The aim of this thesis is to clarify the affect that preferential and regional trade agreements have on the World Trade Organization (WTO), as being establisher of the international trading regime. The essay is an explanatory literature study, which strives to answer the following questions:Are regional and preferential trade agreements a threat or a complement to the WTO?Is an undermining of the MFN principle weakening the WTO?How do regional trade agreements made by the EU affect the future of the WTO?The empirical material is to be analyzed using an explanatory framework, which is based on neo-liberal instutionalism, theories on regime changes and a game theoretical approach, using prisoner?s dilemma. I will employ the EU-ACP relation, the Cotonou agreement to exemplify how an agreement of this kind can have an influence on multilateral trade. The result shows that preferential agreements do have an impact on the WTO, one that is fairly negative in scope.

The relationship between free trade and the environment is often considered conflicting and the debates surrounding it are infected. My thesis deal with this conflict and how environmental concerns are integrated in three Regional free trade agreements, North American Free Trade Agreement, The common market of the southern cone (MERCOSUR) and Southern African Development Community (SADC). I point out how the organizations differ from each other in this respect and I present a possible explanation to why they differ. The explanation is founded on the theory of the environmental Kuznets curve and that environmental concerns will depend on which level of development the member states in the organizations have. To judge and rank the organizations I have composed a model based on a pre-existing description of the trade and environment conflict.

How does the recent wave of preferential trading arrangements affect, the incentives for further trade liberalization of member states, and the possibility of obtaining global free trade? And are there any differences in this aspect between custom unions and other forms of preferential trading arrangements? These questions are well debated and have divided international trade researchers into two camps, one in favour for preferential trading arrangements and the other side against them. I have used well acknowledged researchers in the area of international trade theory to make a literature study of the above mentioned key elements in the debate. When comparing the two sides I have focused mainly on their differences, assumptions and results. I have come to the conclusion that there is nothing to be alarmed by of the wave of regionalism that?s occurring in the world today, but caution should be applied and more research in this area is necessary before any certain conclusions can be drawn.

How affected are the sugar production in Mozambique and Tanzania by EU sugar regime? What does the EU sugar reform constitute in these countries?Using theories regarding free trade and anti-free trade, I am able to answer these questions. The aim of this paper is to study how the various sugar agreements with EU affect the sugar production in Mozambique and Tanzania. Therefore I am using a method called a most similar system design in this comparative case study. The conclusion is that the EU sugar regime is the main reason to how the sugar productions in developing countries are.

How affected are the sugar production in Mozambique and Tanzania by EU sugar regime? What does the EU sugar reform constitute in these countries?Using theories regarding free trade and anti-free trade, I am able to answer these questions. The aim of this paper is to study how the various sugar agreements with EU affect the sugar production in Mozambique and Tanzania. Therefore I am using a method called a most similar system design in this comparative case study. The conclusion is that the EU sugar regime is the main reason to how the sugar productions in developing countries are.

This study examines regional integration in Africa with a focus on the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, COMESA. COMESA, with roots that go back to the beginning of the 1980?s, is one of the largest and most diverse areas for regional integration in Africa and has currently 19 member countries. The goal of the COMESA co-operation is to become a fully integrated area by the year 2025 that will merge into the African Union (AU). AU will then, in turn, create a fully integrated African continent in a not too far away future.

The EU has had a special agreement with their former colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands, the ACP-countries, for almost 30 years. This has granted the ACPs with preferences on the Europen market, which have been excluded from other countries. The agreement is now beeing re-negotiated to make it more in terms with the rule of the WTO?s most favoured nation-principle. The new agreement will differ from the present one as it will be a mutual free trade agreement where the ACP countries will open their markets to the EU as much as the EU opens up it?s market to them.

The single market is one of the underlying ideas of the European Union. Free movement of goods and efficient competition are central for the function of the union and are therefore carefully protected by the Treaty of Rome. Exclusive rights of trademarks in the EU can be seen as a method of dividing the common market, preventing the free movement of goods and to be anti-competitive. What comes out of this is that there is a conflict between exclusive rights of trademarks and the rules of both free movement of goods and competition. The aim of this work is to see in which kind of situations the exclusive rights of trademarks can be a part of this conflict but also to study how this problem is resolved by the European Court.

AbstractLarge states are not as interdependent as small countries are. Due to the extent of the home market, producers in large countries can sell the greater part of their products at home. Accordingly large countries become less dependent of other states. Large states are consequently in a better position to promote their self- interests internationally than smaller states are. Applying this reasoning on a large state such as France I come to conclude that she probably exerts this policy of self- interest in an area like free trade.

Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone är geografiskt utmärkt placerad vid bedrivande av handel och utgör idag en internationell hub. Området har också tillgång till en god infrastruktur som ständigt förbättras. Waigaoqiao erbjuder sakkunniga konsulter och har ett starkt styrelsestöd. I framtiden då Free Trade Zones inte kommer att vara det enda valet för svenska företag som vill etablera sig i Kina, utan att behöva ingå joint ventures eller liknande avtal, kommer Waigaoqiaos handelsbefrämjande miljö att vara avgörande vid ett etableringsval i just det området. De skattefördelar och tullfördelar som idag existerar i Waigaoqiao kommer att försvinna när Kinas WTO-avtal i sin helhet träder i kraft.

EC and WTO have been prosecuting collaboration for some time, which purpose is to liberalize the global market for commerce. There have been some alterations under the last decades. Establishing in other countries than their own is far easier, nevertheless it is getting more difficult. The enterprises demand equal treatment and the countries want to have the most favourable legislation. This has resulted in conflicts between different countries and even between the companies.

In this study we examine trade patterns between Turkey and 13 member states of the European Union and how these have developed over the time period of 1983 ? 2006. To represent the industrial and agricultural goods included in the study we look at the United Nations Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). Following, we investigate internal differences in the EU by selecting four countries each to represent the Northern and Southern countries of the EU. Internal differences were studied in relation to the amount of trade occurring between Turkey and the Northern and Southern countries.

In this study we examine trade patterns between Turkey and 13 member states of the European Union and how these have developed over the time period of 1983 ? 2006. To represent the industrial and agricultural goods included in the study we look at the United Nations Standard International Trade Classification (SITC). Following, we investigate internal differences in the EU by selecting four countries each to represent the Northern and Southern countries of the EU. Internal differences were studied in relation to the amount of trade occurring between Turkey and the Northern and Southern countries.

After the last European Union expansion the east European countries became members of the European Union. This meant that they would become apart of the Schengen agreement and that they would be able to travel, live and work anywhere in Europe. This came as a shock tothe Scandinavian trade unions that were worried that work migration would escalate, and that it would lead to social dumping, which would make the working conditions worse for the native workers. .The Swedish labour market is build up by the principal of negotiations. The evolution of the labour laws comes from the rules and regulations of collective agreements.The Lex Britannia principal was made to regulate the working conditions for guest workers in Sweden, by making it possible for trade unions to take industrial action against foreign companies to make them sign a Swedish collective agreement.Even though Swedish labour law includes an obligation to maintain industrial peace it is not valid for foreign companies.

This essay is about the European union freetrade treaty negations with Mercosur. I have in this essay used a qualitative content analysis, to study from the EU perspective the reasons to why, the EU and Mercosur suspended the free trade treaty negations 2004, and after several years resumed the negotiations again in 2010. The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding from the EU perspective of why free trade negotiations were suspended and then resumed. In order to achieve a deeper understanding of this event, I have applied neorealism and neoliberalism on the explicit statements and the implied actions, as these theories may provide different explanatory power of implied causes of negotiations.I have come to the conclusion that the theoretical perspectives can indeed explain explicit statements and implicit actions for suspended and resumed negotiations with Mercosur. The implicit reasons for suspended negotiations are among others that the EU has an egoist thinking concerning a free trade treaty.