The Origin of Goods: Rules of Origin in Regional Trade Agreements

by Olivier Cadot (Editor), Antoni Estevadeordal (Editor), Akiko Suwa-Eisenmann (Editor), Thierry Verdier (Editor)

Overview

The dark side of preferential trade agreements, Rules of Origin (RoO) are used to determine the eligibility of goods to preferential treatment. Ostensibly meant to prevent the trans-shipment of imported products across Free Trade Agreement borders after superficial screwdriver assembly, they act in reality as complex and opaque trade barriers. This book provides evidence strongly suggesting that they do so by intent rather than accidentally---in other words, that RoOs are policy. Part one draws insights about the effects of RoOs on cross-border trade and outsourcing from recent economic theory. Part two reviews the evidence on RoOs in preferential agreements around the world, putting together the most comprehensive dataset on RoOs to date. Part three explores their "political economy"---how special interests have shaped them and continue to do so. Part four provides econometric evidence on their costs for exporters and consequent effects on trade flows. Finally, part five explores how they affect trade in the developing world where they spread rapidly and have the potential to do most harm. Beyond the collection of new evidence and its interpretation in light of recent theory, the book's overall message for the policy community is that RoOs are a potentially powerful and new barrier to trade. Rather than being relegated to closed-door technical meetings, their design should hold center-stage in trade negotiations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191537370
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	02/23/2006
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Olivier Cadot is Professor of Economics at the University of Lausanne and Director of the Institut d? Economie Appliqu?e (Cr?a). He was previously Associate Professor at INSEAD and has held visiting positions at UCLA and McGill. He holds a Ph.D in Economics from Princeton University and a Master? s in Economic History from McGill University. He is a fellow of the CEPR and an associate scholar of the CERDI and CEPREMAP. He also serves on the editorial board of the Revue d? Economie du D?veloppement. Thierry Verdier is Director of DELTA, Senior Civil Engineer and Research Director at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, EHESS) in Paris. He is also the Co-director of the International Trade Programme at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), London. His master and doctoral degrees were received from Ecole Polytechnique, Ecole des Ponts et Chauss?es and EHESS. Antoni Estevadeordal is a Principal Trade Economist and Research Coordinator at the Integration, Trade and Hemispheric Issues Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Before joining the IDB he taught at the University of Barcelona and Harvard University. He has published widely in major journals, most recently in American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Review of International Economics, Journal of Economic Integration, Economia and the Journal of World Trade. He holds a PhD and MA in Economics from Harvard University and a BA in Economics from the University of Barcelona. Akiko Suwa-Eisenmann is an Economist at INRA, National Institute for Agricultural Research, France. She is Director of Laboratoire d'Economie Appliqu?e, on the Paris-Jourdan campus. She teaches Development Economics at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales PhD programme and ENSAE, Paris. Her graduate and doctoral degrees were received from Ecole Normale Sup?rieure and EHESS. She worked as a consultant for the World Bank and the OECD Development Centre.

Table of Contents

List of Figures     ix
List of Tables     x
List of Contributors     xii
Introduction   Olivier Cadot   Antoni Estevadeordal   Akiko Suwa-Eisenmann   Thierry Verdier     1
Rules of Origin: Theoretical perspectives     17
Understanding Rules of Origin   Kala Krishna     19
The impact of Rules of Origin on strategic outsourcing: an IO perspective   Mathias Thoenig   Thierry Verdier     35
Rules of Origin in Regional Trade Agreements around the world     67
Mapping and measuring Rules of Origin around the world   Antoni Estevadeordal   Kati Suominen     69
Rules of Origin for services: economic and legal considerations   Americo Beviglia Zampetti   Pierre Sauve     114
The political economy of Rules of Origin     147
Rules of Origin as export subsidies   Olivier Cadot   Antoni Estevadeordal   Akiko Suwa-Eisenmann     149
Rules of Origin and US trade policy   I.M. (Mac) Destler     173
Measuring the impact of Rules of Origin     189
Are different Rules of Origin equally costly? Estimates from NAFTA   Celine Carrere   Jaime de Melo     191
Implementing PTAs in the Southern Cone region of Latin America: Rules of Origin   Pablo Sanguinetti   Eduardo Bianchi     213
Preferential trade arrangements production, and trade with differentiated intermediates   Joseph Francois     237
Rules of Origin and development     257
Rules of Origin as tools of development? Some lessons from SADC   Hennie Erasmus   Frank Flatters   Robert Kirk     259
Trade preferences for Africa and the impact of Rules of Origin   Paul Brenton   Takako Ikezuki     295
Index     315