Vinod K. Aggarwal
Managing Global Issues: Lessons Learned, 2001
This chapter examines changing governance patterns in international trade in the post- WW II era, focusing on the efficacy and implications of the use of alternative mechanisms in resolving conflicts. Over the last fifty years, states have utilized a host of measures to regulate trade flows. These include unilateral restraints, bilateral agreements, minilateral accords, and multilateral arrangements. Depending on the number of products and the geographical participation of countries, we can consider three important specific governance categories, namely sectoralism, regionalism, and globalism. Sectoralism refers to industry specific arrangements that can be unilateral, bilateral, minilateral or multilateral, and may be driven by market opening or protectionist objectives. Regionalism refers to arrangements by a limited set of geographically concentrated countries that involve either free trade arrangements or customs unions with common external tariffs, either on a single or multiproduct basis. Finally, globalism refers to multilateral, multiproduct arrangements such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and its successor organization, the World Trade Organization (WTO).