The World Trade System: Trends and Challenges

摘要

The book is a collection of essays, written by internationally renowned experts in trade economics and international law," and some of them are the world's leading trade economists and lawyers" (p.vi). The three editors of the anthology are eminent scholars, researchers and university professors in international economics, international law and international relations, and development studies. The book is a contribution of utmost significance to improving the public's understanding of the current controversy in the United States about the desirability of multilateral trade liberalization or trade blocks (preferential trade areas), the link between trade liberalization and poverty, between trade liberalization and income inequality, and the merits of multilateral trade liberalization. The authors provide rigorously analytical and evidence-based analyses of the successes of multilateral trade liberalization since the inception of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The authors then critically evaluate the merits of extremely large Preferential Trade Agreements (PTA). The use of both analytical and empirical methods provides validity and authenticity, while at the same time helping to combat misinformation about multilateral free trade negotiations and the perceived benefits of PTAs. Moreover, the anthology presents cutting-edge analysis regarding the world trading system from both multilateral perspectives and regional perspectives. The anthology presents a well-informed economic and legal assessment on the future for the WTO.