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Multilateral trade negotiations, bilateral opportunism and the rules of GATT/WTO

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Author Info
Kyle Bagwell () (Columbia University - Department of Economics)
Robert W. Staiger () (National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER))

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Abstract

Trade negotiations occur through time and between the governments of many countries. An important issue is thus whether the value of concessions that a government wins in a current negotiation may be eroded in a future bilateral negotiation to which it is not party. We identify rules of negotiation that serve to protect the welfare of governments that are not participating in the bilateral negotiation. Our main finding is that the two central principles of GATT/WTO - non-discrimination (MFN) and reciprocity - preserve the welfare of non-participating governments and therefore offer a "first-line of defense" against bilateral opportunism. We argue that the GATT/WTO nullification-or-impairment rule then constitutes an important "second-line of defense." Finally, we confirm that in the absence of rules, or under weaker rules (e.g., MFN alone), the potential for bilateral opportunism can be severe.

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Paper provided by Columbia University, Department of Economics in its series Discussion Papers with number 0102-37.

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Length: 42 pages
Date of creation: 2002
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Handle: RePEc:clu:wpaper:0102-37

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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  4. Grossman, Gene M & Helpman, Elhanan, 1995. "Trade Wars and Trade Talks," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(4), pages 675-708, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Mayer, Wolfgang, 1984. "Endogenous Tariff Formation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(5), pages 970-85, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Kyle Bagwell & Robert W. Staiger, 1999. "An Economic Theory of GATT," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(1), pages 215-248, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Armando Gomes, . "A Theory of Negotiations and Formation of Coalitions," Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research Working Papers 21-99, Wharton School Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Robert W. Staiger, 1994. "International Rules and Institutions for Trade Policy," NBER Working Papers 4962, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Kyle Bagwell & Robert W. Staiger, 2001. "Domestic Policies, National Sovereignty, And International Economic Institutions," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 116(2), pages 519-562, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Hillman, Arye L, 1982. "Declining Industries and Political-Support Protectionist Motives," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 72(5), pages 1180-87, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. repec:att:wimass:1919996 is not listed on IDEAS
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  13. Horn, Henrik & Mavroidis, Petros C., 2001. "Economic and legal aspects of the Most-Favored-Nation clause," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 233-279, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  14. Ray, Debraj & Vohra, Rajiv, 1999. "A Theory of Endogenous Coalition Structures," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 286-336, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  15. McAfee, R Preston & Schwartz, Marius, 1994. "Opportunism in Multilateral Vertical Contracting: Nondiscrimination, Exclusivity, and Uniformity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(1), pages 210-30, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  17. Paul Krugman, 1991. "The move toward free trade zones," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, issue Nov, pages 5-25. [Downloadable!]
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  18. Kyle Bagwell & Robert W. Staiger, 1999. "Multilateral Trade Negotiations, Bilateral Opportunism and the Rules of GATT," NBER Working Papers 7071, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  20. Kyle Bagwell & Robert W. Staiger, 1997. "Regionalism and Multilateral Tariff Cooperation," NBER Working Papers 5921, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  1. Hector Calvo-Pardo & Caroline Freund & Emanuel Ornelas, 2009. "The ASEAN Free Trade Agreement: Impact on Trade Flows and External Trade Barriers," CEP Discussion Papers dp0930, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
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  2. Ronald Davies, 2004. "Tax Treaties and Foreign Direct Investment: Potential versus Performance," Asia-Pacific Financial Markets, Springer, vol. 11(6), pages 775-802, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Chad P. Bown, 2004. ""How Different Are Safeguards from Antidumping? Evidence from US Trade Policies Toward Steel"," Econometric Society 2004 North American Summer Meetings 434, Econometric Society. [Downloadable!]
  4. Nathan M Jensen, 2005. "International Institutions and Market Expectations: Stock Price Responses to the WTO Ruling on the 2002 U.S. Steel Tariffs," International Trade 0512008, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  5. Subramanian, Arvind & Wei, Shang-Jin, 2005. "The WTO Promotes Trade, Strongly But Unevenly," CEPR Discussion Papers 5122, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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