Student guide Facoltà di Economia A.A. 2011/12

The course aims at analyzing the trade context within which the European Union has to operate. In particular it stresses the main stages of European integration as they relate to commercial issues.  The objective is to allow the students to understand the most important EU policies in the field of international trade and the main principles of the WTO.

1.  The importance of Europe in the world economy.

2.  Theory of economic integration, the EU customs union and the Single Market.

3.  The principles of EU trade policy: multilateralism and the Doha Round.

4.  EU preferential trade agreements.

5.  The new trade policy of the European Union.

6.  Bilateralism versus multilateralism in the EU trade policy.

7. Crisis, trade slump and dangers of protectionism.

8.  Global imbalances and international currency relations.

 

1. The origins of the WTO: the Havana Charter and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

2. The main principles of the system: most-favourite nation

clause, national treatment, prohibition of quantitative restrictions, trade defense measures

3.  The Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and

the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade

4. The role of developing countries in the multilateral

trading system

5.  The exceptions to the system: article XX of the GATT and

non-trade issues

 

Written.

SENIOR NELLO, Susan, The European Union, McGraw-Hill, second edition, 2009

 

Materials to be provided by the lecturer.

 

M. J. TREBILCOCK; R. HOWSE, The Regulation of International Trade, 3^rd Ed., London, 2005.

 

P. Van DEN BOSSCHE, The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization. Text, Cases, Materials. 2^nd Ed., Cambridge, 2008.