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The current WA Resolution, Repeal: “World Assembly Trade Rights” has been posted on our off-site forums at:

https://bnationstates.runboard.com/t84262

General Assembly Resolution At Vote

Repeal: “World Assembly Trade Rights”

A resolution to repeal previously passed legislation.

Category: Repeal

Resolution: GA#209

General Assembly Resolution #209 “World Assembly Trade Rights” (Category: Free Trade; Strength: Strong) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.

The World Assembly finds as follows:

Extending trade preferences on a most-favoured nation basis to all member nations requires that any further preference to an allied member nation also be given to other unfriendly member nations. Governments have interests in stopping the transfer of technology or linking of their industry with such unfriendly nations, motives which are not accounted for in GA 209, which only permits exceptions for 'vital national security interests during serious international disputes or times of war'.

Section 1(c) of the target resolution allows for existing trade zones to exist. But it is unclear how such existing trade zones can possibly 'ultimately lower trade barriers between their members' without inherently contradicting the most-favoured nation provision in section 1(a), as any members of a trade zone would by virtue of their membership be more favoured than non-trade zone member nations, putting such members in violation of section 1(a) unless their trade zone membership privileges were extended to all World Assembly member nations.

Section 2 does not give member nations authority to institute retaliatory tariffs against dumping or other unfair trade practices, instead only giving member nations the ability to support domestic industry with subsidies. This has two impacts. First, subsidies cost member nations money, while tariffs (being taxes) are net positive on a nation's treasury. By only allowing subsidies, this penalises member nations with weaker financial situations. Second, the use of subsidies instead of tariffs causes a race towards higher subsidies, as subsidies increase production, further driving down commodity prices, necessitating even higher subsidies to ensure viability. This singular-minded view on subsidies therefore harms the poorest member nations and saddles the Assembly as a whole with chronic overproduction and government support of inefficient industries.

GA 440 'Administrative Compliance Act' uses trade sanctions as a core means of enforcement of World Assembly legislation. It is unclear how strong such sanctions can be when section 1(a) requires equal treatment of nations regardless of their compliance with World Assembly resolutions. Basic fairness requires that member nations which are not compliant with Assembly legislation, a duty of membership in the Assembly, should not be given the benefits of membership. Repeal, therefore, repairs a sense of basic fairness necessary for the Assembly to operate justly and impartially.

Further legislation should be passed, patching the flaws present in GA 209, to ensure sufficient incentives for membership in the World Assembly.

Now, therefore, the World Assembly repeals GA 209 'World Assembly Trade Rights'.

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General Assembly Resolution # 209

World Assembly Trade Rights

A resolution to reduce barriers to free trade and commerce.

Category: Free Trade

Strength: Strong

Regretting that World Assembly member nations often face harmful and unnecessary barriers in their trade with other member nations,

Emphasizing that these barriers ultimately serve as obstacles to the economic prosperity of all member nations,

Recognizing that these barriers therefore constitute a serious hazard to national populations,

The General Assembly,

Grants the following rights to each member nation:

the right, for a good or service originating from said nation, to receive the most favourable trade preference from any other member nation that said other nation grants to any other member nation for the same type of good or service,

the right, for a good or service originating from said nation, to have applied the same taxes or regulations by any other member nation that said other nation applies to the same type of good or service of domestic origin, at least once the good or service has legally entered that nation,

the right to create or maintain existing free trade areas or customs unions, so long as such areas or unions ultimately lower trade barriers between their members, not raise trade barriers for non-members;

Clarifies that member nations may suspend their individual responsibilities under the above provision in the following cases:

in the event of a significant disparity in labour, environmental or human rights standards, or to ensure reasonable quality control on goods and services, but only if such a suspension does not constitute discrimination between goods and services from different member nations with similar issues,

to apply domestic subsidies, or to protect domestic industries against a discriminatory subsidy applied by another member nation, so long as any retaliation in the latter case is directly proportional to the original subsidy,

to protect vital national security interests during serious international disputes or times of war, or

to develop any other additional reasonable and appropriate trade regulations that are consistent with the goals of this resolution, as well as the interests of sustainable development and poverty reduction, either unilaterally through domestic legislation or collectively through World Assembly resolution.

Originally, World Assembly Trade Rights was passed 7,066 votes to 2,420 and amongst NationStates residents, voting was 12-2 (85% For).

Mikes Hope Essence of Mikeswill
WA Delegate
NationStates Region