Cambridge International Trade and Economic Law: Industrial Policy and the World Trade Organization: Between Legal Constraints and Flexibilities

The severe global financial crisis of 2008 could not be overcome without government interventions through industrial policy. This timely book analyses industrial policy from the perspectives of trade law and economics under the WTO system. The author expertly examines both general tools of protecting and supporting domestic producers and specific topics like special economic zones, localization, greening measures and creative economy. In addition to legal texts and jurisprudence, this book extensively utilizes other WTO materials to show what is actually discussed in WTO meetings and forums on relevant issues. Where applicable, the author advances practical recommendations for 'right' or 'optimal' industrial policy in certain contexts based on trade rules, case law and some countries' real experiences. The author concludes this work with some thoughts on concrete actions to be taken at the WTO and national levels and in academic circles in order to better tackle industrial policy issues.

Part I. General Tools of Industrial Policy: 1. Industrial policy under the global trade regime; 1.1. The conceptual framework for industrial policy; 1.2. The multilateral trading system and industrial policy; 1.3. Concluding remarks; 2. Protection of domestic industry; 2.1. Border restrictions; 2.2. Taxes; 2.3. Product standards; 2.4. Protection of services industries; 2.5. Concluding remarks; 3. Promotion of domestic industry; 3.1. The economics of government subsidies; 3.2. The WTO subsidy regime; 3.3. Industrial policies in upstream sectors; 3.4. Concluding remarks; Part II. Special Topics of Industrial Policy: 4. Free zones and industrial development; 4.1. Free zones as an industrial policy tool; 4.2. Free zones under the revised Kyoto Convention; 4.3. Free zones under WTO rules; 4.4. Customs and trade rules: some questions of concurrent application; 4.5. Concluding remarks; 5. Local content requirements and industrialization; 5.1. LCRs and world practice; 5.2. Review of the economic literature; 5.3. The scope of the WTO-applicability to LCRs; 5.4. Legality of LCRs under WTO rules; 5.5. Data localization requirements as an emerging issue; 5.6. Concluding remarks; 6. The greening of industrial policy; 6.1. Environmental dimensions of industrial policy and trade; 6.2. Border carbon adjustments; 6.3. Renewable energy subsidies; 6.4. Environmental labels; 6.5. Environmental exceptions under GATT Article XX; 6.6. Harmonization of the trade and environmental regimes; 6.7. Concluding remarks; 7. Industrial policy in the age of creative economy; 7.1. Creative economy as a new paradigm of industrial policy; 7.2. The status of creative products under the WTO legal framework; 7.3. Creative economy and technological progress under WTO law; 7.4. Policy space for trade restrictions on creative products; 7.5. Concluding remarks.