Why did it take only a couple of years for the CECs' ostensibly liberal trade regimes to be so much undermined by piecemeal protectionism? First, CEC trade policies were based on the wrong belief that regional disciplines were a good substitute for non-discriminatory world-wide disciplines....

This paper empirically tests the link between trade openness and enterprise restructuring in Bulgaria. It belongs to a recent line of work in the empirical trade literature that investigates the effects of trade policy on firm behaviour. The trade liberalization following the 1991 economic...

Major changes have occurred in the structure of former centrally planned economies, including a sharp rise in the share of services in GDP, employment and international transactions. However, large differences exist across transition economies with respect to services intensity and services...

Rules of origin form part of the traditional trade policy landscape. They are necessary for any government that seeks to distinguish between different foreign sources of supply of a product. This paper provides a basic introduction to the conceptual issues that arise in this area. It discusses...

This Paper discusses the challenges confronting developing countries seeking to overcome discrimination in world trade rules and policies. The major sources of discrimination in both developed and developing countries in the areas of market access opportunities and WTO disciplines are briefly...

Motivated by discussions in the World Trade Organization (WTO) on multilateral disciplines with respect to competition law, we develop a two-country model that explores the incentives of a less-developed country (LDC) to offer increased market access (via a tariff reduction) in exchange for a...

Poor countries are rarely challenged in formal WTO trade disputes for failing to live up to commitments, reducing the benefits of their participation in international trade agreements. This paper examines the political-economic causes of the failure to challenge poor countries and discusses the...

This Paper analyses what actions could be taken in the context of the WTO Doha negotiations to assist countries to benefit from deeper trade integration. It discusses the policy agenda that confronts many developing countries and identifies a number of focal points that could be used both as...

High levels of protection and domestic support for farmers in developed countries significantly affect many least developed countries (LDCs), both directly and through the price-depressing effect of agricultural support policies. High tariffs and domestic support may also lower the world price...

With the reintroduction of agriculture and textiles and clothing into the GATT, the absence of general rules on procurement has become the major `hole' in the coverage of the GATT. This paper provides an analysis of the new Government Procurement Agreement that was negotiated between a subset of...