Bulletin n. 2-3/2012
October 2012-February 2013
CONTENTS
  • Section A) The theory and practise of the federal states and multi-level systems of government
  • Section B) Global governance and international organizations
  • Section C) Regional integration processes
  • Section D) Federalism as a political idea
    • Adlung, Rudolf - Miroudot, Sbastien
    Poison in the Wine? Tracing GATS-Minus Commitments in Regional Trade Agreements
    in Journal of World Trade , volume 46 n.5 ,  2012 ,  1017-1044
    Commitments in regional trade agreements (RTAs) that fall short of the same countries' obligations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) are a relatively frequent phenomenon. However, they have gone widely unnoticed in the literature to date and drawn little attention in World Trade Organization (WTO) fora. Nevertheless, such 'minus commitments' are poisonous. Given the broad definitional scope of the GATS, extending inter alia to commercial presence, they may affect third-country investors, cast doubts on the status of the respective agreements under the GATS and have severe implications for the trading system overall. Without clear cross-references to existing GATS commitments, many RTAs remain insulated and are virtually impossible to multilateralize. This study seeks to develop a reasonably comprehensive picture of the frequency of 'minus commitments' and their dosage in terms of sectors, measures and modes of supply. It also discusses potential remedies from a WTO perspective.
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