What Can Researchers Learn From the Suspension of the Doha Round Negotiations in 2006?

The Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations was suspended for almost six months in 2006. The purpose of this paper is to ask what scholars can learn about the political economy of reciprocal trade liberalisation from this suspension. Specifically, four potential explanations for this suspension are examined and, in turn, these suggest a number of questions that researchers and interested analysts may wish to pursue in the future.Trade policy, WTO, Doha Round, multilateral trade reform, reciprocal trade reform

The Cross Border Mergers and Acquisitions Wave of the Late 1990s

To establish a benchmark, the cross border mergers and acquisitions wave of the late 1990s is compared to its predecessor in the late 1980s. It is found to be at least five times larger (in real terms), to involve firms from more OECD nations, and to include many more service sector transactions. However, in comparison to the size of national stock market capitalizations, foreign mergers with and acquisitions of domestic firms during this latest wave were small, especially in the Group of Seven leading industrial economies. The effect of cross border mergers and acquisitions on performance in one important service sector, banking, is also examined. Specifically, the relative importance of cross border mergers and acquisitions, domestic mergers and acquisitions, domestic entry and exit, and strategic alliances and joint ventures for interest rate spreads was estimated for 13 industrial nations. The principal findings suggest that the effects of these firm-driven changes in banking market structure differ markedly between EU member states and non-EU industrialized economies. This highlights the importance of differentiating between types of cross border inter-firm agreements and the pitfalls of generalising about the effects of the latest wave of cross border mergers and acquisitions as many of the harshest critics of globalization do.

EU Commercial Policy in a Multipolar Trading System

In recent years the bipolar multilateral trading system of the post-war years has given way to a multipolar alternative. Although many specifics have yet to be determined, some contours of this new trade policy landscape are coming into focus and in this short essay I examine their implications for the European Union's external commercial policy. Particular attention is given to both the state of business-government relations and the propensity to liberalise under the auspices of reciprocal trade agreements by Brazil, India, and China; the potential new poles of the world trading system. I consider the likely consequences of these developments, plus factors internal to both the European Union and the United States, for the possible content of future multilateral trade initiatives.WTO, European Union, regional trade agreements, BRICs

The Trade Policy Jungle: A Survival Guide for Academic Economists

The rules of the trade policy arena differ from those in academia. How can an economic researcher survive, let alone thrive, in what may appear to be a trade policy jungle? The purpose of this paper is not just to offer guidance in this respect but also to think through the factors that determine the supply and demand for timely, relevant policy-relevant insights into commercial policy matters. Understanding the latter provides much of the rationale for the former. Advice follows analysis, as it should do. Economic researchers have certain advantages that they can make immediate use of in the jungle and maybe some baggage that they would do well to shed.International Relations/Trade,

Do all networks facilitate international commerce? US law firms and the international market for corporate control

This paper estimates the effects of several American law firms' international networks of offices on the total value of overseas mergers and acquisitions (M&A) by US corporations. Nowadays many nations can review proposed mergers and US law firms help clients overcome such regulatory hurdles, effectively greasing the market for corporate control. However, they can also oppose transactions that are inimical to their clients' interests. I present evidence that suggests that Baker & McKenzie the US law firm with the most overseas offices has facilitated such transactions, whereas the combined effect of the next five largest American law firms has tended to reduce such M&A.

The Trade Strategy of the European Union: Time for a Rethink?

The European Union is the world's largest trader, a fact that on the face of it ought to convert into considerable clout in international commercial negotiations. Yet, since the World Trade Organization's (WTO's) creation in 1995, it is difficult to point to a string of successes for the European Commission's (EC's) often beleaguered trade negotiators. Even the enthusiasm associated with the launch of the Doha Round in 2001 has dissipated as these negotiations have repeatedly stalled, with many questioning what can feasibly be accomplished at the WTO in the near to medium term. A 2006 EC decision to abandon its moratorium on negotiating new free trade agreements seems more of a stop-gap measure to maintain some negotiating momentum than a systematic strategy to leverage European clout. Worse, it carries the risk of seriously undermining the multilateral trading system if EC negotiations with Korea tempt Japan, and in turn possibly even the United States, to eventually seek preferential access to the European Union's markets. With so little to show for the last 10 years and the future of the multilateral trading system decidedly uncertain, a fundamental rethink of the ends and means of European trade policy is in order. That rethink needs to take account of the following realities: a shift away from a bipolar towards a multi-polar WTO; recognition of the fact that the principal liberalising accomplishment to date of the multilateral trading system has been the freeing of manufactured goods trade between industrialised countries and that many other potential reforms have either stalled or proved, on implementation, to be highly controversial; substantial opposition among many prominent groups in the leading trading powers to further trade reform (even in countries experiencing fast economic growth or export growth); and a greater emphasis on signing bilateral and regional free trade agreements (whose liberalising intent and impact is often highly circumscribed). Once the superficial attractions associated with the scramble for preferential market access in Asia fade, European trade policymakers ought to confront these realities. At a minimum, the search will then be on for a modus vivendi with the new trading powers. This will require thought to be given to the likely future offensive and defensive commercial interests of all concerned, bearing in mind the differences in level of development and overseas corporate exposure and organisation. The ultimate goal should be to identify the potential basis for future multilateral trade accords. Properly conceived, future European trade strategy could contribute significantly to the renewal of one of the most successful post-war international economic institutions.European Union, commercial policy, trade policy, WTO

EU Commercial Policy in a Multipolar Trading System

In recent years the bipolar multilateral trading system of the post-war years has given way to a multipolar alternative. Although many specifics have yet to be determined, some contours of this new trade policy landscape are coming into focus. This article examines their implications for the EU's external commercial policy. Particular attention is given to both the state of business-government relations and the propensity to liberalise under the auspices of reciprocal trade agreements by Brazil, India, and China, the potential new poles of the world trading syste

A Snapshot of contemporary protectionism: How important are the murkier forms of trade discrimination?

This paper provides a snapshot of current protectionist dynamics making extensive use of the GTA database. Two methods of estimating the trade covered by crisis-era protectionism are also examined.Protectionism, murkier, trade discrimination