[ABANDONED] Promoting Free Trade Act

[Thyerata]

Promoting Free Trade Act
Category: Free Trade - Strength: Significant

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Recalling its objectives to promote international friendship and harmony among nations

Further recalling its efforts at achieving harmonisation of many areas of mutual interest

Noting, however, that there are no free trade areas between states

Considering that a free trade area would further harmonise the relationships between Member States

THEREFORE DECIDES THAT

PART I - THE WORLD ASSEMBLY FREE TRADE AREA
1. There shall be a World Assembly Free Trade Area (referred to as "WAFTA").

2. All Member States of the World Assembly shall automatically be members of WAFTA

3. Member states are required to reduce or eliminate all barriers to trade with other member states, except where such barriers are required by previous GA legislation. Barriers caused by interstate warfare are excluded from WAFTA's purview.

4. Member states may maintain such tariffs, taxes, barriers or other pre-existing economic policies in trade with non-member states

PART II - THE COMMISSION ON FREE TRADE
5. The Commission on Free Trade is hereby established in order to supervise the proper functioning of WAFTA

6. The Commission shall be entitled to issue such decisions, rules and directives in order to implement the objectives of WAFTA

7. Where the Commission finds that a member of WAFTA is in breach of its obligations under this Resolution, it may issue rulings or decisions as it sees fit against the offending Member state in order to require their compliance with WAFTA

Comments? Queries? Suggestions? Please be aware it's my first go, so be nice to me...please?

[Jarish Inyo]

Opposed. A nation has the right to have tariffs and barriers that could prevent or inhibit trade in goods and services between any nation it chooses.

[Dawsinian]

Opposed. A nation has the right to have tariffs and barriers that could prevent or inhibit trade in goods and services between any nation it chooses.

Ditto.

[Bears Armed]

3. The objectives of WAFTA shall be to reduce or eliminate all taxes, tariffs and barriers that could prevent or inhibit trade in goods and services between Member States of the WA. In furtherance of this objective, no member state is permitted to maintain such taxes, tariffs or barriers when trading with other member states

You need to exclude any situations in which those taxes, tariffs or barriers, are authorized by existing resolutions, because otherwise this proposal would be illegal for contradiction of those resolutions.
Perhaps also note that refusing to trade with nations with which one is at war does not count as a "barrier" for this purpose.

[Thyerata]

3. The objectives of WAFTA shall be to reduce or eliminate all taxes, tariffs and barriers that could prevent or inhibit trade in goods and services between Member States of the WA. In furtherance of this objective, no member state is permitted to maintain such taxes, tariffs or barriers when trading with other member states

You need to exclude any situations in which those taxes, tariffs or barriers, are authorized by existing resolutions, because otherwise this proposal would be illegal for contradiction of those resolutions.
Perhaps also note that refusing to trade with nations with which one is at war does not count as a "barrier" for this purpose.

Fixed:

[...] except where such tariffs and barriers are required by previous GA legislation. Barriers caused by interstate warfare are excluded from WAFTA's purview.

[Wallenburg]

"What exactly does this proposal seek to do? I don't see any mandates of particular impact here. All member states have to do is essentially join the World Assembly twice over and then do nothing."

[Thyerata]

"What exactly does this proposal seek to do? I don't see any mandates of particular impact here. All member states have to do is essentially join the World Assembly twice over and then do nothing."

The Honourable delegate might be misreading the Resolution. It creates a free trade area, with the aim of reducing taxes, tariffs and barriers in interstate trade. The apparent "duplicate membership" thing (which really isn't there) comes from the fact that members of the WA are automatically part of WAFTA.

[Wallenburg]

"What exactly does this proposal seek to do? I don't see any mandates of particular impact here. All member states have to do is essentially join the World Assembly twice over and then do nothing."

The Honourable delegate might be misreading the Resolution. It creates a free trade area, with the aim of reducing taxes, tariffs and barriers in interstate trade. The apparent "duplicate membership" thing (which really isn't there) comes from the fact that members of the WA are automatically part of WAFTA.

"That is exactly my point. Thank you for confirming my analysis of the proposal."

[Thyerata]

The Honourable delegate might be misreading the Resolution. It creates a free trade area, with the aim of reducing taxes, tariffs and barriers in interstate trade. The apparent "duplicate membership" thing (which really isn't there) comes from the fact that members of the WA are automatically part of WAFTA.

"That is exactly my point. Thank you for confirming my analysis of the proposal."

Since the ambassador is looking for a mandate...

Member states are required to reduce or eliminate all tariffs, taxes or barriers in trade with other member states

Is that better?

[Wallenburg]

"That is exactly my point. Thank you for confirming my analysis of the proposal."

Since the ambassador is looking for a mandate...

Member states are required to reduce or eliminate all tariffs, taxes or barriers in trade with other member states

Is that better?

"Actually, that is worse, since it makes the proposal illegal for contradicting GAR#17."

[Imperium Anglorum]

"Actually, that is worse, since it makes the proposal illegal for contradicting GAR#17."

No, it isn't. 17 GA § 8 says, '[This Assembly,] Affirms the right of member nations to maintain full authority over domestic taxation policies'. Domestic taxation does not include taxation on trade, something which is precedent supported, as

World Assembly Economic Union, viewtopic.php?p=388#p388
World Assembly Trade Rights, viewtopic.php?p=10556924#p10556924
On Multilateral Trade Talks, viewtopic.php?p=11260510#p11260510

clearly show, as otherwise, they would all be illegal for meddling in domestic taxation.

[Thyerata]

"Actually, that is worse, since it makes the proposal illegal for contradicting GAR#17."

No, it isn't. 17 GA § 8 says, '[This Assembly,] Affirms the right of member nations to maintain full authority over domestic taxation policies'. Domestic taxation does not include taxation on trade, something which is precedent supported, as

World Assembly Economic Union, viewtopic.php?p=388#p388
World Assembly Trade Rights, viewtopic.php?p=10556924#p10556924
On Multilateral Trade Talks, viewtopic.php?p=11260510#p11260510

clearly show, as otherwise, they would all be illegal for meddling in domestic taxation.

*Matthew sighs*, and I'd just deleted references to the word "tax" as well...

[Wallenburg]

"Actually, that is worse, since it makes the proposal illegal for contradicting GAR#17."

No, it isn't. 17 GA § 8 says, '[This Assembly,] Affirms the right of member nations to maintain full authority over domestic taxation policies'. Domestic taxation does not include taxation on trade, something which is precedent supported, as

World Assembly Economic Union, viewtopic.php?p=388#p388
World Assembly Trade Rights, viewtopic.php?p=10556924#p10556924
On Multilateral Trade Talks, viewtopic.php?p=11260510#p11260510

clearly show, as otherwise, they would all be illegal for meddling in domestic taxation.

You can tax your own inhabitants for importing foreign goods. That is domestic taxation, and it is a tax on international trade.

[Thyerata]

No, it isn't. 17 GA § 8 says, '[This Assembly,] Affirms the right of member nations to maintain full authority over domestic taxation policies'. Domestic taxation does not include taxation on trade, something which is precedent supported, as

World Assembly Economic Union, viewtopic.php?p=388#p388
World Assembly Trade Rights, viewtopic.php?p=10556924#p10556924
On Multilateral Trade Talks, viewtopic.php?p=11260510#p11260510

clearly show, as otherwise, they would all be illegal for meddling in domestic taxation.

You can tax your own inhabitants for importing foreign goods. That is domestic taxation, and it is a tax on international trade.

An example of an interstate tax forbidden under this resolution would be import duties/tarriffs

[Wabbia]

Member states are required to reduce or eliminate all barriers to trade with other member states, except where such barriers are required by previous GA legislation.

So this would just prevent the creation of new trade barriers essentially?

[Thyerata]

Member states are required to reduce or eliminate all barriers to trade with other member states, except where such barriers are required by previous GA legislation.

So this would just prevent the creation of new trade barriers essentially?

Yes, in a nutshell. I don't see that as a bad thing, especially when it comes to trade between members of the WA

[Wabbia]

So this would just prevent the creation of new trade barriers essentially?

Yes, in a nutshell. I don't see that as a bad thing, especially when it comes to trade between members of the WA

Have you ran through the amount of legal trade barriers granted by previous World Assembly legislation? How much trade would this effect in actuality?

[Thyerata]

*Matthew throws away the current draft of the Promoting Free Trade Act*

Colleagues, we have come to the conclusion that it would be better to abandon this proposal. This is espeically so given that the Gentleman from Sciongrad is drafting a proposal that seeks to achieve similar aims to this proposal, but goes about it by a method that is 100 times better. That resolution is here: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=387451