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Chapter 3 - Pearson Learning Solutions

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a boon for Hyundai, Samsung, LG, and other industryleaders in South Korea. On paper, it appears that bothsides will benefit from the free trade agreement. If that istrue, why are some people adamantly opposed to theagreement (see Exhibit 3-1)? When you have finishedreading <strong>Chapter</strong> 3, turn to Case 3-1 for more discussionof the pros as well as possible “cons.”Since World War II, there has been a tremendous interestamong nations in furthering the cause of economiccooperation and integration.The agreement between theUnited States and South Korea illustrates the fact thattrade deals can be limited to two nations; however, tradenegotiations and trade agreements also occur at theregional and global levels. Our survey of the world tradeenvironment begins at the global level with the WTO andits predecessor, the GATT. Next, the four main types ofbilateral and regional preferential trade agreements areidentified and described. An introduction to individualcountries in the world’s major market regions follows;each section also includes detailed discussion of thespecific preferential trade agreements in which thosecountries participate. Important marketing issues in eachregion are also discussed. Several important emergingcountry markets were described in <strong>Chapter</strong> 2; in thischapter, special attention will be given to individualcountry markets that were not previously discussed.000200010270740623THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION AND GATTThe year 2007 marked the sixtieth anniversary of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT), a treaty among nations whose governments agree, at least in principle, to promote tradeamong members. GATT was intended to be a multilateral, global initiative, and GATT negotiatorsdid succeed in liberalizing world merchandise trade. GATT was also an organization thathandled 300 trade disputes—many involving food—during its half century of existence. GATTitself had no enforcement power (the losing party in a dispute was entitled to ignore the ruling),and the process of dealing with disputes sometimes stretched on for years. Little wonder, then,that some critics referred to GATT as the “General Agreement to Talk and Talk.”The successor to GATT, the World Trade Organization (WTO), came into existence onJanuary 1, 1995. From its base in Geneva, the WTO provides a forum for trade-related negotiationsamong its 150 members. The WTO’s staff of neutral trade experts also serve as mediatorsin global trade disputes. The WTO has a Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) that mediatescomplaints concerning unfair trade barriers and other issues between the WTO’s member countries.During a 60-day consultation period, parties to a complaint are expected to engage in goodfaithnegotiations and reach an amicable resolution. If that fails, the complainant can ask theDSB to appoint a three-member panel of trade experts to hear the case behind closed doors. Afterconvening, the panel has nine months within which to issue its ruling. 1 The DSB is empoweredto act on the panel’s recommendations. The losing party has the option of turning to a sevenmemberappellate body. If, after due process, a country’s trade policies are found to violate WTOrules, it is expected to change those policies. If changes are not forthcoming, the WTO canauthorize trade sanctions against the loser. Table 3-1 lists some recent cases that have beenbrought to the WTO.Trade ministers representing the WTO member nations meet annually to work on improvingworld trade. It remains to be seen whether the WTO will live up to expectations when it comes toadditional major policy initiatives on such vexing issues as foreign investment and agricultural1 Scott Miller, “Global Dogfight: Airplane Battle Spotlights Power of a Quirky Court,” The Wall Street Journal (June 1,2005), pp. A1, A14.75Global Marketing, Sixth Edition, by Warren J. Keegan and Mark C. Green. Copyright © 2011 by Warren J. Keegan. Published by Prentice Hall.

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