Research On Global System Of Trade Preferences Among Developing Countries In South-south Cooperation

The global system of trade preferences among developing countries was proposed by the group of 77 in 1982. It was a programme of global south-south economic cooperation. The aim of GSTP is to enlarge the trade and economic cooperation among the developing countries, promote the employment and the production ability and thereby achieve the economic development through the reduction of tariff, non-tariff and the implementation of medium and long trade measures and the sectoral agreements. The emergence of GSTP has its special global trade background and the functions of it also undergo changes with the global trade circumstances change. There are two rounds of negotiations from the beginning of it and just one result of them is implemented. However, the sole negotiation result has a great important effect on the trade increase and the economic structure change of the member countries. And we also notice the deficiencies of GSTP such as the limited member countries, the slow negotiation course and the small concession scope. The foresaid deficiencies of GSTP relate with the change of the global trade circumstances and also relate with the system itself. As a whole, GSTP will have a good prospect and it will play more important part in strengthening south-south cooperation, promoting the economic development of both the developing countries and the global world. Therefore, any developing countries should pay more attention to GSTP and actively develop its potential.Besides the foreword and the conclusion, this article has four chapters:The first chapter summarizes the origin of GSTP which begins with the establishment of it and concludes that emergence of it resulted from the change of world trade system and the trade policy change of developing countries; and then this article introduces the legal basis and construction of GSTP.The second chapter introduces the functions of GSTP which begins with four main preferential trade arrangements such as tariff reduction, preferential goods, origin rules and the safeguard measures. And then this chapter discusses the deficiencies and reasons through analyzing the foresaid arrangement deficiencies and disequilibrium of benefits distributed among the member countries; at last, this chapter analyses the reasons for the deficiencies.The third chapter introduces the prospect of GSTP which begins with the current world trade circumstances and analyses the tariff reduction potential, the preferential goods increase potential and member countries increase potential. This chapter pays special attention to the preferential treatment to the least developing countries, analyses the reasons why they lack wishes to join and how to bring them to GSTP; besides, this chapter also introduces the third round negotiation and its prospect.The forth chapter will clarify the attitude that our country should have towards GSTP through analyzing the current trade cooperation of our country and the positive effects, negative effects of joining.