Im Regelwerk des „General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade“ (GATT) werden seit langer Zeit nichttarifäre Handelshemmnisse bei gleichem Außenschutz als wesentlich problematischere handelspolitische Instrumente angesehen als tarifäre Handelshemmnisse. Ein bedeutender Grund ist, dass...

Institutions should reduce uncertainty and the costs of transaction with their regulating activities. This target was pursued at an international level with the foundation of the WTO. With an extensive treaty and a new dispute settlement procedure, the WTO was founded as the institutional...

Economic theory posits that the removal of impediments to trade should redound to improvement in the overall well-being of all nations. Unfortunately, for many developing countries, this has not been the case; upon significantly reducing their tariffs, they are yet to see any tangible benefits....

Geographical Indications (GIs) are names of regions, specific places or, in exceptional cases, countries, used to describe an agricultural product or a foodstuff (EC 510/2006, Art. 2). They have received much attention in the last years not only at the European level, where they stem from, but...

Among developing countries, one can identify both proponents and opponents of extending the use of geographical indications (GIs) beyond wines and spirits. Such an extension is currently being discussed under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of the...

The problem of invasive pests and diseases has become more urgent and far more complex today than in the recent past. Increased trade and movement of people, and the opening up of new trade routes have increased opportunities for the spread of invasive species. In addition, mono-cropping systems...

Article 22 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) of the WTO offers, as last resort countermeasures, withdrawal of the concessions the state parties had agreed to in their schedules of commitments. The problem is that such a withdrawal of concessions would have very little impact on the...

There are two basic types of legal regime for the protection of geographical indications (GIs). Some systems, notably that of the European Union, define and treat GIs as a distinct type of intellectual property. This approach is also reflected in the provisions concerning GIs in the Agreement on...

This article provides an overview of the provisions on geographical indications contained in the TRIPS Agreement and how they came about in the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations, which took place from 1986 to 1994 and resulted in the establishment of the World Trade Organization....

Economic theory posits that the removal of impediments to trade should redound to improvement in the overall well-being of all nations. Unfortunately, for many developing countries, this has not been the case; upon significantly reducing their tariffs, they are yet to see any tangible benefits....