The Evolution of the Trade Regime : : Politics, Law, and Economics of the GATT and the WTO / / John H. Barton, Richard H. Steinberg, Timothy E. Josling, Judith L. Goldstein.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press eBook-Package Backlist 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Barton, John H.,; Goldstein, Judith L.,; Josling, Timothy E.,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2010]; ©2006
• Year of Publication: 2010
• Edition: Core Textbook
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (256 p.) :; 11 line illus. 11 tables.

The Evolution of the Trade Regime offers a comprehensive political-economic history of the development of the world's multilateral trade institutions, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and its successor, the World Trade Organization (WTO). While other books confine themselves to describing contemporary GATT/WTO legal rules or analyzing their economic logic, this is the first to explain the logic and development behind these rules. The book begins by examining the institutions' rules, principles, practices, and norms from their genesis in the early postwar period to the present. It evaluates the extent to which changes in these institutional attributes have helped maintain or rebuild domestic constituencies for open markets. The book considers these questions by looking at the political, legal, and economic foundations of the trade regime from many angles. The authors conclude that throughout most of GATT/WTO history, power politics fundamentally shaped the creation and evolution of the GATT/WTO system. Yet in recent years, many aspects of the trade regime have failed to keep pace with shifts in underlying material interests and ideas, and the challenges presented by expanding membership and preferential trade agreements.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Illustrations, Box, and Tables -- Preface -- One. Political Analysis of the Trade Regime -- Two. Creating Constituencies and Rules for Open Markets -- Three. The Politics of the GATT/WTO Legal System: Legislative and Judicial Processes -- Four. Expanding Trade Rules and Conventions: Designing New Agreements at the Border -- Five. Extending Trade Rules to Domestic Regulations: Developing "Behind the Border" Instruments -- Six. Expansion of GATT/WTO Membership and the Proliferation of Regional Groups -- Seven. Accommodating Nonstate Actors: Representation of Interests, Ideas, and Information in a State-Centric System -- Eight. Conclusions -- Bibliography -- Index