International Trade laws

Trade laws

International trade law refers to the rules and customs for handling trade between two or more nations or between private companies across borders. It is a combination of national or domestic law and public international law that pertains to transactions for goods or services that cross national boundaries. In the last two decades, it has become one of the fastest emerging branches of international law.

An important document in regards to international trade laws came after World War II, with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The GATT came into effect in 1947 and came to be due to the failure of negotiating governments to create the International Trade Organization .The GATT was in effect until 1994, until its replacement by a more modern and organized system. In 1995, the World Trade Organization was created, replacing the GATT, to regulate, supervise, and liberalize international trade. This was a crucial development in the history of international trade laws, and for international trade itself. The World Trade Organization supervises the trade between the nations involved, and sets a basis for negotiating and forming trade agreements. It also has a set dispute resolution process, to deal with issues primarily from prior trade negotiations. Prior to this, in 1966 the United Nations had created an organization designed to promote compliance and unification of international trade law. The General Assembly of the UN established the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). As of 2002, the membership of UNCITRAL reached 60 member states, 14 African states, 14 Asian states, 8 Eastern European states, 10 Latin American and Caribbean states, and 14 Western European states. UNCITRAL is organized into three levels, the commission, inter-governmental working groups, and the third is the International Trade Law Division of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, that provides assistance to the other two groups.

Today, one international trade law stands as one of the most successful international systematic laws. This is the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). This treaty has been ratified by 74 countries, it provides a compatible international sales law. The CISG was developed by UNCITRAL and put into effect in 1980. It is seen greatly successful, the most unified document in international sales law. Out of the 74 countries that signed, most account for a substantial amount of trade in the world. However, there are still a few major ones that stand out as not having ratified the CISG, they are the United Kingdom, India, South Africa, and Brazil. Taking this into account, it still remains the most successful document in international trade law history, and international sales law.

Over time, perhaps the absentee nations will join the rest, and also other documents will be written and signed. The preexisting ones will have laid the groundwork for the future ones to improve the way countries and companies trade their goods beyond borders through land, and across oceans. The constant organized, unimpeded flow of trade throughout economies of these countries will make for a smoother ride in the long run.