International Trade Organizations Vocabulary

Flashcards reviewing key vocabulary from the lecture notes on international trade and organizations.

Free Trade Area (FTA) Agreement

A negotiated arrangement to reduce trade barriers and increase trade of goods and services between participating countries.

Economic Partnership (EP) Agreement

An economic arrangement between Parties to eliminate barriers to the free movement of goods, services, and investments.

Multilateral Trade Agreement

Trade agreements between many nations at one time, treating all nations equally.

Regional Trade Agreement (RTA)

Trade agreements involving many participants but limited to a specific geographical area or region.

Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA)

An agreement between two sides, which could be countries, trade blocs, or informal groups.

Trade in Goods Agreement

A primary agreement concerning the reduction of regional tariffs, criteria to determine the country of origin, and guidelines for preferential tariff treatment.

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)

Established on 08 August 1967 in Bangkok, promotes economic integration among members.

ASEAN Summit

The meetings where heads of government of each ASEAN Member State meet to discuss and resolve regional issues.

ASEAN Political-Security Community

To establish a rules-based community promoting political development and stability in the region.

ASEAN Economic Community

Economic integration to establish ASEAN as a single market and production base.

ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community

Represents the human dimension of ASEAN cooperation addressing the region’s aspiration to lift the quality of life of its people.

ASEAN Charter

Serves as a foundation in achieving the ASEAN Economic Community by providing legal status and institutional framework for ASEAN.

ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint 2025

Adopted in 2015, to transform ASEAN into a single market and production base fully integrated into the global economy.

ASEAN Trade Facilitation Framework (ATFF)

Adopted in 2016, playing a key role with respect to the realization of the goal of establishing ASEAN as a single market and production base.

ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)

Agreed in 1992, to increase ASEAN’s competitive edge as a production base geared for the world market.

Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) Scheme

The main mechanism for the realization of AFTA, an agreed preferential tariff applied to goods originating from and traded between ASEAN Member States.

e-ASEAN Framework Agreement

Signed in 2000, objectives are to enhance competitiveness of the ICT sector, promote cooperation between public and private sectors, and promote and liberalize trade in ICT.

ASEAN Integration System of Preferences (AISP) Scheme

Under the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI), to accelerate the integration of new members into the regional economy.

ASEAN Framework Agreement for the Integration of Priority Sectors

Signed in 2004, objective is to enable the progressive, expeditious and systematic integration of priority sectors in ASEAN.

ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA)

Signed in 2009, the enhancement and consolidation of all existing provisions of the CEPT-AFTA Scheme and relevant ASEAN economic agreements and instruments.

ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN)

An 8-digit commodity nomenclature based on the HS of the WCO, created to further facilitate trade by establishing uniformity of application in the classification of goods in ASEAN.

ASEAN Plus Three Cooperation (APT)

Established in 1997, serves as a forum that functions as a coordinator of cooperation between the ASEAN and China, Japan, and South Korea.

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)

Signed in 2020, A free trade agreement to broaden and deepen ASEAN’s engagement with Australia, China, Japan, Korea and New Zealand.

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

Established in 1989, unlike the WTO, it has no treaty obligations and decisions are reached by consensus.

Individual Action Plans (IAP)

A record of actions taken by each member economy to meet its stated goals for free and open trade and investment.

Collective Action Plans (CAP)

Detail the collective actions of all APEC members in the issue areas outlined in the Individual Action Plans.

TRADE AND INVESTMENT LIBERALIZATION

To reduce and eventually eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade and investment.

BUSINESS FACILITATION

Focuses on reducing the costs of business transactions, improving access to trade information and aligning policy and business strategies to facilitate growth, and free and open trade.

ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL COOPERATION

Providing training and cooperation to build capacities in all APEC Member Economies to take advantage of global trade.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

Set up in 1947, a Negotiating Forum on the reduction of trade barriers.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

Created during the GATT Uruguay Round and entered into force in 1995, an institutional body overseeing the rules of INTERNATIONAL TRADE.

MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE

The topmost decision-making body of the WTO, usually meets every two years.

GENERAL COUNCIL

Meets regularly to carry out the functions of the WTO and has the authority to act on behalf of the Ministerial Conference.

WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation

Establishes a series of measures for expeditiously moving goods across borders inspired by best practices from around the world.

WTO : URUGUAY ROUND (UR)

The 8th round of multilateral trade negotiations under the GATT, it transformed the GATT into the WTO.

Quantitative Restrictions: Minimum Access Volume (MAV)

Amount of imports of an agricultural product allowed to be imported into the country at a customs duty lower than the out-quota customs duty.

WTO: AGREEMENT ON AGRICULTURE

Entered into force with the establishment of the WTO, it embodies the multilateral trading rules governing agriculture.

WTO: DOHA ROUND

Also known as “The Doha Development Agenda”, the latest trade-negotiation Round of the WTO.

WTO: Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) Negotiations

Focuses on the reduction or elimination in tariffs, particularly on exportable goods of interest to developing countries.

TARIFF BINDING

A ceiling level tariff or maximum tariff that may be applied by a member.

NON-TARIFF BARRIERS

Refers to any measure other than a tariff which protects domestic industry, or simply put, they are trade barriers that restrict imports but are not in the usual form of a tariff.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AGREEMENT (ITA)

A WTO Agreement to eliminate tariffs on information technology products by the year 2000.

WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION (WCO)

The sole intergovernmental organization exclusively focused on CUSTOMS MATTERS.

COUNCIL

The supreme body of the World Customs Organization.

HARMONIZED SYSTEM (HS)

A multipurpose internationally standardized coding system consisting of names and numbers for classifying products, developed and maintained by the WCO.

REVISED KYOTO CONVENTION (RKC)

An update and revision of the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures.

UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD)

To maximize the trade, investment and development opportunities of DEVELOPING COUNTRIES and assist them in their efforts to integrate into the world economy on an equitable basis.

GENERALIZED SYSTEM OF PREFERENCES (GSP)

A preferential tariff system which provides tariff reduction on various products imposed by a nation on various countries.