Suchergebnisse

The legal framework of export subsidies in multilateral trade negotiations is tainted by the original sin of impunity & a differential treatment between subsidies on primary commodities, exports other than primary products. Therefore, although the principle of prohibition is now admitted, the total elimination of these practices deemed as unfair by the WTO Law remains wishful thinking. The proof is that the efforts to dismantle them are without substantial impact on the policies of Member States. Usually, economists commented on the evolution of the process. Yet this article provides a legal perspective on this debate & reveals the criteria underlying the export subsidies prohibition. Adapted from the source document.

Industrial property rights in post-Soviet Russia and the fight against counterfeiting
In the economic and political context of Communism, the USSR rejected industrial property rights. Since then, the need to carry economic weight in international trade has definitely motivated changes in the law in this field. Although reforms of property rights were undertaken prior to the Perestroika and collapse of the USSR, they tended to be seen as indispensable to the revival of foreign trade rather than as essential for a national policy of innovation. Although Russian patent legislation now complies with the requirements of international conventions, counterfeiting activities still abound. They are the major argument advanced by Western countries for refusing Russia's admission into the World Trade Organization. Sanctions against those who do not respect industrial property rights, as well as the powers (for a long time insufficient) of customs to intercept counterfeit merchandise at the border, have recently been reinforced in view of the country joining the WTO in the near future.