International Trade

The past and present significance of international trade in the global economy has made international trade law one of the most important topics in international relations and international law. In recent years, the agreements that facilitate international trade have become politically controversial, making their future increasingly unclear. This course focuses on the international legal framework for international trade provided by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The course will cover political and economic arguments for and against free trade, the history of the GATT system and the creation of the WTO, and core topics in the WTO s rules on international trade in goods and services. These topics will include WTO dispute settlement, tariffs, quantitative restrictions, principles of non-discrimination (most-favored-nation treatment and national treatment), exceptions to WTO rules, agreements on sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade, trade in services, and intellectual property rights. In covering these topics, the course will address current controversies in international trade and in the WTO system. The course has no pre-requisites, and no knowledge of economics is required. Grades for this course will be based on a final examination.