Deck 9: Preferential Trade Agreements and the Global Trade Regime

Question 1

If members of a PTA eliminate tariffs and have a common external tariff, they have formed

A) an economic union.
B) a customs union.
C) a common market.
D) a free trade area.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The theorists most likely to view small states as benefiting more than large states from open preferential trade agreements (PTAs) are

A) liberals.
B) historical materialists.
C) neomercantilists.
D) none of the above.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

PTAs in the South in the 1960s were designed mainly to

A) promote free trade among the member states.
B) attract more foreign investment from the North.
C) increase their exports to the North.
D) promote import substitution at the regional level.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

PTAs in the first wave (the 1950s-60s) included

A) members from different geographic regions.
B) a few PTAs between DCs and LDCs.
C) only members from the same geographic region.
D) both plurilateral and bilateral groupings.

Question 5

PTAs are formed for the following reasons (check all that apply)

A) to develop a common defense
B) to create a larger market
C) to increase investment
D) in response to domestic pressure groups

Question 6

FTAs can cause trade diversion through what types of clauses

A) rules of origin
B) external tariffs
C) investor dispute provisions
D) labor mobility

Question 7

What aspects of policy did the Maastricht Treaty (1992) move to include in the EU for the first time? Check all that apply

A) free movement of goods and services
B) euro as common currency
C) common foreign policy
D) common social policy

Question 8

The Schengen agreement provides for the:

A) free movement of labor
B) removal of border checks
C) free flow of capital
D) European defense cooperation

Question 9

Which theorists are most closely associated with "spillover," and supranational institutions?

A) institutional liberals.
B) liberal intergovernmentalists.
C) neofunctionalists.
D) constructivists.

Question 10

Postfunctionalists argue that European integration is:

A) likely to accelerate
B) disintegrating
C) likely to consolidate
D) more subject to political contention

Question 11

Which bilateral agreement preceded the NAFTA?

A) United States-Canada.
B) Mexico-Canada
C) United States-Mexico
D) nothing preceded

Question 12

NAFTA has which of the following features, check all that apply

A) open borders
B) a negative list approach to national treatment for trade in services.
C) labor mobility
D) a positive list approach to national treatment for trade in services.

Question 13

The USMCA adapts the NAFTA in which of the following prominent sectors (check all that apply):

A) Dairy
B) Autos
C) Textiles
D) Trucking

Question 14

Which of the following does not give special treatment to LDCs?

A) the Lomé Convention.
B) Part IV of GATT.
C) NAFTA.
D) the enabling clause.

Question 15

The first significant trade agreement to include an environmental side agreement was the

A) European Union.
B) European Community.
C) NAFTA.
D) Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.

Question 16

In the first wave of PTAs (the 1950s-60s), the United States generally opposed PTAs in favor of multilateralism.

Question 17

There is an inherent contradiction between GATT Article 1 (unconditional MFN treatment), and GATT Article 24 (permitting states to form PTAs).

Question 18

The original members of the EU included France, Germany, and the UK.

Question 19

GATT never explicitly concluded that a PTA did not meet GATT Article 24's legal requirements.

Question 20

The United States and Canada first had an agreement providing for free trade in natural products in the 1980s.

Question 21

NAFTA was the first reciprocal PTA with both DC and LDC members.

Question 22

The Mercosur agreement includes a common external tariff.

Question 23

Efforts at creating a trans-Pacific trade agreement fell apart when the U.S. pulled out of the agreement in 2018.

Question 24

Liberals generally agree that PTAs do not pose a threat to the global trade regime.

Question 25

If a group of countries eliminate tariffs on substantially all trade with each other, institute a common external tariff, and have free mobility of labor and capital, they have formed a ___________________.

Question 26

A treaty between more than two countries is called a______________ trade agreement.

Question 27

Mitrany's theory of ____________ suggests that economic and social cooperation leads to political cooperation

Question 28

Trade ____________________ occurs when a less efficient producer acquires a tariff advantage through a PTA.

Question 29

Andrew Moravcsik's theory of______________ posits that the EU rests on a series of bargains between member states that are self-interested and rational in pursuing their economic interests.

Question 30

The two NAFTA side agreements cover ___________ and ______________ issues.

Question 31

Chapter ___ of NAFTA has become controversial in its coverage of investors' ability to sue governments.

Question 32

What are the similarities and differences between a customs union, a free trade area, an economic union, and a common market? Where do most PTAs fit within these different stages and why?

Question 33

In what ways can PTAs be trade creating and trade diverting? Which of these effects of PTAs do you think is more important and why?

Question 34

What conditions does GATT Article 24 impose on PTAs? How successful has the GATT/WTO been in regulating PTAs, and why?

Question 35

Compare the explanation of neomercantilists, liberals, and historical materialists for the rise of PTAs. Which explanation do you find more convincing and why?

Question 36

Compare the neofunctionalist, liberal intergovernmentalist, and constructivist theoretical approaches to economic integration, and apply them to the EU? Which do you find most convincing?

Question 37

What are some of the accomplishments and shortcomings of NAFTA/USMCA as a PTA today? Check out a report on NAFTA outcomes, such as that of the World Bank or the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Question 38

What special problems do FTAs among LDCs such as Mercosur have in achieving regional integration? How are politics and economics intertwined in Mercosur? What are the obstacles to deeper integration?

Question 39

Discuss the efforts to create a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, the potential importance of the TPP, and why it failed. What has replaced the TPP?

Question 40

Liberals disagree among themselves as to whether or not PTAs today present a serious threat to the multilateral trade regime. Discuss the arguments of both sides in this debate, and indicate which side's arguments you find most convincing.