General Assembly Resolution #209 “World Assembly Trade Rights” (Category: Free Trade; Strength: Strong) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.
The World Assembly finds as follows:
- Extending trade preferences on a most-favoured nation basis to all member nations requires that any further preference to an allied member nation also be given to other unfriendly member nations. Governments have interests in stopping the transfer of technology or linking of their industry with such unfriendly nations, motives which are not accounted for in GA 209, which only permits exceptions for 'vital national security interests during serious international disputes or times of war'.
- Section 1(c) of the target resolution allows for existing trade zones to exist. But it is unclear how such existing trade zones can possibly 'ultimately lower trade barriers between their members' without inherently contradicting the most-favoured nation provision in section 1(a), as any members of a trade zone would by virtue of their membership be more favoured than non-trade zone member nations, putting such members in violation of section 1(a) unless their trade zone membership privileges were extended to all World Assembly member nations.
- Section 2 does not give member nations authority to institute retaliatory tariffs against dumping or other unfair trade practices, instead only giving member nations the ability to support domestic industry with subsidies. This has two impacts. First, subsidies cost member nations money, while tariffs (being taxes) are net positive on a nation's treasury. By only allowing subsidies, this penalises member nations with weaker financial situations. Second, the use of subsidies instead of tariffs causes a race towards higher subsidies, as subsidies increase production, further driving down commodity prices, necessitating even higher subsidies to ensure viability. This singular-minded view on subsidies therefore harms the poorest member nations and saddles the Assembly as a whole with chronic overproduction and government support of inefficient industries.
- GA 440 'Administrative Compliance Act' uses trade sanctions as a core means of enforcement of World Assembly legislation. It is unclear how strong such sanctions can be when section 1(a) requires equal treatment of nations regardless of their compliance with World Assembly resolutions. Basic fairness requires that member nations which are not compliant with Assembly legislation, a duty of membership in the Assembly, should not be given the benefits of membership. Repeal, therefore, repairs a sense of basic fairness necessary for the Assembly to operate justly and impartially.
- Further legislation should be passed, patching the flaws present in GA 209, to ensure sufficient incentives for membership in the World Assembly.
Now, therefore, the World Assembly repeals GA 209 'World Assembly Trade Rights'.
