Introductory guide to researching International Trade Law (WTO & NAFTA) in Tarlton Law Library
Printable version
Prepared by , Foreign & International Law Librarian
I. Introduction
International trade materials can be found at:
- K 3943, stack 635
- HF 1701-HF 2651, stacks 614-15
WTO materials can be found at:
NAFTA materials can be found at:
But these are not the only areas of the library-- you must use TALLONS to do good research.
Some suggested subject headings are:
- International economic relations
- World Trade Organization
- Free trade-North America
You can also do keyword searching.
II. Books for Orientation
- NAFTA and Free Trade in the Americas in a Nutshell KDZ 944 A41992 F648 2004
- NAFTA and Free Trade in the Americas: a Problem-oriented Coursebook KDZ 944 A41992 F649 2005
- NAFTA@10 CANDOC IT5-1/2006
- Guide to the WTO and GATT: Economics, Law and Politics K 4610 K68 2005
- International Trade and Economic Relations in a Nutshell K 3943 F64 2004
- Sovereignty, the WTO, and Changing Fundamentals of International Law K 4600 J32 2006
- The World Trade Organization: a Very Short Introduction HF 1385 N37 2005
- The World Trade Organization: Law, Practice, And Policy K 4610 M37 2006
- The WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures: A Commentary K 3631 A41995 S36 2007
- Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights: A Commentary on the TRIPS Agreement K 1401 A41994 C68 2007
- WTO Analytical Index: Guide to WTO Law and Practice K 4608 2003b
- WTO Dispute Settlement: One-page Case Summaries, 1995-September 2006 K 4610 A7 W673 2007
- WTO: Institutions and Dispute Settlement K 4610 W78 2006
- WTO: World Economic Order, World Trade Law K 4610 S8613 2006
III. Journals & Journal Articles
It is essential to use the law journal indexes to find articles on point.
The 2 law review indexes are LegalTrac (also called Legal Resources Index) and Index to Legal Periodicals.
Access the indexes via links from TALLONS.
Law journal articles can also be searched in full text on Westlaw, Lexis and HeinOnline.
Some major titles include:
- International Trade & Business Law Review, K 9 N883
- International Trade Law & Regulation, K 9 N885
- Journal of International Economic Law, K 10 O86863 (also online)
- Journal of World Trade, K 10 O98
- Minnesota Journal of Global Trade, K 13 I53 (also online)
- University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Economic Law, K 10 O857 (also online)
- World Trade and Arbitration Materials, K 27 O74
- World Trade Report, HF 1371 W67 (also online)
IV. Current Awareness Sources
Both Westlaw and Lexis have very large news databases that can be searched for the most recent international trade developments.
WWW searches using a good search engine like Google will lead to other websites for current awareness.
V. Main Primary Source Materials
WTO
The Legal Texts: The Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations K 4603 1987 A4 1999
(See the same text in slightly different formats at K 4603 1987 A4 1994, K 4603 1987 A3 1994 & K 4603 1987 A3 1993)
The WTO Agreement is often cited to 33 I.L.M. 1125 (1994). This version contains some editorial deletions.
The full text of the WTO Agreement is available at the WTO website, www.wto.org. Mouse over "Documents", then click on "Legal texts".
Working documents of the various WTO bodies are also available at the WTO website. Mouse over "Documents" then click on "Official documents".
The GATT Uruguay Round: A Negotiating History, 1986-1992 K 4603 1987 G38 1993
Uruguay Round Trade Agreements: Texts of Agreements, Implementing Bill, Statement of Administrative Action, and Required Supporting Statements... H.Doc. 103-316
Uruguay Round Agreements Act, Pub. L. 103-465, 108 Stat. 4809 (1994), 19 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.
NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement PrEx 1.2:T67/v.1/993-2
The NAFTA Supplemental Agreements: North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation PrEx 1.2:Ag8
NAFTA: Final Text, Summary, Legislative History & Implementation Directory KDZ 944 A41992 N325 1994
North American Free Trade Agreement, Texts of Agreement, Implementing Bill, Statement of Administrative Action, and Required Supporting Statements... H.Doc. 103-159/V.1-2
The NAFTA text is frequently cited to 32 I.L.M. 289 (1993) because it is a Blue Book authorized source.
A good website for the full text of NAFTA is www.nafta-sec-alena.org. Click "Legal Texts".
VI. Dispute Settlement
Primary Source Materials
Dispute Settlement Commentaries (DSCs)
worldtradelaw.net
Dispute Settlement Reports (WTO) K 4600 A53 W67
The Dispute Settlement Reports are published late.
The WTO Dispute Settlement Procedures: A Collection of the Relevant Legal Texts K 2400 A48 2001
The full text of all WTO dispute settlement documentation, including Panel and Appellate Body reports is available at the WTO website, www.wto.org. Mouse over "Trade Topics" then click on "Dispute settlement".
A large collection of binational panel reviews under NAFTA Chapter 19 is available at the NAFTA Secretariat website, nafta-sec-alena.org. Click "View Panel Decisions and Reports". Also, the few Chapter 20 arbitral awards are there. Binational panel decisions are also on Westlaw (NAFTA-BIP) and on Lexis.
The State Dept. now posts documents of NAFTA Chapter 11 investment disputes at state.gov/s/l/c3439.htm
International Legal Materials publishes selected WTO & NAFTA dispute resolution documents.
World Trade & Arbitration Materials also publishes selected WTO & NAFTA dispute resolution documents.
Selected Secondary Sources
- Dispute Settlement in the World Trade Organization: Practice and Procedure K 4610 P35 2004
- Dispute Settlement under the NAFTA: Manual and Source-book KDZ 525 T73 1997
- Review of Administrative Action under NAFTA KDZ L46 1999
- The WTO at Ten: The Contribution of the Dispute Settlement System K 4610 A8 W86 2006
- WTO Dispute Settlement: One-page Case Summaries, 1995-September 2006 K 4610 A7 W673 2007
- WTO: Institutions and Dispute Settlement K 4610 W78 2006
VII. World Wide Web Sources
Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade (Canada)
Click "International Trade Canada" for a broad range of information, including dispute resolution.
Electronic International System for International Law
Institute for International Economics (IIE)
International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes
International Centre for Trade & Sustainable Development
International Economic Law Group
NAFTA Commission for Environmental Cooperation
Click "Citizen Submissions on Enforcement Matters" to find fulltext primary source material on these matters.
NAFTA Commission for Labor Cooperation
See also Bureau of International Labor Affairs (U.S. Dept. of Labor)
For a primary source material on public submissions under the NAFTA Labor Side Agreement, go to:
NAFTA Customs
LANIC
Proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas
Public Citizen Global Trade Watch
Secretaria de Economia (Mexico)
This site is in Spanish. It has a substantial amount of information. Try "Negociaciones Comerciales" & Normatividad Empresarial"
SICE- Foreign Trade Information System (O.A.S.)
U.S. Customs Service
U.S. International Trade Commission
U. S. Trade Representative
Revised Guide of International Trade Law Sources on the Internet
WTO/GATT Research
ASIL Guide to Electronic Resources for International Law- International Economic Law
These guides by other law librarians have a lot of additional information.
