06.09.2021 Views

International Trade - Theory and Policy, 2010a

International Trade - Theory and Policy, 2010a

International Trade - Theory and Policy, 2010a

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

years earlier. So VERs were negotiated on exports of synthetic fibers, first from Japan <strong>and</strong> eventually from<br />

many other Southeast Asian nations. These bilateral VERs continued until eventually exporters <strong>and</strong><br />

importers of textile products around the world held a multilateral negotiation resulting in the Multi-Fiber<br />

Agreement (MFA) in 1974. The MFA specified quotas on exports from all major exporting countries to all<br />

major importing countries. Essentially, it represented a complex arrangement of multilateral VERs.<br />

The MFA was renewed periodically throughout the 1970s, 1980s, <strong>and</strong> 1990s, <strong>and</strong> it represented a<br />

significant setback in the pursuit of trade liberalization. Thus, as a part of the Uruguay Round discussions,<br />

countries agreed to a significant overhaul of the MFA. First, the agreement was brought under the control<br />

of the WTO <strong>and</strong> renamed the Agreement on Textiles <strong>and</strong> Clothing (ATC). Second, countries decided to<br />

phase out the quotas completely over a ten-year transition period ending on January 1, 2005.<br />

That transition to a quota-less industry did occur as scheduled; however, it is worth noting that many<br />

countries continue to maintain higher-than-average tariffs on textile <strong>and</strong> apparel products. Therefore, one<br />

still cannot say that free trade has been achieved.<br />

<strong>Trade</strong>-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)<br />

One major expansion of coverage of a trade liberalization agreement was the inclusion of intellectual<br />

property rights (IPR) into the discussion during the Uruguay Round. IPR covers the protections of written<br />

materials (copyrights), inventions (patents), <strong>and</strong> br<strong>and</strong> names <strong>and</strong> logos (trademarks). Most countries<br />

have established monopoly provisions for these types of creations in order to spur the creation of new<br />

writing <strong>and</strong> inventions <strong>and</strong> to protect the investments made in the establishment of trademarks. However,<br />

many of these protections have been unequally enforced around the world, resulting in a substantial<br />

amount of counterfeiting <strong>and</strong> pirating. The world is abound in fake CDs <strong>and</strong> DVDs, Gucci <strong>and</strong> Coach<br />

purses, <strong>and</strong> of course the international favorite, Rolex watches.<br />

To harmonize the IPR protections around the world <strong>and</strong> to encourage enforcement of these provisions,<br />

countries created an IPR agreement called the <strong>Trade</strong>-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights<br />

Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books<br />

Saylor.org<br />

44

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!