Trade agreement

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Trade Agreement ( English trade agreement ) is an international agreement between at least two states , in which the contractor the trade of foreign trade in mutual imports and exports settle for a certain period of time.

General

A state's foreign trade policy also includes the conclusion of trade agreements and free trade agreements . These are considered the first preliminary stage in the economic integration of economies . They are therefore an important building block for the development of world trade . Trade agreements are mostly long-term and facilitate foreign trade. This is made up of the individual transactions of the exporters and importers involved , which must be based on the principles agreed in the trade agreement. Although export or import is possible without an underlying trade agreement, the processing of each individual transaction is very cumbersome ( e.g. customs controls ). In 1972, for example, the USA and Canada did all of their trade with the East without a trade agreement; this also applied to German trade with China or to a large part of Japanese trade with the East at that time.

species

There are bilateral and multilateral trade agreements:

All trade agreements are therefore based on a contractual basis, with international law mostly applicable. Bilateral trade agreements are easier to conclude because the number of negotiating partners and their interests is more manageable.

content

The contractors regulate on the basis of reciprocity, the free trade and dispense with it on mutual trade barriers such as tariffs , import quotas or export licenses , trade sanctions and prohibitions as embargo . Trade and payment agreements also regulate the terms of payment or international credit transactions and the amount of any swing . Also investment protection agreements may be subject to trade agreements. The content of every trade agreement in Germany must comply with the provisions of § 4 AWG and § 5 AWG, which impose trade restrictions (for example for weapons , ammunition and other armaments ).

history

The world's first bilateral trade agreements in antiquity discriminated against the countries that were not favored by them. In the trade agreements concluded between Rome and Carthage as early as 348 BC , the main aim was to maintain Carthaginian supremacy in Mediterranean trade, and Rome was ready to make far-reaching concessions to Carthage, since trade policy interests were not in the foreground at the time. Carthage’s only goal was to eliminate economic competitors. Even in the second treaty of 306, the Romans had to accept significantly less favorable conditions (travel bans for Roman ships). Since about 120 BC There were trade agreements between Rome and Noricum . Around 408 AD there was a trade agreement between Rome and Persia . According to tradition, the Arab traders of the Quraishites concluded trade agreements with the Romans and the Syrian Ghassanids , the Negus (Ethiopia), Persia and the Himyarites in Yemen. Prokopios of Caesarea reported a failed trade agreement for the year 531. Emperor Justinian I concluded a trade agreement with Ethiopia , according to which the country should obtain silk from India and sell it on to Rome. However, Ethiopia was not able to fulfill the contract because the Ethiopian traders could not buy silk in India because the Persian merchants everywhere came before them.

There was a famous trade agreement in 1189 between Prince Yaroslav of Novgorod and Low German travelers to Russia. In 1229, the German residents signed a trade agreement with the Smolensk Prince , which regulated the rights of Germans in trade with Russians. Moldova and England signed a trade agreement in 1588. The Methuen Treaty between England and Portugal of December 1703 provided that England was allowed to export textiles to Portugal and the Portuguese colonies without hindrance and at preferential tariffs , while Portugal could export its products to England just as freely, in particular port wine and wine . King Rama IV of Siam signed a bilateral trade agreement with England in May 1855. Leo von Caprivi's foreign policy interests were primarily the conclusion of trade agreements with neighboring countries. In view of the economic downturn, poor harvests and rising grain prices, he negotiated a series of trade agreements with Austria-Hungary , Belgium , Italy and Switzerland starting in 1891 , in which the import duties on wheat and rye were lowered for the partners.

The global economic crisis that began in October 1929 caused many states to introduce mutual import restrictions or tighten existing ones because of the recession . This in turn allowed other states to take countermeasures, which intensified the global economic crisis. The consequences of this protectionism were drawn internationally after the Second World War . Although the International Trade Organization (ITO) planned for 1944 was not established , the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GATT followed in January 1948 as the first major multilateral trade agreement. It was based on the principle of equal treatment , in which all trading partners of a country are granted the same tariff concessions. It prohibited discrimination , with exceptions to the prohibition of quantitative restrictions being made to apply to all members. The Federal Republic of Germany did not join the agreement until October 1951. For example, it had previously signed a bilateral trade agreement with Finland in September 1948 . The World Trade Organization (WTO) replaced GATT in January 1995. The number of regional trade agreements notified to the WTO and entered into force rose from two in 1958 to 37 in 1993; in 2008 the number was 213, and in 2015 the number rose to 406.

The WTO invites you to multilateral trade talks on specific topics, known as the “ world trade round ”. The Uruguay Round of September 1986 decided to replace the GATT by the WTO, which was confirmed by signature in April 1994. The Seattle Round that followed in November 1999 brought a record participation of 135 states, but it failed due to resistance from developing countries . The failure of the Doha Round , which had also been in session since November 2001, prompted many WTO members to conclude bilateral trade agreements. There are currently 406 regional and bilateral agreements in force. Bilateral agreements hinder world trade because they only allow the contracting parties concerned access to the market and discriminate against third countries .

Since the Treaty of Lisbon of December 2009, the European Union has had the exclusive power to conclude customs and trade agreements for the EU member states in accordance with Article 207 TFEU . This also applies to the controversial TTIP trade agreement with the USA , which has been in existence since December 1995, and which is suspected of threatening Europe's social and environmental standards. In contrast, the CETA agreement with Canada was concluded in October 2016.

Web links

Wiktionary: trade agreements  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Katja Gelbrich / Stefan Müller, Handbuch Internationales Management , 2011, p. 569
  2. ↑ Klaus-Heinrich Standke, The trade with the east: economic relations with the state trading countries , 1972, p. 52
  3. ↑ Katja Gelbrich / Stefan Müller, Handbuch Internationales Management , 2011, p. 569
  4. ↑ Candida Ten Brink, The Justification of the Market Economy in the Roman Republic , 1994, p. 12
  5. ↑ Gerhard Dulckeit, Roman Legal History , 1966, p. 15
  6. ^ Peter Pleyel, Das Roman Österreich , 2002, p. 91
  7. ↑ Mouhamed Fouaed Nanah, Generosity and Avarice in the Imagination of Pre-Islamic Arab Poets , 1987, p. 6
  8. ^ Johann Heinrich Feltz / Johann N. Schulmeister, Excerpta controversiarum illustrium, de patria potestate II , 1706, p. 13
  9. ^ Adolf Weber / Adolf Lampe / Alfons Schmitt, Volkswirtschaftslehre: Vol. Trade and Transport Policy (Internal Trade - Transport - Foreign Trade) Economic Policy II , 1933, p. 416
  10. ^ World Trade Organization, April 2015, o. P.
  11. ↑ Eckart Koch, Globalization: Economy and Politics , 2017, p. 199