The National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR) are a research instrument of the Swiss...

The National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR) are a research instrument ofthe Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) 1


Starting point

• Many coding projects on sub-areas or selected number of treaties

• Little systematic coding on PTAs

• Lots of explanations on why states sign PTAs and what explains design

• Joining forces


The theoretical backdrop to the project

• The signing of preferential trade agreements

• Legalization through international agreements

• The rational design of international institutions/agreements

• Diffusion

• Political and economic effects of trade agreements

• Power

• Forum-shopping/Overlapping Regimes


The population of PTAs

• 494 PTAs between 1945-2009

• Criteria: negotiated, concrete and preferential

• Sources: WTO, Tuck Trade Agreements (Dartmouth), McGill Faculty of Law Preferential Trade Agreements database, bilaterals.org, cuts-citee.org

• Full text and appendices (70 full texts missing)


Design of PTAs

• Market Access (tariff schedules)

• degree of concessions (tariffs and TRQ), speed and depth

• tariff peaks

• exemptions

• export taxes

• Trade facilitation

To be finalized March 2011


Design of PTAs

• Services

• substantive provisions

• 11 broad services sectors

• presence or absence of MFN

• national treatment

• non-establishment

• movement of natural persons clauses


Design of PTAs

• Investment

• sectoral coverage

• scope of non-discrimination provisions

• most-favored nation

• national treatment

• standards of treatment

• transfer of payments

• dispute settlement mechanism

• temporary movement of business and natural people


Design of PTAs

• Intellectual Property Rights

• general statement on IPRs

• IPRs Conventions

• scope of IPRs protection


Design of PTAs

• Government Procurement

• general objective/substantive rules

• national treatment clause

• transparency clause

• reference to the GATT/WTO rules

• scope in terms of entities (government, sub-national governments, state-owned enterprises) and type of purchase (goods and/or services)


Design of PTAs

• Competition

• chapter or single articles

• provisions related to subsidies (allowed, out-ruled, specific references to the GATT/WTO)

• scope (monopolies and cartels, mergers and acquisitions, state trading enterprises, state aid, structural adjustment provisions)

• degree of cooperation measured (from general obligation not to distort competition to creation of common competition authority).


Design of PTAs

• Trade Defence Instruments

• anti-dumping, countervailing duties, and safeguards provisions (allowed, out-ruled, specific references to the GATT/WTO)

• balance of payment provisions


Design of PTAs

• TBT and SPS Measures

• general provisions

• references to GATT/WTO provisions

• cooperation and information exchange

• TBT: provisions stipulating the harmonization of rules (reference to standards)


Design of PTAs

•Dispute Settlement

• existence of provisions

• degree of delegation

• choice of dispute settlement forum

• implementation (bindingness and sanctions)

• exemptions.


Design of PTAs

•Non-trade issues (“political” issues)

• pre-amble or text

• areas: 1) corruption, 2) labour standards, 3) environmental protection, 4) human rights, 5) democracy, 6) security and 7) social development, 8) open category

To be finalized by December 2010.


Coding work organization and reliability tests

• 11 coders in Bern, Geneva, Lucca, and Salzburg

• preparation and coaching

• first reliability test encouraging

• to be followed by: second round of coding (random sub-samples)

• other topics (energy, transport)

• next steps: finalizing first round, find missing treaties,


Thank you for your attention!

The National Centres of Competence in Research (NCCR) are a research instrument of the Swiss...

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