Possible Enhancement of the World Trade and Investment Systems

Abstract

In this paper, various new ideas for the enhancement of the world trade and investment systems are proposed. The first idea is a proposal for feasible transitional compensatory taxes which can enable the compensation of losers by the winners caused by the expansion of trade in a given country in a two-good world. These feasible transitional compensatory taxes are then generalised to apply to the expansion of international trade in a given country in general. The other new ideas include: the intensification of efforts in the harmonisation of standards, the re-definition of the rules of origin, the reciprocal exemption of individual cyber-trade, streamlined procedures for open accession to existing free trade agreements, a general bilateral investment treaty based on the principle of national treatment for both countries and a global carbon tax for all.