Letter
from the Editors
|
|
Countries could only watch
as multilateral trade negotiations, which were supposed to be completed by
December 2005, collapsed last year. However, the international trading community
did not come to halt. Rather, a number of developed and developing countries
began to forge even more bilateral, regional, and transcontinental free trade
agreements. As such agreements increased in number, the threat of the end
of unilateral preferential accords or provisions of these same trade pacts
also expanded. The Winter 2007 edition of the Women in International Trade
(WIIT) newsletter examines the continuous flow of bilateral and regional free
trade agreements. The newsletter goes further to examine the results of unilateral
initiatives such as the Generalized System of Preferences, which were set
to expire in Dec. 2006 but received a two-year extension.
The first feature piece by International Trade Specialist for the Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB) Kati Suominen presents the positive practical and policy
implications of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). Suominen finds that: 1)
RTAs and multilateral agreements are complementary rather than dichotomous,
2) RTAs are becoming increasingly transcontinental, and 3) RTAs increase cooperation
among member states.
Renée Vassilos, an MS student at the University of California Davis,
adds to the discussion on preferential trading agreements with her analysis
of their impact on a specific sector - agriculture. Through the use of a sector-specific
approach, Vassilos presents the reader with the idea that bilateral trade
agreements and RTAs serve as the best mechanism for expanding global agricultural
trade, especially since the multilateral Doha Round talks collapsed last year.
An alternative approach to the debate on preferential agreements rests with
their connection to domestic policy reform. U.S. International Trade Commission
Economist Michael J. Ferrantino highlights the link between domestic governance
policy and bilateral, regional, and multilateral free trade agreements (FTA).
He introduces the idea that trade negotiations can be useful vehicles for
identifying those domestic policy areas that require reform among the member
countries.
Finally, Laura Baughman, president of The Trade Partnership and Trade Partnership
Worldwide, LLC, and Daniel Anthony, trade policy analyst at The Trade Partnership,
turn our attention towards the unilateral preferential trade agreements, which
still exist and remain a significant part of the debate within the trade community.
Baughman and Anthony analyze the Generalized Systems of Preferences (GSP)
and conclude that the GSP provides far more benefits for developing countries
than harm. Therefore, they encourage the extension of GSP for longer than
two years and an expansion of its coverage.
We hope that you enjoy the variety of angles on the topic of preferential
trade agreements. We welcome your comments. Please e-mail us at
Please e-mail us at wiit_newslettereditors_2006@yahoo.com.
Thank you!
Racquel Smith is a research fellow in the Integration, Trade and Hemispheric
Issues Division of the Inter-American Development Bank. She received her master's
degree in international commerce/trade and development from the Patterson
School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky.
Racquel also chairs WIIT's monthly Spanish Language Table.
Dr. Sarita Jackson
serves as the co-editor for the WIIT newsletter. She is currently an adjunct
professor in the Global Business Management and Public Policy department at
the University of Maryland University College. She received her Ph.D. in Political
Science (with an emphasis on Comparative and International Political Economy)
from Brown University.
