-
and non agri-products were decided to be expanded by reducing
tariff by all nations. Green, Amber and Blue box subsidies were
clarified.
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