Sources of WTO Laws, Basic rules and principles of WTO Law, Economics Theories of free trade

Sources of WTO Laws: The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a global international organization that administers the rules governing international trade. The WTO has a set of rules and principles that govern international trade among its member countries. The sources of WTO law include:

WTO agreements: The WTO has a set of agreements that govern international trade. These agreements include the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the Agreement on Agriculture, and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement).

Dispute settlement: The WTO has a dispute settlement system that is used to resolve disputes between member countries. The dispute settlement system is based on the rules and procedures set out in the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU).

Decisions and recommendations of WTO bodies: WTO bodies such as the General Council, the Councils for Trade in Goods, Services and Intellectual Property, and the Dispute Settlement Body issue decisions and recommendations that help to clarify and interpret the WTO agreements.

Basic rules and principles of WTO Law: The basic rules and principles of WTO law include:

Most-favored-nation treatment: This principle requires that each member country treats all other member countries equally with respect to trade.

National treatment: This principle requires that each member country treats foreign goods and services no less favorably than it treats its own goods and services.

Transparency: WTO members are required to provide information on their trade policies and practices to other member countries.

Non-discrimination: WTO members are prohibited from discriminating against imports from other member countries.

Protection of intellectual property rights: The TRIPS agreement sets out the rules for protecting intellectual property rights.

Reduction of trade barriers: The WTO agreements require member countries to reduce trade barriers, such as tariffs and quotas.

Special and differential treatment: The WTO recognizes that developing countries may need special and differential treatment to help them participate in the global trading system.

Economics Theories of free trade: There are several economic theories that support free trade:

1. Comparative advantage: This theory suggests that countries should specialize in producing goods and services in which they have a comparative advantage, and then trade with other countries for goods and services in which they do not have a comparative advantage.Theory of absolute advantage:
2. This theory suggests that a country should produce goods and services in which it has an absolute advantage and trade with other countries for goods and services in which they do not have an absolute advantage.
3. Theory of economies of scale: This theory suggests that countries that specialize in producing certain goods and services can benefit from economies of scale, which can lead to lower costs and increased efficiency.
4. Factor endowment theory: This theory suggests that countries should specialize in producing goods and services that use their abundant factors of production, and trade with other countries for goods and services that use their scarce factors of production.
5. New trade theory: This theory suggests that trade can be beneficial even in the absence of differences in factor endowments, as there may be economies of scale and network effects that arise from specialization and trade.