Negotiating Trade in Services with China from the Uruguayan Perspective
Authors
-
Ignacio Bartesaghi
Catholic University of Uruguay
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3413-3595
- Gabriel Gari Queen Mary, University of London
- Natalia Melgar Catholic University of Uruguay
Abstract
We focus on trade in services, and we aim at assessing the concessions made by China when negotiating trade agreements. Additionally, we shed light on the opportunities that Uruguay may have in exporting services to China in case of signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The debate on this issue started in 2016 when Uruguayan President Vázquez visited China and with Chinese President Xi Jinping raised the possibility of signing a FTA. Since then, opposing arguments have been put forward. Unfortunately, the lack of bilateral information on trade in services is a limitation for this kind of studies. It is highlighted that there will be additional large gains which would emerge from trade in goods, cooperation or investments.Keywords:
integration, China, Uruguay, trade agreement, servicesReferences
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Antkiewicz, A. and Whalley, J. (2005). China’s new regional trade agreements. The World Economy, vol. 28(10), pp. 1539-1558.
Bartesaghi, I. and Melgar, N. (2020). Posibles impactos de un TLC entre Uruguay y China. In D. Peters. (Ed.), América Latina y el Caribe y China. Economía, comercio e inversión 2019 (pp. 105-126). Ciudad de México, México: Red ALC-China.
Baiker, L., Bertola, E., and Jelitto, M. (2021). Services Domestic Regulation – Locking in Good Regulatory Practices’. WTO Staff Working Paper, ERSD-2021-14, September 2021. https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/ersd202114_e.htm
Benz, S., and Jaax, A. (2020). The costs of regulatory barriers to trade in services: New estimates of ad valorem tariff equivalents. OECD Trade Policy Papers, No. 238, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/bae97f98-en.
Cattaneo, O., Gereffi, G., Miroudot, S., and Taglioni, D. (2013). Joining, Upgrading and Being Competitive in Global Value Chairs: A Strategic Framework. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 6406, World Bank, Washington, DC.
Cattaneo, O., Engman, M., Saez , S., and Stern, R. M. (2010). Assesing the potential of services trade in developing countries: An overview. In Cattaneo, O., Engman, M., Saez, S., and Stern, R. M., International trade in services: New trends and opportunities for developing countries (pp. 1-29). Washington, D.C: The World Bank.
Gari, G. (2012). International Initiatives for Reconciling the Sovereign Right to Tax with Free Trade in Services. Law and Business Review of the Americas, vol. 18(1), pp. 55-67.
Gari, G. (2020a). China’s Preferential Treatment on Trade in Services: is the Sleeping Dragon about to Wake Up?, Journal of World Trade, vol. 54 (6).
Gari, G. (2020b). Recent Preferential Trade Agreements’ disciplines for tackling regulatory divergence in services: how far beyond GATS? World Trade Review, vol. 19(1), pp. 01-29. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1474745618000368.
Kox, H., and Lejour, A. (2005). Regulatory Heterogeneity as Obstacle for International Services Trade. CPB Discussion Paper No. 49, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, The Hague. www.cpb.nl/en/publication/regulatory-heterogeneity-obstacle-international-services-trade
Lardy, N. (2015). The Fundamentals of Growth in China. In Peterson Institute for International Economics (Ed.), China’s Economic Transformation: Lessons, Impact and the Path Forward (pp. 04-06). Washington DC, United States: Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Lau, N., Ip, K., Guo, G. and Zhao, A. (2020). China set to implement the new Foreign Investment Law. China investments e-bulletin, Herbert Smith Freehills. https://sites-herbertsmithfreehills.vuturevx.com/95/21568/compose-email/china-set-to-implement-the-new-foreign-investment-law.asp?sid=blankform.
Lamprecht, P. and Miroudot, S. (2018). The value of market access and national treatment commitments in services trade agreements. OECD Trade Policy Papers, No. 213, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.1787/d8bfc8d8-en.
Low, P. and Pasadilla, G. (2015). Services in Global Value Chains: Manufacturing-Related Services. APEC Policy Support Unit, Singapore: APEC Secretariat.
New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2019). New Zealand-China Free Trade Agreement Upgrade. Available at: https://www.mfat.govt.nz/assets/Trade-agreements/China-NZ-FTA-Upgrade/NZ-China-FTA-Upgrade-Outcomes-Document-Final.pdf.
Porzecanski, R. (2010). ¿Por qué Uruguay no firmó un TLC con Estados Unidos?. Letras Internacionales 95 (4). Available at: https://revistas.ort.edu.uy/letras-internacionales/article/view/1518.
Pose, N. (2019). Economic Ideas and North-South Preferential Trade Agreements in the Americas. Latin American Journal of Trade Policy 4.
Roy, M. (2019). Elevating Services: Services Trade Policy, WTO Commitments, and Their Role in Economic Development and Trade Integration. WTO Working Paper, https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/ersd201901_e.pdf.
Roy, M. (2017). The contribution of services trade policies to connectivity in the context of aid for trade. WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2017-12, WTO, Economic Research and Statistics Division.
Sampson, M. (2019). The evolution of China´s regional trade agreements: power dynamics and the future of the Asia-Pacific. The Pacific Review, pp. 01-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2019.1660397
Sauvé, P. (2009). Trade and Investment in Services: An ADB-ITD Training Module for the Greater Mekong Subregion. Asian Development Bank. .handle.net/11540/2414.
Steuart, I. and Cassim, R. (2005). Opportunities and risk in liberalizing trade in services: country study of South Africa. International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD).
Wang, G. (2011). China’s FTAs: Legal Characteristics and Implications. The American Journal of International Law, vol. 105(3), pp. 493-516. https://doi.org/10.5305/amerjintelaw.105.3.0493
Zeng, K. (2010). Multilateral versus bilateral and regional trade liberalization: Explaining China’s pursuit of free trade agreements (FTAs). Journal of Contemporary China, vol 19(66), pp. 635–652. https://doi.org/10.1080/10670564.2010.485400
Zeng, K. (2016). China's Free Trade Agreement Diplomacy. The Chinese Journal of International Politics, vol. 9(3), pp. 277-305. https://doi.org/10.1093/cjip/pow009.
Zhou, W., Gao, H. and Bai, X. (2018). China's SOE Reform: Using WTO Rules to Build a Market Economy. Society of International Economic Law (SIEL), Sixth Biennial Global Conference, SSRN Electronic Journal. 10.2139/ssrn.3209613.
