Trade Liberalization and Institutional Constraints on Moves to Protectionism: Multilateralism vs. Regionalism

Ian M. Sheldon, Daniel C.K. Chow and William McGuire

No 266305, 2018 Allied Social Sciences Association (ASSA) Annual Meeting, January 5-7, 2018, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from Agricultural and Applied Economics Association

Abstract: In this paper, two key questions are asked: why has the GATT/WTO worked in terms of multilateral tariff reduction and promotion of global trade, and to what extent will it act as a constraint on economic nationalism? To answer these two questions, three themes are laid out in the paper: first, the seminal economic model rationalizing the economic logic of the GATT/WTO is assessed; second, the perceived relevance of the GATT/WTO in a world of increasing regionalism is discussed; and third, the robustness of the GATT/WTO legal framework and dispute resolution mechanism is evaluated. The key conclusion of the paper is that the underlying economic logic of the GATT/WTO is still relevant, but that enforcement of the cooperative agreement will likely be placed under significant strain with threat of increased protection, and even a potential trade war.

Keywords: Institutional and Behavioral Economics; International Relations/Trade (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32
Date: 2017-12-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:assa18:266305

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.266305

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