Economic integration in South Asia : charting a legal roadmap / / by Md. Rizwanul Islam.

• Author: Islam, Rizwanul Md.
• Year of Publication: 2012
• Language: English
• Series: Nijhoff international trade law series, v. 10; Nijhoff International Trade Law Series 10.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (359 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Eight member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) have recently concluded the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and SAARC Agreement on Trade in Services (SATIS). To date, the progress of sub-regional trade integration in South Asia appears to be rather lacklustre. This book critically analyses the international legal aspects of economic integration in South Asia. It argues that although there are economic constraints in bringing about greater economic integration in South Asia, those constraints are not insurmountable. Many of the constraints are merely outcomes of dubious policies pursued by the policy makers in the sub-region and can be tackled with sustained political commitment towards the cause of the South Asian economic integration.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- The South Asian PTAs in the Context of International Trade Law -- GATT/WTO Provisions on Preferential Trade Agreements -- Implications of PTAs for Trade-Induced Global Economic Welfare -- Developments Leading to the South Asian PTAs -- Main Features of the SAFTA, SATIS and Their Consistency with WTO Rules -- The SAFTA and the SATIS: Their Constraints Militating against Sub-Regional Trade Liberalisation in South Asia -- Recommendations and Conclusion -- Annexes A Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) -- Annexes B SAARC Agreement on Trade in Services (SATIS) -- Bibliography -- Index.