Cross-national cooperation and agreements

1. Cross-National Cooperation
and Agreements
International
Business
Name: Asadullah “Qais”
Section: D
Semester: 2nd
Teacher: Raminder “Sira”

2. What is Cross-national Cooperation and
Agreements?

3. Introduction
Economic Integration
Cooperation or Integration is a political and economic agreement among countries that gives preference to
member countries to the agreement.
1. Bilateral integration
2. Regional Integration
3. Global integration

4. The World Trade Organization (WTO)
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade
between nations.
At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified
in their parliaments.
 The goal of WTO
 To ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.
 Trade in Goods
 Trade-Related to Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
 General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)

5. The World Trade Organization (WTO)
The major body for:
 Reciprocal trade negotiation
 Enforcement of trade agreements
 Dispute settlement
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT)
The head quarter of WTO is in Geneva, Switzerland.

6. The World Trade Organization (WTO)
ACCESSION AND MEMBERSHIP:
The process of becoming a WTO member is unique to each applicant country!
terms of accession are dependent upon the country's stage of economic development and the current trade regime.
5 years on an average but it can last longer if the country is less than fully committed to the process or if political
issues interfere.
1. Submits an application to the General Council
2. The application is than submitted to the WTO in a memorandum.
3. Examined by a working party open to all interested WTO Members
4. Issues of discrepancy between the WTO rules and the applicant's international and domestic trade policies and
laws
5. The final phase of accession involves bilateral negotiations between the applicant nation and other working party
members regarding the concessions and commitments on tariff levels and market access for goods and services.

7. GATT predecessor to (WTO)
GATT:
 Formed in 1948 to abolish quotas and reduce tariffs
 Most favored nation (MFN) clause
• Trade without discrimination
Succeeded by WTO in 1995
The WTO is the world's largest international economic organization, with 164 member states representing
over 96% of global trade and global GDP.

8. What Does The WTO Do?
WTO:
 Continues the MFN clause of GATT
 Provides a mechanism for dispute settlement
 DOHA round
This was to be an ambitious effort to make globalization more inclusive and help the world's
poor, particularly by slashing barriers and subsidies in farming.
 Criticized for:
 Failing to pay enough attention to labor and environmental concerns
 Undermining global diversity
 Benefiting rich on the expenses of poor

9. The Rise Of Bilateral
Agreements
Bilateral Agreements
Can be between two individual countries or can involve one country dealing
with a group of other countries.
Also known as:
 Preferential trade agreements (PTAs)
 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)

10. Regional Economic Integration
Regional Trade agreements:
 Integration confined to a region and involving more than two
countries.
Examples include:
 European Union (EU)
 European Free Trade Area (EFTA)
 North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA)
 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
 Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)

11. Regional Economic Integration
 Major Types of Economic Integration
 Free Trade Area
 No internal Tariffs
 Customs Union
 No internal Tariffs plus common external market (common trade policy for non-members)
 Common Market
 Custom union plus factor mobility
 Economic integration
 Common market plus common fiscal and monetary policy, common currency and political
integration

12. Regional Integration Groups
Europe
 European Union
 European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA)
Asia
 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
 South Asian Association For Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
 Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)
 Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
Africa
 Southern African Development Community (SADC)
 Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)

13. Regional Integration Groups
America
 Caribbean community (CARICOM)
 Central American Free Trade Agreement-Dominican republic (CAFTA-DR)
 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

14. The European Union (EU)
 The EU is a unique economic and political partnership between 27 European countries.
 It has delivered half a century of:
 Peace
Stability and prosperity
Helped raise living standards
Launched a single European currency and
 Is progressively building a single Europe-wide market in which people, goods, services
and capital move among the member states as freely as within one country.

15. The European Union (EU)
Changed from the European Economic Community to European community and now to
the European Union (EU)
It is the largest and most successful regional trade group in the world
Provides free trade of goods, capital and people
Uses common external tariffs
Has a common currency

16. European Trade and Economic Integration

17. EU institutions and bodies in brief
1. European Parliament
2. European Council
3. Council of the European Union
4. European Commission
5. Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)
6. European Central Bank (ECB)
7. European Court of Auditors (ECA)
8. European Ombudsman

18. European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA)
 Elimination of customs duties on industrial products, but did not affect agricultural or fisheries
products.
 Each EFTA member was free to establish its individual customs duties against, or its individual
free trade agreements with, non-EFTA countries.
 Members
 The founding members of the EFTA were: Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden,
Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. During the 1960s
 Finland in 1961 and Iceland in 1970
 The United Kingdom and Denmark joined the EEC in 1973
 Portugal also left EFTA for the European Community in 1986
 Liechtenstein joined the EFTA in 1991
 Austria, Sweden, and Finland joined the EU in 1995 and thus ceased to be EFTA members

19. European Free Trade Agreement (EFTA)
Organization
 Council
The EFTA Council is the highest governing body of EFTA. The Council usually meets eight times a
year at the ambassadorial level (heads of permanent delegations to EFTA) and twice a year at
Ministerial level. In the Council meetings, the delegations consult with one another, negotiate and
decide on policy issues regarding EFTA. Each Member State is represented and has one vote, though
decisions are usually reached through consensus
 Secretariat
The day-to-day running of the Secretariat is headed by the Secretary-General, who is assisted by
two Deputy Secretaries-General, one based in Geneva and the other in Brussels. The three posts are
shared between the Member States. The division of the Secretariat reflects the division of EFTA's
activities. The Secretariat employs approximately 100 staff members, of whom a third are based in
Geneva and two-thirds in Brussels and Luxembourg.

20. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
 Formed in 1967, ASEAN united Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and
Thailand,
 Is an economic union comprising 10 member states in Southeast Asia
 Promotes intergovernmental cooperation and
facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational,
and sociocultural integration among its members and other countries in Asia.
Primary objective was (to accelerate economic growth and through that social
progress and cultural development)
Secondary objective was (To promote regional peace and stability)
 Then broadened its objective beyond the economic and social spheres looking to the
fastest growth of the economies in the world.

21. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
 Members Nations:
Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and
Vietnam
ASEAN countries have a total population of 650 million people and a combined gross domestic
product (GDP) of $2.8 trillion.
Areas of work:
1. Food security
2. Economy
3. Internal market
4. Free trade
5. Tourism
6. Foreign relations
7. Education
8. Culture
9. Sports

22. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
 The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is an economic group of 21 members, formed in
1989, with the primary goal of promoting free trade and sustainable development in the Pacific
Rim economies.
Nations Comprising APEC
 The founding members of APEC were Australia, Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Korea,
Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the U.S.
 Since its launch, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Peru, Russia, and
Vietnam have joined its ranks.
Goals
 free trade and investment regimes in the Asia-Pacific region
 APEC provides funding for approximately 100 projects annually, with around USD 15.4 million
made available in 2018.

23. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
 The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is the
regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union of states in South Asia.
 Member states
 Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
 The SAARC comprises
 3% of the world's area,
 21% of the world's population and
 4.21% (US$3.67 trillion of the global economy, as of 2019.
 The SAARC was founded in Dhaka on 8 December 1985.
 Its secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal

24. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
 Potential future members
 Myanmar has expressed interest in upgrading its status from an observer to a full member of the
SAARC.
 China has requested joining SAARC
 Russia has applied for observer status membership of SAARC
 Turkey applied for observer status membership of SAARC in 2012
 South Africa has participated in meetings
 It promotes development of economic and regional integration.
 It launched the South Asian Free Trade Area in 2006.
 The main objectives of SAARC are:
 Increase in the pace of economic growth.
 Promotion of social progress and cultural development
 Improvement in the quality of life of people of South Asia by increasing economic cooperation
 Non-interference in the internal affairs of other nations.

25. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
 SAARC Disaster Management Centre
 Political issues
 South Asian Free Trade Area (leading subsequently towards a Customs Union, Common Market
and the Economic Union).
 SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme
 (The leaders at the Fourth Summit (Islamabad, 29–31 December 1988) decided that certain
categories of dignitaries should be entitled to a Special Travel document. The document would
exempt them from visas within the region.
 Currently, the list included 24 categories of entitled persons, which include dignitaries, judges of
higher courts, parliamentarians, senior officials, entrepreneurs, journalists, and athletes.
 The Visa Stickers are issued by the respective Member States to the entitled categories of that
particular country. The validity of the Visa Sticker is generally for one year. The implementation is
reviewed regularly by the Immigration Authorities of SAARC Member States.

26. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
 SAARC Youth Award
 For their Inventions, Protection of the Environment and Disaster relief
 Current leaders of SAARC
 Afghanistan : President Ashraf Ghani
 India: Prime Minister Narendra Modi
 Bangladesh: Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
 Bhutan: Prime Minister Lotay Tshering
 Maldives: President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
 Nepal: Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli
 Sri Lanka: President Gotabaya Rajapaksa
 Pakistan: Prime Minister Imran Khan

27. Economic Cooperation Organization
 The Economic Cooperation Organization or ECO is an Asian political and
economic intergovernmental organization which was founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders
of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.
 It is the successor organization of what was the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD),
founded in 1964, which ended activities in 1979.
 ECO expanded to include seven new
members; Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan
by the fall of 1992.
 The Economic Cooperation Organization Trade Agreement (ECOTA) was signed on 17 July 2003
in Islamabad.
 ECO Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) was a new organization for trade promotion among
member states located in Iran (2009).
 The common trade market established in 2015

28. Economic Cooperation Organization
Objectives & Principles of Cooperation:
 Sustainable economic development of Member States
 Removal of trade barriers and promotion of intraregional trade
 Development of transport & communications infrastructure linking the Member States with each other
and with the outside world.
 Economic liberalization and privatization.
 Mobilization and utilization of ECO region's material resources.
 Effective utilization of the agricultural and industrial potentials of ECO region
 Regional cooperation for drug abuse control, ecological and environmental protection and
strengthening of historical and cultural ties among the peoples of the ECO region
 Mutually beneficial cooperation with regional and international organizations

29. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
 The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, originally known as the Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC).
 Is a regional, intergovernmental political and economic union.
 The council main headquarter is in the city of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia
 The Charter of the GCC was signed on 25 May 1981, formally establishing the institution.
 Agreement signed on 11 November 1981 in Abu Dhabi, UAE. These countries are often referred to as "the GCC states"
or "Gulf countries"
 Member Countries:
 Bahrain
 Kuwait
 Oman
 Qatar
 Saudi Arabia
 United Arab Emirates

30. Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
Objectives:
 In 2001, the GCC Supreme Council set the following goals:
1. Customs union in January 2003
2. Common market by 2007
3. Common currency by 2010.
Oman announced in December 2006 that it would not be able to meet the 2010 target date for a common currency.
The name Khaleeji has been proposed as a name for this currency. 2nd largest monetary union if realized.
UAE announced their withdrawal from the monetary union project in May 2009.
 Other objectives:
 Formulating similar regulations in various fields such as religion, finance, trade, customs, tourism, legislation, and
administration.
 Fostering scientific and technical progress in industry, mining, agriculture, water and animal resources.
 Establishing scientific research centers.
 Setting up joint ventures.
 Unified military.
 Encouraging cooperation of the private sector.
 Strengthening ties between their people.

31. Southern African Development Community (SADC)
The predecessor of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) was the Southern African Development
Co-ordination Conference (SADCC), established in 1980 in Lusaka, Zambia.
In 1992, Heads of Government of the region agreed to transform SADCC into the Southern African Development
Community (SADC), with the focus on integration of economic development.
Member countries:
Angola, Botswana, DR Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South
Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Year
GDP Population
SADCC 1980 to 1992 US$ 20 Billion 60 million
SADC 1992 to
present
US $ 471.1
Billion
257.7 million

32. Southern African Development Community (SADC)
 Objectives of SADC
 Achieve development and economic growth, alleviate poverty, enhance the standard and quality of life of the people of
Southern Africa and support the socially disadvantaged through Regional Integration;
 Evolve common political values, systems and institutions;
 Promote and defend peace and security;
 Promote self-sustaining development on the basis of collective self-reliance, and the inter-dependence of Member States;
 Achieve complementarity between national and regional strategies and programs;
 Promote and maximize productive employment and utilization of resources of the region;
 Achieve sustainable utilization of natural resources and effective protection of the environment;
 Strengthen and consolidate the long-standing historical, social and cultural affinities and links among the people of the
Region.

33. Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)

34. Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is a free trade area with twenty-one member states.
COMESA was formed in December 1994
COMESA is one of the pillars of the African Economic Community.
COMESA 12,873,957 406,102,471 735,599 1,811 21
Pillar
regional
blocs (REC)
Area
(km²)
Population
GDP (PPP) ($US)
Member
states
In
millions
Per capita

35. Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
 Nine of the member states formed a free trade area in 2000
(Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe),
 Rwanda and Burundi joining the FTA in 2004,
 The Comoros and Libya in 2006,
 Seychelles in 2009 and
 Tunisia and Somalia in 2018
 COMESA is one of the pillars of the African Economic Community.
 In 2008, COMESA agreed to an expanded free-trade zone including members of two other African trade blocs,
1. East African Community (EAC)
2. Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).
 COMESA is also considering a common visa scheme to boost tourism

36. Caribbean community (CARICOM)
 History
CARICOM, originally the Caribbean Community and Common Market, was established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas which
took effect on 1 August 1973. The first four signatories were Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.
 Primary objectives
 To promote economic integration and cooperation among its members.
 To ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared.
 To coordinate foreign policy.
The organization was established in 1973
 Major activities
 Coordinating economic policies and development planning
 Devising and instituting special projects for the less-developed countries within its jurisdiction
 Operating as a regional single market for many of its members (CARICOM Single Market)
 Handling regional trade disputes

37. Caribbean community (CARICOM)
 Membership
 Currently CARICOM has 15 full members.
 5 associate members and,
 8 observers.
 All of the associate members are British Overseas Territories, and it is currently not established what the role of the
associate members will be.
 The observers are states which engage in at least one of CARICOM's technical committees.)
 The flag of the Caribbean Community was chosen and approved in November 1983
 Song (63 entries and selected Celebrating CARICOM by Michele Henderson of Dominica in March 2014 and won
US$10,000 prize)
 CARICOM DAY
 Caribbean Festival of Arts - CARIFESTA

38. Dominican Republic–Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA)
 Is a free trade agreement (legally a treaty under international law). Originally, the agreement encompassed the United
States and the Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua.
 Was called CAFTA. In 2004, the Dominican Republic joined the negotiations, and the agreement was renamed CAFTA-
DR.
 The goal of the agreement
Is the creation of a free trade area similar to NAFTA, which currently encompasses the United States, Canada, and Mexico
Once passed by the countries involved, tariffs on about 80% of U.S. exports to the participating countries were eliminated
immediately and the rest were phased out over the subsequent decade.

39. Dominican Republic–Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA)
 Cross-border trade in services
treat service suppliers of another member country no less favorably
 Investment
CAFTA-DR establishes rules to protect investors from one member country against unfair or discriminatory government
actions when they make or attempt to make investments in another member country's territory.
 Government procurement
Each member country must apply fair and transparent procurement procedures and rules and prohibiting each government
and its procuring entities from discriminating in purchasing practices against goods, services, and suppliers from the other
member countries.
 Agriculture
Each member country will eliminate export subsidies on agricultural goods destined for another CAFTA-DR country

40. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
 NAFTA is a treaty entered into by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
 It went into effect on January 1, 1994
 Free trade had existed between the U.S. and Canada since 1989; NAFTA broadened that arrangement.
 the three countries became the largest free market in the world
 The combined economies of the three nations at that time measured $6 trillion and directly affected more than 365 million
people.
Objectives
 to eliminate tariff barriers to agricultural, manufacturing, and services
 o remove investment restrictions
 to protect intellectual property rights.
This was to be done while also addressing environmental and labor concerns

41. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
 Highlights of NAFTA included
 Tariff elimination for qualifying products (Before NAFTA, tariffs of 30 percent or higher on export goods to Mexico were
common, as were long delays caused by paperwork. Additionally, Mexican tariffs on U.S.-made products were, on
average, 250 percent higher than U.S. duties on Mexican products)
 Elimination of nontariff barriers by 2008
 Establishment of standards (health, safety, and industrial standards )
 Supplemental agreements (agreed to establish commissions to handle labor and environmental issues)
 Tariff reduction for motor vehicles and auto parts and automobile rules of origin.
 Expanded telecommunications trade.
 Reduced textile and apparel barriers.
 More free trade in agriculture. Mexican import licenses were immediately abolished, with most additional tariffs phased
out over a 10-year period.
 Expanded trade in financial services.
 Opening of insurance markets.
 Increased investment opportunities.
 Liberalized regulation of land transportation.
 Increased protection of intellectual property rights.

42. CONCLUSION
Cross-border cooperation is a powerful force affecting spatial socio-economic structures of
neighboring regions. It has become clearer that state borders represent not only a liability, but
also an asset, when different conditions (social, economic, cultural, political and regulatory)
on both sides of the border can be capitalized and exploited for the benefit of local actors.
Those communities that are capable of “taming” the border potential have already been turned
into the centers of growth.