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Free Trade Agreements: Numbers and Background

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Abstract

Free Trade Agreements, Regional Trade Agreements, or Preferential Trade Agreements have been in place for as long as duties have been in place. They became more cultivated through the years and the inception of the first agreements in the 1950s was the first milestone.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Viner (1950) in “The Custom Union Issue” was the first to discuss benefits and perceived benefits.

  2. 2.

    For example European Union unity and NAFTA have been election topics for the last 20 years.

  3. 3.

    Eicher et al. (2008) Trade Creation and Diversion Revisited: Accounting for Model Uncertainty and Natural Trading Partner Effects. This IMF Working Paper provides very clear references and insights into the correlation between FTA/RTA/PTA and trade diversion. It also includes numerous references to other in depth articles, such as Krugman’s (1991) “Is Bilaterism Bad?” and “The move toward Free Trade Zones.” The paper furthermore disputes the findings of Ghosh and Yamarik (2004) who did not find effects of Trade Creation or Diversion in certain PTAs.

  4. 4.

    Listed are few examples of studies conducted after FTAs came into effect. The predictions made regarding increase of bilateral trade are not considered.

  5. 5.

    FICCI Study.

  6. 6.

    US Department of state, Benefits from Free Trade Agreements, 2010.

  7. 7.

    Office of the United States Trade Representative, Chile FTA Policy Brief – September 2007.

  8. 8.

    IMF/Direction of Trade Statistics.

  9. 9.

    See, for example: Watt (1989).

  10. 10.

    The WTO’s (GATT successor) “goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business” (WTO website).

  11. 11.

    Oliver Cadot, WCO (2008).

  12. 12.

    See Zarrouk and Zallio (2000) and Unified Arab Economic Report (2003).

  13. 13.

    Oliver Cadot, WCO (2008).

  14. 14.

    Koskinen (1983) from Estevadeordal and Suominen (2003).

  15. 15.

    See also Chap. 12, where the “costs of compliance” was asked to over 200 companies worldwide.

  16. 16.

    WCO conference “Getting to Grips with Origin.”

  17. 17.

    The basis is NAFTA Article 505, Importers and exporters must maintain documents to support a NAFTA claim for up to seven years after importation and Customs officials can seek information from either party.

  18. 18.

    See Pioneer case Sect. 10.3.

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van de Heetkamp, A., Tusveld, R. (2011). Free Trade Agreements: Numbers and Background. In: Origin Management. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19808-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-19808-3_3

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