Economic Diplomacy: Essays And Reflections By Singapore's Negotiators Essays and Reflections by Singapore's Negotiators

Singapore, a small Southeast Asian country with limited resources, transformed itself from a trading post to a successful, cosmopolitan nation with one of the most impressive growth rates in the world. Less well known, however, has been its role in regional and global trade negotiations. This book is a collection of sixteen essays written by a group of diplomats, policy-makers, and professors who became involved in international economic affairs, notably in GATT/WTO, regional and bilateral free trade negotiations. Here, they reveal their thoughts about the world economy and trading system, reflect on their experiences, and explain how they promoted national interests while advancing the global trade agenda. This book will appeal not only to professional diplomats, but to anyone interested in how international economic diplomacy works and Singapore's role and perspective as an open trading nation. CONTENTS......Page 6 FOREWORD......Page 10 FOREWORD......Page 12 FOREWORD......Page 14 LETTER......Page 20 PREFACE......Page 24 ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS......Page 26 I. Main Themes......Page 28 A. Singapore Accedes to the GATT......Page 30 1. Background......Page 31 2. Policy Goals......Page 32 A. The Tokyo Round (1973–1979)......Page 34 B. The Uruguay Round (1986–1994) ......Page 35 C. The Doha Round (2001–present)......Page 38 E. The Chapters in Part One of the Book......Page 39 IV. Informal Groupings in the GATT/WTO......Page 40 V. Singapore’s Free Trade Agreements ......Page 41 VII. Origins and Arrangement of the Book......Page 44 PART ONE ESSAYS AND REFLECTIONS ON MULTILATERALISM......Page 46 (A) Essays......Page 48 I. Background......Page 50 II. The WTO Agenda......Page 53 III. Decision-Making: Efficiency Versus Transparency......Page 58 IV. Special and Differential Treatment (S&D)......Page 61 V. Conclusion......Page 64 I. Introduction......Page 68 II. The Invisibles Group......Page 70 III. Origins of the Invisibles Group......Page 72 IV. The 1995 Inaugural Meeting......Page 74 V. Five Meetings Before the Singapore Ministerial Conference......Page 76 VII. Opportunity Lost and the Proliferation of Free Trade Agreements......Page 77 VIII. Singapore's Inclusion in Key Informal Groupings......Page 78 X. Influence of the Quads and the Absence of a Developing Country Agenda......Page 79 XI. Accomplishing the Information Technology Agreement......Page 80 XII. The Second WTO Ministerial Conference......Page 81 XIII. The Issue of NGO Participation......Page 82 XIV. End of the Invisibles......Page 83 XV. Conclusion......Page 84 I. Introduction......Page 86 II. Brief History of Anti-Dumping Rules......Page 87 III. Anti-Dumping Negotiations During the Uruguay Round......Page 89 A. From Punta del Este to Montreal: 1986–1988......Page 90 B. From Montreal to Brussels: 1989–1990......Page 93 C. The Ministerial Conference in Brussels: 3–7 December 1990......Page 96 D. From Brussels to the Conclusion of the Uruguay Round: The Draft Final Act: 1991–1993......Page 97 IV. Overall Assessment and Singapore's Role......Page 102 V. The Way Ahead......Page 103 II. Intellectual Property Increases in Importance......Page 106 III. The International Conventions......Page 107 V. Intellectual Property Negotiations in GATT: Misgivings, Opposition and Eventual Inclusion......Page 109 VI. The Informal Working Group on TRIPS......Page 112 VII. TRIPS in the WTO: An Overview......Page 113 IX. The Subsequent Developments: Singapore Moves Ahead......Page 115 II. WTO Ministerial Meeting Deferred......Page 118 III. G20 Rhetoric Not Matched by Reality......Page 119 IV. What Should We Do?......Page 120 VI. Single Undertaking Versus Early Harvest......Page 121 VII. A More Limited Doha Negotiating Agenda......Page 124 VIII. Bilateral and Plurilateral Versus Multilateral Deals......Page 125 IX. Conclusion......Page 127 I. Introduction......Page 130 II. The GATS’s Balancing Act......Page 131 III. GATS Article VI (Domestic Regulation)......Page 133 IV. An Overview of Obligations Arising From GATS Articles VI:1, 2, 3 & 6......Page 134 V. Kicking Off the Article VI:4 Mandate: Disciplines on Domestic Regulation in the Accountancy Sector......Page 137 VI. GATS Article VI:4 Negotiations......Page 138 A. Facilitating Trade in Services......Page 140 C. Development Aspects of Disciplines on Domestic Regulation......Page 142 VII. Necessity Test: “Trade Liberaliser” or “Mother of All Interventions”?......Page 144 VIII. Interim Disciplines on Domestic Regulation in Article VI:5......Page 147 IX. Conclusion......Page 148 I. Introduction......Page 150 A. The TRIPS Agreement......Page 151 B. WTO-WIPO Cooperation......Page 153 C. Patents and Public Health......Page 156 D. Internet and Digital Technology......Page 158 E. Development Agenda......Page 159 II. The Future......Page 161 III. Conclusion......Page 164 (B) Reflections......Page 166 B. Dispute Settlement Body......Page 168 D. How the System Works......Page 169 B. Helms-Burton Act......Page 171 E. EC and US Reactions to Panel......Page 172 I. US-EU Understanding on Helms-Burton......Page 173 A. Canada — Measures Affecting the Importation of Milk and the Exportation of Dairy Products......Page 174 E. Composition of Panel......Page 175 J. Interim Report......Page 176 M. Significance of this Case......Page 177 B. Background......Page 178 G. First Substantive Meeting......Page 179 H. Second Substantive Hearing......Page 180 J. Final Report......Page 181 V. Concluding Reflections......Page 182 I. Deriving Security from Globalisation......Page 184 III. The United States Objects......Page 185 IV. Work Begins......Page 186 VI. Breakthrough......Page 188 VII. The Singapore Ministerial Declaration......Page 189 IX. Conclusion......Page 190 PART TWO ESSAYS AND REFLECTIONS ON FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS......Page 192 (A) Essays......Page 194 I. The Mystique of the USSFTA......Page 196 II. The USSFTA: Basic Commitments......Page 198 III. The Negative List......Page 199 IV. Grandfathering of Existing Measures......Page 200 A. Social, Security and Other Non-Economic Considerations......Page 202 B. We Have a Different View......Page 203 C. A Different World......Page 204 A. Investment Incentives......Page 206 B. Land Use......Page 207 C. Devolution of Government Functions......Page 208 VII. Conclusion......Page 210 I. Introduction......Page 212 A. The Formation of the EEC and the EEC’s Association Agreements......Page 213 B. The Turkey-Textiles and US-Line Pipe Disputes......Page 215 III. Trade Remedy Clauses and Disputes......Page 216 V. Disputes about FTA Dispute Provisisons......Page 220 VI. Investment Disputes......Page 222 VII. Disputes Over FTA Language......Page 227 VIII. The Spectre of Multiple Law Suits......Page 228 IX. Conclusion......Page 232 B. Rate of Liberalisation of Goods Tariffs......Page 236 E. Safety Valves to Underpin Accelerated Liberalisation......Page 237 4. General Exceptions List (GE)......Page 238 G. Setting of Interim Targets for Tariff Lines in the Inclusion List to Reach 0–5% Tariff and Later to Reach Zero Tariff......Page 239 H. Adherence to WTO Principles......Page 240 A. Coverage of AFAS......Page 241 D. MFN Obligations......Page 242 III. ASEAN’s Development in Investment......Page 243 IV. ASEAN’s Continuing Journey Towards Free Trade With Dialogue Partners......Page 244 B. Discussions with Other Dialogue Partners......Page 245 C. Assignment of Duties......Page 247 A. Normal Track and Sensitive Track......Page 248 B. The Modality for the Normal Track......Page 249 C. The Modality for the Sensitive Track......Page 250 VI. ASEAN Plus Korea FTA: Trade in Goods......Page 251 B. Normal Track Modalities......Page 252 C. The Modalities for the Sensitive Track......Page 253 D. Modalities for Highly Sensitive List......Page 254 E. Overall Summing Up......Page 255 VII. ASEAN Plus Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership: Trade in Goods......Page 256 B. The AJCEP Formula for Tariff Reductions......Page 257 C. Normal Track 2 in AJCEP......Page 258 E. Highly Sensitive List in AJCEP......Page 259 VIII. ASEAN Plus India FTA: Trade in Goods......Page 260 A. The Two Normal Tracks......Page 261 C. Special Products and Tariffs Placed in the Highly Sensitive List......Page 262 IX. ASEAN Plus Australia-New Zealand FTA: Trade in Goods......Page 263 B. The Modality for Normal Track......Page 264 C. The Modalities for Sensitive Track 1 (ST1)......Page 266 X. Overview of the Five ASEAN FTAs with China, Korea, Japan, India and Australia and New Zealand......Page 267 A. Why Only Trade in Goods Coverage......Page 268 C. Singapore’s Role in the “ASEAN Plus Dialogue Partner” FTAs......Page 269 Appendix: Treaties and Agreements......Page 270 I. The Evolution of Singapore’s Free Trade Agreements......Page 272 III. Other Roads to Rome......Page 274 V. Beyond Market Access......Page 275 VI. Addressing the Risk of a Fragmented World......Page 276 VII. Other Countries’ Perspectives......Page 277 VIII. A Good Starting Point and Confidence-Builder......Page 278 IX. Ambition and “Coming Out”......Page 279 X. The Home Crowd......Page 280 XII. The Bigger Game......Page 281 XIII. Conclusion......Page 282 I. Introduction......Page 284 II. A Change of Views......Page 286 III. WTO or FTAs......Page 288 IV. WTO and FTAs......Page 292 V. Conclusion......Page 297 (B) Reflections......Page 298 II. Genesis of the CSFTA......Page 300 III. The Negotiations......Page 302 IV. Timeline......Page 303 V. Significance of CSFTA......Page 307 II. The Singapore Team......Page 308 III. Recollections of Individual Team Members......Page 309 III. Conclusion......Page 318 ANNEX LIST OF FTAS THAT SINGAPORE IS PARTY TO......Page 320 GLOSSARY......Page 324 INDEX......Page 334 EDITORS’ BIOGRAPHY......Page 344 Singapore's economic diplomacy : An introduction / Barry Desker [und weitere] -- ch. 1. The WTO institutional reforms : Issues and prospects / See Chak Mun -- ch. 2. Informal caucuses within the WTO : Singapore in the "invisibles group" / Barry Desker -- ch. 3. Anti-dumping negotiations in the Uruguay round : Reflections of a Singapore negotiator / Margaret Liang -- ch. 4. Intellectual property rights in the Uruguay round / S. Tiwari -- ch. 5. A new approach to trade negotiations? / Vanu Gopala Menon -- ch. 6. Domestic regulations in services : A Chairman's perspective / Peter Govindasamy -- ch. 7. Future trends in intellectual property and impact on trade and development / Geoffrey Yu -- ch. 8. My experiences with the WTO dispute settlement system / Tommy Koh -- ch. 9. The WTO Ministerial Conference in Singapore / K. Kesavapany -- ch. 10. An intuitive guide to the services chapter of the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement / Ong Ye Kung -- ch. 11. Some lessons from past FTA disputes / C.L. Lim -- ch. 12. ASEAN's journey towards free trade / David Chin Soon Siong -- ch. 13. The road to free trade agreements / Ng Bee Kim and Minn Naing Oo -- ch. 14. Multilateral or regional - WTO "and/or" FTAs? An academic's view of the trenches / Michael Ewing-Chow -- ch. 15. The China-Singapore Free Trade Agreement / Ng Bee Kim -- ch. 16. The Japan-Singapore Free Trade Agreement / Pang Kin Keong The WTO institutional reforms : issues and prospects / See Chak Mun Informal caucuses within the WTO : Singapore in the "invisibles group" / Barry Desker Anti-dumping negotiations in the Uruguay round : reflections of a Singapore negotiator / Margaret Liang Intellectual property rights in the Uruguay round / S. Tiwari A new approach to trade negotiations? / Vanu Gopala Menon Domestic regulations in services : a chairman's perspective / Peter Govindasamy Future trends in intellectual property and impact on trade and development / Geoffrey Yu My experiences with the WTO dispute settlement system / Tommy Koh The WTO ministerial conference in Singapore / K. Kesavapany Essays and reflections on free trade agreements An intuitive guide to the services chapter of the United States-Singapore free trade agreement / Ong Ye Kung Some lessons from past FTA disputes / C.L. Lim ASEAN's journey towards free trade / David Chin Soon Siong The road to free trade agreements / Ng Bee Kim & Minn Naing Oo Multilateral or regional WTO "and/or" FTAS : an academic's view of the trenches / Michael Ewing-Chow The China-Singapore FTA / Ng Bee Kim The Japan-Singapore free trade agreement / Pang Kin Keong.

Singapore, a small Southeast Asian country with limited resources, transformed itself from a trading post to a successful, cosmopolitan nation with one of the most impressive growth rates in the world. Less well known, however, has been its role in regional and global trade negotiations. This book is a collection of sixteen essays written by a group of diplomas, policy-makers, and professors who became involved in international economic affairs, notably in GATT/WTO, regional and bilateral free trade negotiations. Here, they reveal their thoughts about the world economy and trading system, reflect on their experiences, and explain how they promoted national interests while advancing the global trade agenda. This book will appeal not only to professional diplomats, but to anyone interested in how international economic diplomacy works and Singapore's role and perspective as an open trading nation.

Singapore, a small country with limited resources, has nevertheless played a significant role in regional and global trade negotiations. Its negotiators possess a wealth of knowledge and experiences and yet few have told their story. This book is a collection of sixteen essays by authors who have been closely involved in trade negotiations including GATT/WTO and bilateral free trade agreements. They share their experiences in such negotiations, how they promoted national interests and advanced the global trade agenda. It will appeal to readers who are interested in how international economic d