The Characteristics Of EFTA's Negative List On Sector Restrictions And Cross-country Comparisons

EFTA is one of the economies that applied the negative list model earlier in the Free Trade Agreement.In recent years,more and more countries have adopted the negative list mode in the integration agreement.The United States,as the first country to adopt a negative list model,has an important influence on the promotion of the negative list model and the standardization of the rules.However,the negative list mode of EFTA has different characteristics,and the form and content can provide reference and inspiration for the setting of negative list in China.According to the negative list text of EFTA countries and 10 partners(14),the paper clarifies in details.The article is based on the organizational structure of the text from the EFTA countries agreement,negative list's sector restrictive degree.Through drawing Jianming Lu(2017)quantitative scoring inconsistent way of depicting a cumulative degree of restrictions,article elaborates EFTA negative list format,restrictions on sectors and the introduction of scoring system.And taking Iceland for example,the paper analyses the negative list with different signatories restrictive sector distribution and accumulation of limited degree,and both sides signed the symmetry of the negative list.The article finds as follows:Firstly,EFTA's free trade agreement text format is relatively special,different from the international community led by the United States.EFTA involves the model of negative list in the profile of Investment Reservation and in the MFN-Exemptions,while in the service area it shows in the form of Specific Commitments.The U.S.A.involves negative list in both investment and trade of service.Secondly,the negative list of EFTA ranges from country to country,but the restrictive sectors as a whole tend to be stable.In the negative list given to Hong Kong by EFTA member countries,the number of non-conforming measures in the sector is generally above 90,while the other signatories are around 10.There are general restrictions on audio-visual services,transportation and energy.Thirdly,the trade symmetry arrangement between the two contracting parties is obvious,and the EFTA member countries shall carry out the reciprocal restriction according to the major sectors listed by the signatories.The signatory countries have fewer restrictions,and EFTA also provides text with a comparable amount.Based on the above findings,this paper summarizes the model and characteristics of the negative list of EFTA and signatories,and draws on its advantages to provide new ideas for China.