RIETI Policy Symposium

Prospects for the Doha Round -Major Challenges in the Multilateral Trading System and their Implications for Japan-

Announcement

While new developments in the regional trade liberalization agenda (FTAs and EPAs) are reported almost on a daily basis, the pace of WTO's Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations, launched in Doha, Qatar in 2001, is excruciatingly slow. Can we afford to be complacent about this situation? After all, Japan has greatly benefited from the multilateral trading system, first under GATT and now under WTO, and the Japanese government has traditionally been strongly committed to the maintenance and strengthening of this system. All the regional economic integration agreements concluded so far are purportedly in compliance with the WTO agreements. Indeed, these agreements have served as the basis for their negotiation. These developments highlight the need to revitalize discussion on multilateral trade negotiations. What perspectives can foster such discussion?

In this Symposium, we approach the issues from the following four perspectives: (1) relationship of the multilateral trading system to the regional trade liberalization agenda; (2) functioning of the WTO system; (3) domestic processes of trade policymaking; and (4) global governance; through interdisciplinary discussions among economists, political scientists and legal scholars. While specific issues such as antidumping rules and agricultural trade (for good reason) receive more attention, our aim is to focus primarily on the underlying "philosophical" problems behind the difficulties in these specific areas. We hope that the discussions will lead to concrete proposals for the Japanese government as it struggles to contribute to the successful conclusion of the Doha Round.

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Information

  • Date and Time: July 22, 2005, 9:30-18:25
  • Venue: Royal Room, Kasumigaseki Tokyokaikan (Kasumigaseki Building 34th Floor, 3-2-5 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
  • Language: Japanese / English (with simultaneous interpretation)
  • Charge: ¥2,000 (an official receipt will be issued)
    (Student discount ¥1,000. Please present your student ID at the reception desk.)
  • Host: Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI)
  • Contact: RIETI
    Yuki Katagiri (Ms.), Tomoko Kasahara (Ms.) (Tel: 03-3501-8398)

* Streaming video footage of and handouts pertaining to the symposium will be available for downloading from the RIETI website after the event.

Agenda

Conference Chair:
KAWASE Tsuyoshi (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Associate Professor of Law, Graduate School of Law and Politics, Osaka University)
9:30-9:40 Opening Remarks:
YOSHITOMI Masaru (President and CRO, RIETI)
9:40-9:50 Aim of the symposium:
KOTERA Akira (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo)
9:50-11:10 Session 1: "Strategy and Benefits of Trade Liberalization - Multilateral vs Regional"
Session Chair:
KIMURA Fukunari (Professor, Faculty of Economics, Keio University)
Presentation:
ISHIKAWA Jota (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University)
Discussants:
- UEDA Hideshi (Director, Multilateral Trade System Department, Trade Policy Bureau, METI)
- KIKUCHI Tsutomu (Professor of International Political Economy, School of International Politics, Economics and Business, Aoyama Gakuin University)
- MUKUNOKI Hiroshi (Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics, Gakushuin University)
Q&A
11:10-11:25 Coffee Break
11:25-12:45 Session 2: "What should be Dispute Settlement ? -On the Purpose of WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism-"
Session Chair:
ARAKI Ichiro (Professor of Law, International Graduate School of Social Sciences, Yokohama National University)
Presentation:
KOTERA Akira (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo)
Discussants:
- KAWASE Tsuyoshi (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Associate Professor of Law, Graduate School of Law and Politics, Osaka University)
- KOMETANI Kazumochi (Of Counsel, Nishimura & Partners / Professor, Hosei University Law School)
- FURUSAWA Taiji (Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University)
Q&A
12:45-13:45 Lunch
13:45-15:05 Session 3: "American Trade Politics and the Doha Round: Can the Twain Meet?"
Session Chair:
YAMAMOTO Yoshinobu (Professor, School of International Politics, Economics and Business, Aoyama Gakuin University)
Presentation:
I. M. DESTLER (Professor, School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland, USA)
Discussants:
- ARAKI Ichiro (Professor of Law, International Graduate School of Social Sciences, Yokohama National University)
- UCHIYAMA Yu (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo)
- MATSUMOTO Ken (Executive Advisor, The Fair Trade Center / President, KM International Associates, Inc.)
Q&A
15:05-15:20 Coffee Break
15:20-16:40 Session 4: "WTO and Global Governance - Overcoming Obstacles and Confrontation"
Session Chair:
KAWASE Tsuyoshi (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Associate Professor of Law, Graduate School of Law and Politics, Osaka University)
Presentation:
YAMAMOTO Yoshinobu (Professor, School of International Politics, Economics and Business, Aoyama Gakuin University)
Discussants:
- AKANEYA Tatsuo (Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba)
- ABE Kenzo (Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Osaka University)
- KIMURA Fukunari (Professor, Faculty of Economics, Keio University)
Q&A
16:40-16:55 Coffee Break
16:55-18:15 Panel Discussion "Prospects for the Doha Round and Implications for Japan"
General Overview / Session Chair:
KOTERA Akira (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Professor, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo)
Panelists:
- ISHIKAWA Jota (Faculty Fellow, RIETI / Professor, Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University)
- UEDA Hideshi (Director, Multilateral Trade System Department, Trade Policy Bureau, METI)
- YAMAMOTO Yoshinobu (Professor, School of International Politics, Economics and Business, Aoyama Gakuin University)
- I. M. DESTLER (Professor, School of Public Affairs, University of Maryland, USA)
Q&A
18:15-18:25 Closing Remarks:
OKAMATSU Sozaburo (Chairman, RIETI)
18:30-20:00 Reception
* The agenda is subject to change.