MONASH

BUSINESS

BTW3201 International Trade Law

Introduction

Accredited by: Advanced Signatory:

Course instructors
Chief examiner
M.Athirathan
E : athirathan@monash.edu

Consultation hours:
Wednesdays, 11.00pm – 1.00pm
(by appointment)

Room: 6533

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Unit learning outcomes
1. Examine and analyse the international legal framework
in which trade between nations take place.
2. Identify and analyse the legal issues in an international
trade context.
3. Identify, analyse and apply the laws to solve legal problems that
arise from international commercial transactions.
4. Identify and analyse the laws in relation to international contracts of
sale, finance of international trading transactions, international
carriage of goods, insurance in international trade and dispute
resolution in international trade.
5. Identify and analyse the form and nature of documents used in
international trade including contracts of sale, shipping
documentation, invoices, insurance policies, bills of exchange, MONASH
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documentary collections and letter of credits.
Recommended references:
There is no specific textbook. But you may refer to the
following texts:
 
Indira Carr and Peter Stone (2018). International Trade Law (Abingdon
Oxon; New York NY: Routledge). [E-book available from the Monash
University Library]
 
Giovanni Di Lieto and David Treisman (2018). International Trade Law
(Sydney, Australia: The Federated Press).
 
Vivienne Bath and Gabriel Moens (2019). Law of International Business
in Australasia (2nd ed) (Sydney, Australia: The Federated Press).
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Assessments

Assessment task Value Group or

Individual

Group Presentation 20% Group

Individual Assignment 1 and 30% Individual

2 (15 % each)
Final Exam (Hurdle 50% Individual
requirement)

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The origin of international trade law
• What is ‘international trade’?
“… cross-border transferal of capital, goods and services for
compensation of relative value for the fulfilment of needs and wants of
each party involved in the exchange.” (Di Lieto & Treisman, 2018, p. 3).

• What is ‘international trade law’?

The legal framework that guides the economic behaviour of the
participants to trade.

• Where did ‘international trade law’ originate from?

The customs and practices of merchants that gradually evolved into
mercantile law.
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The sources of international trade law
• Treaties
These are written agreements entered into between states.

• Customs
The generally accepted rules and norms of conduct that arise through
the practices of the participants to trade (be they states or private
entities).

• General principles
Principles that are believed to arise naturally or universally understood.
They are often associated with moral behaviour, e.g. the notion of good
faith.
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The sources of international trade law
• There are international bodies that are instrumental in the
development of private international trade law. For example:
• International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) – developed the
Incoterms and the UCP 600 (Uniform Customs and Practice for
Documentary Credit)
• United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)
– drafted the CISG

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Distinction between ‘public’ and ‘private’ international law

Public international law Private international law

• Focuses on • Focuses on
interaction with interaction
states between private
• The parties could entities
be states, or a state
and a private entity
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Global trade agreements
• Which organizations initiate global trade agreements?
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a notable example. Member states of
the WTO are required to sign and adhere to the provisions of the 1947
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

Another important global trade agreement is the General Agreement on Trade

in Services (GATS). The GATS rules were incorporated within the WTO
during the Uruguay Round of negotiations (1986-1993) and entered into force
in 1995 as Annex 1B to the Marrakesh Agreement on the WTO.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) initiated the 1886 Berne
Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Rights (the Berne
Convention). A century later, the GATT through the 1986-1994 Uruguay
Round Table gave rise to the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). MONASH
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The Marrakesh Agreement, manifested by the Marrakesh Declaration,
was an agreement signed in Marrakesh, Morocco, by 123 nations on 15
April 1994, marking the culmination of the 8-year-long Uruguay Round
and establishing the World Trade Organization, which officially came into
being on 1 January 1995

The objective of the countries that signed the Marrakesh Agreement was
to create an integrated multilateral trading system encompassing the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the results of all the
trade rounds (including the Uruguay Round) that had been conducted
since the GATT was signed in 1947.

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Countries Not Part of WTO

Only 14 countries are not WTO members. These nations do

not wish to become members. They are Aruba, Eritrea,
Kiribati, Kosovo, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Monaco,
Nauru, North Korea, Palau, the Palestinian Territories,
San Marino, Sint Maarten, and Tuvalu.

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Regional trade agreements
• What is a ‘regional trade agreement’ (RTA)?
A RTA is a reciprocal trade agreement between two or more partners. It
usually encompasses a custom union, but is not necessarily identified by strict
geographical association.

Example: The ASEAN Free Trade Area Agreement 1992 introduced the
Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme that ASEAN members
must adhere to.

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Regional trade agreements
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership 2020 (RCEP)
Signatories:
10 ASEAN countries, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand RCEP came
into effect in
Significance:
Malaysia on
- The members make up nearly 1/3 of the world's population and account for 18 March
29% of global GDP. The new free trade zone will be bigger than both the 2022.
US-Mexico-Canada Agreement and the European Union.
Purpose:
- To eliminate a range of tariffs on imports within 20 years.
- Introduces new ‘rules of origin’ that address current problems with free
trade agreements (FTAs).
- Example: A product made in Indonesia that contains Australian parts might
face tariffs elsewhere in the Asean free trade zone. Under RCEP, parts
from any member nation would be treated equally. This might incentivize
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companies in RCEP countries to look within the trade region for suppliers. BUSINESS
Regional trade agreements
• What is a ‘preferential trading agreement’ (PTA)?
A PTA is a unilateral trade preference (not necessarily reciprocal) usually
between a developed state and a less developed state whereby the former
grants preferential tariffs to imports from the latter. The purpose is to
encourage growth in a less developed state.

PTA

Country B exports goods to

Country A at preferential tariffs

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Country A Country B BUSINESS
BTW3201 – What’s covered?
PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW
International Trade in Goods
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

International Trade in Services

General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)

International Trade in Intellectual Property Rights

Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual
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Property Rights (TRIPS) BUSINESS
BTW3201 – What’s covered?
PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL TRADE LAW
International sale of goods
• INCOTERMS
• CISG (The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods or the Vienna
Convention)
• Domestic law (where the CISG does not apply)

International transport
• Carriage of goods by sea
• Marine insurance
• Carriage of goods by air

Trade payments
• Letter of credit

International dispute resolution

• Litigation and enforcement of foreign judgment
• Arbitration MONASH
• Mediation BUSINESS