Bracing for the Hidden Fallout: Systemic Implications of the Sino-US Trade Disputes at a Time of Changing International Trade Paradigms

Jaemin Lee Seoul National University School of Law
Daehak-dong, Gwanak-gu,Seoul 151-742 Korea
Corresponding Author: jaemin@hanyang.ac.kr
ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract
Global trading regimes are currently undergoing significant changes. It is most vividly shown in the recent spread of FTAs and the surge of protectionism. These fast changes pose new challenges to many countries in terms of formulating and implementing their respective trade policies. The increasing confrontation between the United States and China in trade sectors now operates as a multiplier and accelerator of this fast-changing global trade landscape. Recent disputes between the two have underscored fundamental differences in understandings of the legal framework of the WTO Agreements and the nature of the obligations as Members, thereby further raising questions about the reinvigoration of multilateralism. The two countries' retaliatory initiation of trade disputes against each other also involves third countries because of legal requirements and other considerations. The Sino-US trade disputes are thus not merely confrontation between the two largest trading partners; instead they carry wider systemic implications for both other countries and global trading regimes in transition.

Keywords: Sino-US Trade Dispute, Doha Development Agenda, FTA, Trade Paradigm, WTO DSU

The Full Text is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2013.6.1.03

Unprecedented RTA Practices between the Customs Territories of China

Liang Zhang Sun Yat-sen University, China
School of Law, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, P.R. China, 510275.
Corresponding Author: lzhang774@163.com
ⓒ Copyright YIJUN Institute of International Law
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract
China consists of four customs territories: the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Each customs territory is an independent member of the WTO as well. To strengthen and promote regional economic integration, the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan have concluded the CEPAs and the ECFA, respectively. The CEPAs and the ECFA are not only RTAs under the WTO, but also administrative agreements of China, which are unprecedented practices in the Multilateral Trading System. The implementation of the CEPAs and the ECFA go smoothly, and have been elevated to national policies of China, which will significantly promote the joint economic prosperity and development of the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Keywords : RTA, FTA, CEPA, ECFA, Customs Territories, WTO Rules

The Full Text is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.14330/jeail.2011.4.1.04