The Balance of Concessions in Trade Agreements
01 December 2022 3:30 pm CET
Mostafa Beshkar, Indiana University
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Venue
Online event via Zoom, please register using the registration link below
Description
This presentation is based on a paper co-authored with Pao-Li Chang and Shenxi Song.
Abstract:
Reciprocity is a key principle governing the negotiations under the GATT/WTO agreement, which calls for a balance of concessions among the WTO members. In recent years, however, various politicians across the world have voiced concerns about their country's excessive obligations under the WTO and a lack of reciprocation by their trading partners. Our objective in this paper is to evaluate the degree to which the pattern of applied tariffs across WTO members deviates from a balanced-concession condition. To this end, we employ a quantitative trade model and use alternative definitions of reciprocity to measure the concessions received and given by each country from 1995 to 2011. We find that over time, concessions have become more unbalanced mostly due to an increase in trade imbalances.
The presentation, when available, will be posted after the event
Registration link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3CM9J2SPT0OFW7UjyEGCcQ
Mostafa Beshkar
Mostafa Beshkar is an Associate Professor of Economics at Indiana University. His research interests center on International Trade, with a special emphasis on trade policy and institutions for international trade cooperation. His articles have appeared in various journals including American Economic Journal-Microeconomics, Journal of International Economics, Journal of Monetary Economics, and International Economic Review. He holds a PhD in Economics from Vanderbilt University.
Related literature:
- Bagwell, Kyle, Robert W. Staiger, and Ali Yurukoglu. "Quantitative analysis of multiparty tariff negotiations." Econometrica 89, no. 4 (2021): 1595-1631. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA16084
- Beshkar, Mostafa, and Ali Shourideh. "Optimal trade policy with trade imbalances." Journal of Monetary Economics 109 (2020): 65-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoneco.2019.11.001
- Ossa, Ralph. "Trade wars and trade talks with data." American Economic Review 104, no. 12 (2014): 4104-46. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.104.12.4104
JEL classification: F13, F15