Legal Considerations in International Trade

International trade is an exciting and potentially lucrative experience, as long as you understand the legal intricacies and take the time to learn cultural norms and comply with local laws.

Every country in the world has a different tax code, and doing business there means jumping through due process and punished if done wrong. Labour and IP rights must be respectfully considered, too.

Trade Agreements

Trade agreements are either multilateral or bilateral deals between countries to lower or eliminate barriers to trade between them – for example, deals covering intellectual property rights, labour practices and arbitration.

Trade agreement commitments often include schedules for reducing tariffs and other forms of market-opening restriction such as tariff targets and the sectors of procurement covered. They often run into the thousands of pages and have inspired some detractors to see them as conveyances of special-interest commerce. However cynically viewed, the net effect of trade agreements is to shift national trade regimes toward freer markets, as they corral corporate demands for government protection from competition.

Antidumping, countervailing and safeguard duties give governments the ability to fight protectionism with judicious penalties that can be applied in case governments violate the terms of the agreements by taking swift action against a sudden influx of fairly traded imports through tariffs that dissuade their entry.

Intellectual Property Rights

The second category is rights to intangible goods, such as intellectual property rights (patent, copyright, trademark and trade secrets). Intellectual property rights play a vital role in trade and investment across the globe. The effective protection of intellectual property rights stimulates ingenuity and promotes investment in R and D projects as well as the transfer of technology between countries.

It is important to note that Intellectual Property-intensive industries are an increasing share of global merchandise and service exports. Laws that support Intellectual Property allow businesses to increase their competitiveness and enhance profit potential, but may also promote Foreign Direct Investment and technology transfer to developing countries, thereby supporting greater technological sophistication globally.

Stolen or misappropriated intellectual property can be enforced and remedied through local courts through civil or criminal proceedings. All TRIPS members must develop procedures for enforcement that are ‘fair and equitable’, with ‘reasonable timeframes’ and of ‘affordable’ cost; while the resolution of judgments or settlements must allow ‘sufficient appeals’ for the flexibility a business might need if filing lots of intellectual property suits abroad.

Labor Laws

After all, international labour standards vary dramatically from country to country taking into account a variety of social, economic and political variances. These differences should all be considered when thinking about a trade agreement. Labour laws regulate such diverse topics as wages, working conditions, employee safety, and more.

Virtually all nations claim to agree that workers should not be exploited, that they should receive a living wage and so on. But there is disagreement about how this is to be done. For example, the US government evidently does not want to use its power in international organisations to push other countries to respect basic rights, such as freedom of association and the banning of forced and child labour.

In part this reflects globalised economies in which multinational corporations exercise greater power than do many sovereign nation states; but politics beyond labour rights criteria can often deter the US from pushing forward with trade action requiring high labour standards through the GSP safeguard mechanisms against major trading partners.

Dispute Resolution

For instance, when some companies are shipping and others are clearing their trucks through customs, effective dispute resolution becomes essential. This is because resolving time-sensitive disputes that involve complex international trade regulations requires both a keen eye for strategy and a knack for diplomatic negotiation – two qualities that come together to make dispute management most efficient.

Among these different options to settle disputes, the trade community has at its disposal ranging from informal consultations and arbitration, up to mediation, litigation and, if all else fails, challenging non-compliance of the other party through the litigation of legal pleadings of the disputing parties submitted – usually, but not necessarily – over WTO agreement provisions and law by a WTO panel for a binding resolution.

The WTO Appellate Body plays an important role in clarifying and even overturning decisions made by WTO panels. Successful trade dispute resolution relies on contractual clarity and legal support, as well as the willingness of companies to maintain relationships and continue operating. It is also crucial for communities to implement timely and effective enforcement mechanisms to prevent any weakening of relations between trading partners. In short, success is found in ensuring that the world remains generally well-fed.