Publication Number: 3506

Report Title: International Economic Review: Mexican Trucks Gain Access to U.S. Highways; The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership; A WTO Agreement on Competition Policy: Prospects and Pitfalls

Author's name(s): Magdolna Kornis, Joanne Guth, Victoria Chomo, Rodney D. Ludema

Date Published: April 2002

Report Description/Introductory Text: According to “Mexican Trucks Gain Access to U.S. Highways, ” a 6-year-old dispute between the United States and Mexico has apparently ended. The United States agreed that, as soon as possible after January 1, 2002, it would grant access to U.S. highways for Mexican trucks, provided that U.S. safety standards are met. This decision was accompanied by measures for significant improvements in the U.S. inspection process.

“The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership” explores how the EU has renewed its attention on its Mediterranean neighbors and made important progress under the trade component of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, its broad policy initiative with the region. To help achieve the long term goal of forming a Euro-Mediterranean free-trade area by 2010, the EU is negotiating bilateral association agreements with Mediterranean countries. Empirical research suggests that the welfare effects of the association agreements are positive, but that the benefits from the proposed Euro-Mediterranean free-trade area would be greater, especially for the Mediterranean partners.

“A WTO Agreement on Competition Policy: Prospects and Pitfalls” briefly reviews the debate over inclusion of competition policy in the WTO and offers some ideas of where such negotiations might lead. It discusses the main sources of conflict that have precipitated the move to a multilateral agreement and analyzes whether the WTO is capable of resolving them. The main conclusion is that the prospects of bringing competition policy into the WTO are rather dim, in part because the current system works fairly well and in part because the machinery of the WTO, at present, is not well suited for handling competition issues.

Topics Covered: USITC, NAFTA, American Trucking Association (ATA), Mexican trucking, Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, Euro-Mediterranean free-trade area (FTA), association agreements, WTO, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Doha round, competition policy

Countries: United States, Mexico, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Cyprus, Malta

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