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GATT/WTOintheProcessofReductiontheInternationalTradeBarriers
25
Functioningoftheinternationaltradedependsnow,toasignificantdegree,on
theAgreementonSafeguards,signedinthecourseoftheUruguayRound,and
regulatedbyArticleXIXofWTO,whichdefinesmorepreciselytheconditions
ofgainingtheMostFavouredNationClause(MFN)andprohibitstheapplication
oftheVoluntaryExportRestraintsArrangements(VERA)andtheirvarieties.
AnotheragreementintroducingrestraintsistheAgreementonTextilesand
ClothingwhichgraduallyincorporatesthetraderegulatedbytheMultifibre
Arrangement(MFA)intotheGATTrules,whichmeansthattenyearsafter
theWTOagreementhasbeenimplemented,thelargestforumforintroducing
theagreementsofVoluntaryExportRestraintsArrangements(VERA)willstop
functioning(Cohn,2000,p.214).
Attheturnofthecentury,theEuropeanUnionclearlyshoweditswillto
eliminatethetradeandinvestmentbarriers.Thiswasparticularlyvisibleincase
offoreigndirectinvestments(FDI)(LankesandVenables,1996).Forobvious
reasons,thiswasconnectedwiththeintroduction,atthebeginningof1999,of
theuniformEuropeancurrencyEURO,andwiththe,enlargmentoftheEU,
May1,2004,thistimetotheCentralandEasternEurope.Itwasemphasised
thatthetradeliberalisationhasaspecialpositivesignificanceintheglobal
context(Cohn,2000,p.214-217).Duetotechnicalprogressandtothegrowth
ofeconomictiesbetweenparticularcountries,participantsintheworldeconomy,
thebenefitsresultingfromliberalisedinternationaltradeandfromthefreedom
ofmovementofforeigndirectinvestmentsbecomebiggernotonlyforthe
industrialisedcountriesbutalsofortheso-called“emergingmarkets”,thatis,
thecountriesthatfindthemselvesonthestageoftheaccelerateddevelopment,
whichmeansalsotheeconomiesoftheCentralandEasternEurope.
AtthebeginningofthiscenturytheexchangeofgoodsbetweentheEuropean
UnionmembersandthecountriesoftheCentralandEasternEuropewas,to
asignificantdegree,liberalisedonthebasisoftheEuropeanTreatieswhich
establishedtheassociationbetweenthepartnercountries(HoekmanandDjankov,
1997).Intheareaofindustrialgoodsexchangethesetreatiesarrangedforthe
creationofthefreetradezones,thatis,fortheeliminationofcustomsandnon-
tariffrestrictions.Thispurposehasbeen,toasignificantdegree,accomplished.
TheEuropeanUnion,which,asymmetrically,startedtheprocessofliberalisation
earlierthanthecountriesofCentralandEasternEurope,eliminated,atthe
beginningof1998,thelastobstaclesonthewaytoitsmarketforthegoodsfrom
CentralandEasternEurope(theserestrainshadtheformofquotasandinvolved
sometextileandclothingproducts;thelastcustomsdutieswereeliminated
asearlyas1997)(HoekmanandDjankov,1997).ThecountriesofCentral
andEasternEuropewhichpracticallystartedtoremovetheobstaclesinthe
industrialgoodsimportsfromtheEuropeanUnionatthebeginningof1995,
alsosignificantlyopenedtheirownmarkets.OnJanuary1st,1999,thelastgroup
