International Trade Law Essay/Project Topics 1. Is free trade necessary for economic growth? Discuss. 2.

. The World Trade Organization (WTO) epitomizes a free trade model. Discuss. 3. Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rule has ensured non discrimination amongst countries in the multilateral trading regime. Discuss. 4. What is the legal and economic justification for having the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rule in the World Trade Organization (WTO)? 5. Can a jurisdictional conflict arise in situations where a country is a member of a Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the same time? 6. The India-EC GSP dispute gave a new interpretation to the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rule. Discuss. 7. How significant is the concept of like product under the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) and National Treatment (NT) rule? Discuss. 8. Even after deciding a number of disputes the Appellate Body (AB) is still confused about the interpretation of like products in Article III of GATT. Discuss. 9. Has the growth of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) diluted the importance of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rule? Discuss. 10. The formation of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) under Article XXIV of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) has stifled the growth of the multilateral trade regime. Discuss. 11. The Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), as a legal principle, has hampered the uniform extension of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rule. Discuss. 12. The economic significance of the GSP programme outweighs the negative impact that it may have on the MFN rule. Discuss. 13. The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is a result of forceful coercion of developed countries. Discuss. 14. The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) has become the global norm for IPR regulation. Discuss. 15. Allowing product patents on pharmaceuticals may lead to public health crisis. Discuss. 16. Article 30 of the TRIPS agreement can be used as an exception to the patent rule to cater to the public health needs of developing countries. Discuss. 17. There should be an agreement on trade and human rights in the World Trade Organization. Discuss. 18. An agreement on trade and human rights in the World Trade Organization (WTO) would become a smokescreen for protectionism. Discuss. 19. Article XX of GATT can be used to preserve non trade concerns. Discuss with specific reference to the Shrimp Turtle case. 20. The Doha declaration on TRIPS and public health has solved the public health problem of developing countries. Discuss. 21. Discuss Article XX of GATT as an exception to the National Treatment rule.

22. The Appellate Body has interpreted Article XX of GATT in a fashion that it cannot be used as a protectionist device for non trade concerns by an importing country. Discuss. 23. Industrial tariffs are important to boost industrialization. Discuss. 24. Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO is a World Trade Court. Discuss. 25. Public international law has no influence over the functioning of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO. Discuss. 26. Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO is a marked improvement over the dispute settlement system under GATT. 27. Discuss the sequencing problem under the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO. 28. There is a conflict between the obligations imposed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the international human rights obligations. Discuss. 29. The World Trade Organization (WTO) needs to undergo many institutional reforms. Discuss. 30. There is no need to have an Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMS) to regulate imposition of performance requirements because such requirements are anyway caught by Article III of GATT. Discuss. 31. A Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) under the World Trade Organization (WTO) will result in massive foreign direct investment in developing countries. Discuss. 32. The problem of compliance with the rulings of the Dispute Settlement Body has eroded the credibility of the WTO. Discuss. 33. The Dispute settlement provisions in the RTAs have resulted in a spaghetti bowl leading to jurisdictional problems vis--vis the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO. Discuss. 34. Compare and contrast the dispute settlement provisions in any two major RTAs with the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the WTO. 35. Discuss the possibility of developing countries retaliating against developed countries in the WTO with specific reference to the EC-Bananas case. 36. Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO has only served the interests of developed countries in the WTO. Discuss. 37. The provision of compulsory licenses (CL) within the TRIPS agreement is an important flexibility to the patent rule despite its limitations. Discuss. 38. The December 2004 WTO decision goes a long way in addressing the concerns of countries that lack the manufacturing capability to issue Compulsory License for the production of generic medicines. Discuss. 39. A Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) in the World Trade Organization would provide the best regulatory framework possible for the regulation of international investment. Discuss. 40. The World Trade Organization (WTO) does not adequately reflect the concerns of developing countries and hence needs to be revamped. Discuss.