WTO多边投资规则对中国企业“走出去”的影响

国际直接投资已成为全球经济增长的重要动力,因此,就投资问题制订相关的国际投资规范是世界各国和众多国际组织一直以来努力的方向。本文在对WTO框架下的投资规则进行解读认为,WTO多边投资规则虽然在一定程度上促进贸易与投资自由化,并便利国际投资,但其协议范围的有限性和协议之间缺乏协调性约束了该职能的发挥。WTO多边投资规则在为中国企业"走出去"提供了国际制度保障同时,抑制作用不可忽视。     

试论竞争法对国内市场的保护

<正> 一、管制跨国贸易中的不正当竞争行为 在跨国贸易中,受竞争法管制的主要是限制性竞争行为。依《联合国关于控制限制性商业行为的多边协议的公平原则和规则》,该行为指凡是通过滥用或谋取滥用市场力量的支配地位,限制进入市场或以其他方式不适当限制竞争,对国际贸易特别是发展中国家的国际贸易及其经济发展造成不利影响的企业之间的各种协议以及其他安排。     

活用GATS国民待遇规则

作为世界贸易组织制定的新协议之一，《服务贸易总协定》(General Ag eement on Trade of Service，以下简称GATS)建立了世界上第一套关于政府管制服务贸易的有约束力的多边规则，第一次使服务贸易并入了世界性的多边贸易体制之中。而在GATS所涉的诸多问题中，国民待遇(National Treatment)问题具有至关重要的意义。     

TPP规则研究

继2013年上海自由贸易试验区成立之后,我国又在广东、天津和福建分别设立自贸区。这是改革开放发展到了新阶段,党中央作出的一项重大战略部署,也是我国应对国内外各种挑战的一个必然选择。作为中国全面融入全球和区域经济一体化之前的一次深度"试水",自贸区建设承载了"制度创新、先行先试"的使命,这既是对国内旧体制和旧制度的突破,也包含着对国际新标准和新规则的研究。相比之下,后者的意义更大,因为旧体制和旧制度被突破之际,同时也是新标准和新规则的适用之时。TPP协议的签署标志着新一代国际贸易与投资规则的诞生,同时也预示着多边体制开始向劳工标准、环境保护、竞争政策这些交叉领域渗透。深入研究这些规则,不仅是我国自贸区寻找"先行先试"现实版本的需要,更重要的是为我国参与下一轮国际竞争做好充分准备。     

WTO/FTA动态

商务部:服务贸易诸边协议不应干扰多哈谈判进程3月18日,商务部部长陈德铭在出席"中国发展高层论坛2012"年会时表示,世贸组织会员国关于服务贸易诸边协议与多哈回合谈判是两码事,这一讨论不应干扰多哈回合谈判进程。他同时表示,WTO成员间的所有协议应通过多边渠道,而不是在诸边范围内讨论,诸边服务贸易的讨论是开放、透明和包容的。     

WTO规则溢出的隐患及中国应对

正所谓"WTO规则溢出"是指在WTO例外规则允许下形成的协议和条款,外溢于WTO正式规则,既不违规又自成体系。其中在区域经济一体化例外规则前提下形成的诸多双边和多边区域经济一体化协定最具代表性,影响也最大,大有取代WTO规则之势,本文所称的"WTO规则溢出"或"WTO溢出的规则"即特指这类协定。这类协定对中国经济发展影响巨大,应引起各方高度重视。     

区域服务贸易安排“特惠实质”的政治经济分析

区域服务贸易安排的不断蔓延标志着世界服务贸易的管理模式正在发生变化。本文基于与多边服务贸易自由化安排相对照的视角,对区域服务贸易安排提供的特惠待遇内容及实质展开政治经济分析。研究结果显示,由于区域服务贸易安排内涵着重要的"特惠侵蚀"机制:一是引入"非成员最惠国待遇条款",二是设立相对自由的服务原产地规则,实际付诸实施的区域服务贸易"特惠待遇"远不如根据协定文本测算得那么显著。从"服务"的特殊属性出发,本文指出有一系列的政治经济因素会促使区域服务贸易安排具有更强的将特惠承诺向区外扩展适用的潜在动力。区域服务贸易"特惠待遇"在本质上具有"渗漏性"这点会有助于推进多边服务贸易自由化进程。     

中国参与区域服务贸易自由化机制与对策研究

中国对外签订区域服务贸易协议的对象多数来自于亚洲和拉美的发展中经济体,呈现出从"货物先行"向"货服并行"转变的趋势。在区域服务贸易自由化机制设计方面,中国引入了四大创新因素:服务贸易规则和投资规则"分立"构架且各自的适用范围界定明确;尝试构建服务贸易紧急保障制度;设置更加严格的服务贸易政策审议机制;针对特定缔约对象采取相对宽泛的服务原产地规则。中国应该从国内规制改革和服务部门开放顺序选择方面做好战略谋划与策略应对。     

世界贸易组织中的适当贸易保护问题

<正> 1995年1月1日开始起动的世界贸易组织的基本宗旨是通过建立一个开放、完整、健全和持久的多边贸易体制,以促进世界货物和服务贸易的发展,合理有效地利用世界资源来改善生活质量,扩大就业,确保实际收益和有效需求的稳定增长。从这一基本宗旨出发,世界贸易组织(WTO)在贸易自由化方面又向前迈进了一步,签订了包括13个多边货物贸易协定、服务贸易总协定、知识产权保护协议、争端解决规则与程序谅解、贸易政策审议机制及多个诸边协议。这一系列协定和协议为协调多边贸易关系和解决贸易争端以及规范国际贸易竞争规则打下了良好的基础。     

中国在WTO十年的经验：实现多边体系下的国家利益仍需双边和国内的积极努力

中国加入WTO的十年是多哈回合谈判启动并陷于僵滞的十年,也是WTO成员国的双边或地区自由贸易协议快速发展的十年。对于自由贸易协议发展和WTO多边谈判停滞的并存,无论谁是起因,它们已经互为因果——自由贸易协议的发展使成员国更不热衷WTO多边谈判,而WTO多边谈判的停滞使成员国更热衷发展自由贸易协议。     

TTIP – Probleme und Chancen

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is the most important trade policy decision that European leaders have faced in many years. The new generation of free trade agreements, including TTIP, aim at deep economic integration. Thus, they are essentially focused upon the removal or alignment of standards, regulations and administrative procedures that impede international trade and investment. Therefore, TTIP goes beyond the dimensions of traditional preferential trade agreements in the sense that it not only concerns tariffs and non tariff barriers to trade in goods, but it also concerns trade in services and the foreign investment environment. Regulatory cooperation under TTIP might thus well extend into core domains of public policy, including health and food safety or environmental regulation. Regulation, however, confers both benefits and costs to society. A proper assessment of TTIP must therefore also consider the benefits of regulation to society and must embed regulatory cooperation between the EU and US into a firm democratic framework. The potential of such an agreement is substantial, due to improved market access, regulatory cooperation and greater global reach, while the downside risk is limited. While some of the arguments critical of TTIP are justified, others seem rather excessive and seem intent on stirring up unnecessary anxiety among the population. An objective and constructive discussion is crucial to ensure that the needs of the population are heard during the negotiation process and that an agreement capable of achieving majority support can be concluded. The debate over TTIP has to consider not only the economic effects of increased trade but also the legal and political dimensions of the trade agreement.     

The value of market access and national treatment commitments in services trade agreements

This paper looks at market access and national treatment commitments for services in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and in 95 regional trade agreements (RTAs) involving the countries that are covered in the OECD Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI). The objective is to quantify the impact of legal bindings on trade in services that result from a reduction in the uncertainty faced by exporters. Bilateral bindings indices are created for five broad service sectors (professional services, computer services, telecoms, financial services and transport services). They indicate how close the sector is from a fully bound regime with no possibility to introduce any new trade barrier, by comparing commitments with the actual trade regime. These bilateral indices are then tested over the period 2000–2014 in a structural gravity model. Despite differences across sectors, the results confirm that the legal bindings typically found in services trade agreements tend to have a positive impact on exports even if no actual liberalisation takes place.     

Making EU Trade Agreements Work: The Role of Rules of Origin

A key element of the EU's free trade and preferential trade agreements is the extent to which they deliver improved market access and so contribute to the EU's foreign policy objectives towards developing countries and neighbouring countries in Europe, including the countries of the Balkans. Previous preferential trade schemes have been ineffective in delivering improved access to the EU market since only a small proportion of the available preferences have actually been utilised. The main reason for this is probably the very restrictive rules of origin that the EU imposes, coupled with the costs of proving consistency with these rules. If the EU wants the ‘Everything but Arms’ agreement and free trade agreements with countries in the Balkans to generate substantial improvements in access to the EU market for products from these countries then it will have to reconsider the current rules of origin and implement less restrictive rules backed up by a careful safeguards policy..     

国际贸易规则重构之非正式规则研究

在经济全球化的大背景下,国际贸易模式正经历着深刻变革,加速了国际贸易规则的重构。非正式规则作为传统多边国际贸易协议以及区域性自由贸易协定的补充和调整,其超越了传统国际造法的范畴,没有法律约束力,却为市场主要参与者高度认同且普遍遵守,因此能够有效避免和解决国际贸易争端、维持国际贸易秩序的稳定,并且免受国家政治、军事、经济等实力的影响。对非正式规则的研究,有助于我国参与到国际贸易规则重构中去。     

Trade Wars: The Exaggerated Impact of Trade in Economic Debate

The rules governing trade and capital flows have been at the centre of controversy as globalisation has proceeded. One reason is the belief that trade and capital flows have massive effects on the labour market – either positive, per the claims of international financial institutions and free trade enthusiasts, or negative, per the ubiquitous protestors at WTO, IMF and World Bank meetings demanding global labour standards. Comparing the claims made in this debate with the outcomes of trade agreements, this paper finds that the debate has exaggerated the effects of trade on economies and the labour market. Changes in trade policy have had modest impacts on the labour market. Other aspects of globalisation – immigration, capital flows and technology transfer – have greater impacts, with volatile capital flows creating great risk for the well-being of workers. As for labour standards, global standards do not threaten the comparative advantage of developing countries nor do poor labour standards create a ‘race to the bottom’.     

中国自贸区建设现状及其对策研究

近年来,中国加快了自贸区建设的推进速度,截至2019年底,已签订了17个自贸协定。相对而言,中国签订的自贸协定规则覆盖面还比较小、规则标准还比较低。与此同时,以CPTPP、USMCA协定为代表的高标准自贸协定,形成了数字贸易规则、知识产权规则、国有企业规则等多个非传统领域规则。我国应坚持长期宏观战略利益高于短期经济利益、先广覆盖后高标准价值导向和大型新兴经济体与发达经济体自贸谈判并重的原则,从组织上建立直属于最高决策机构的高标准自贸区战略机构、加强对非传统领域议题的整理与研究、建立针对新规则的损益衡量指标体系、健全高标准自贸区谈判的产业受损补偿机制,加快推进我国高标准自贸区建设。     

全球价值链分工下区域贸易协定能降低服务贸易成本吗

全球价值链分工下服务的作用愈发凸显,服务贸易的新形式丰富了区域贸易协定影响服务贸易成本的渠道。本文从中间投入和最终需求两个维度分析了区域贸易协定对不同类型服务贸易成本的影响效果和机制。结果表明:单纯签订区域贸易协定对服务贸易成本的抑制作用并不显著,提高区域贸易协定的深度将显著降低服务贸易成本。区域贸易协定可以显著降低中间投入服务贸易成本,对最终需求服务贸易成本的抑制效应不显著。区域贸易协定的服务贸易自由化效果存在非对称性,北北型区域贸易协定对服务贸易成本的抑制效应强于南北型。北北型区域贸易协定可以通过减少监管分歧和货物贸易自由化效果外溢两条途径降低服务贸易成本,南北型区域贸易协定则仅可以通过货物贸易自由化的外溢效应来降低服务贸易成本。因此,中国应积极与发达国家开展高质量区域贸易协定谈判,通过提高区域贸易协定深度充分发挥其服务贸易自由化效果。     

Feasible multilateralism and the effects of regionalism

Recent research shows that the GATT/WTO negotiating rules are capable of delivering a politically efficient equilibrium. Such an equilibrium is, however, economically inefficient. Global free trade, in particular, is unattainable even in a fully cooperative world, if governments have political motivations. In such a context, we show that regional trade agreements can help move the world towards a welfare-superior equilibrium. The reason is that, when members of regional trade agreements lower trade barriers against one another, they tend to reduce their multilateral tariffs as well. Once we account for these endogenous changes—and only then—we find that regionalism can raise world welfare even in a fully cooperative (but political) world. Regional integration can, however, harm outsiders.