新世代自由貿易協定的形成：跨太平洋夥伴關係協定及其對多邊貿易體制的涵意

Abstract

世界貿易組織(World Trade organization;簡稱WTO)對於區域貿易協定議題曾經展開多次談判，主要目的在於釐清WTO對於區域、多邊及自由貿易協定之規範，並提升WTO對不同貿易協定之監督。此時期，企業國際化的增加，使得各國間產生經濟互相依賴，由於進口產品之關稅差別待遇，傳統貿易使用之額外限制與企業的全球化策略，益顯得區域貿易協定規則之重要性與日遽增。 區域貿易協定，對於多邊貿易體制是助力或為阻力？是個存在於WTO及國際學者間長年探討的問題。近年來，若干亞太國家積極談判跨太平洋夥伴關係協定(The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement ;TPP) ；由多種角度而言，此協定可認為是新世代自由貿易協定指標。此指標對於多邊貿易體制之影響與重要性更備受全球矚目。跨太平洋夥伴關係協定，是一個綜合性的自由貿易協定；其所包括典型的自由貿易協定的主要內容有：關稅及貿易總協定、原產地原則、貿易救濟措施、食品衛生檢驗與動植物檢疫措施協定、技術性貿易障礙協定、服務貿易、智慧財產權、政府採購與競爭政策等。除此典型的內容外，該協定增加若干重要內容（例如國營事業規範），並改進傳統自由貿易協定內容（如智慧財產權保護）。該自由貿易協定由美國主導，並積積與東南亞國協各國成員進行相關協議，重申跨太平洋夥伴關係，將整個太平洋地區的各經濟體匯集成一個；無論是已開發國家或是開發中的國家，都能成為一個單一的貿易體。截至2011年11月，已有十個國家成員正式參與談判，包括汶來、智利、紐西蘭、新加坡、澳洲、馬來西亞、日本、祕魯、美國和越南。跨太平洋夥伴關係極有可能整合亞太的二大經濟合作組織（亞太經濟合作會議與東南亞國協）的主要成員國，而成為亞太區內的小型世界貿易組織。 本文緒論說明研究動機與目的；內容並涵蓋研究方法論述及研究範圍。第一章主要介紹區域貿易協定發展議題及轉變，包含區域貿易協定之定義及對多邊貿易體制之影響。第二章說明跨太平洋夥伴關係之起源與動機；主要說明演進過程，探討已開發國家如美國及紐西蘭參與協定的背景等。第三章說明全民所有制企業、中小企業及國有企業之公平待遇。第四章主要研究智慧財產權對已開發國家和開發中國家之規範。第五章係對跨太平洋夥伴關係協定可能發展為全球最大自由貿易區之重要性做統整之比較、評析及提出個人見解。第六章為總結論述。

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has held many rounds of negotiations evolving around regional trade agreements- the purpose is to set out clear rules on regional, multilateral and free trade agreements within the WTO framework. During this period, the increase in the establishment of international enterprises has made countries dependent on one another’s products, as a result causing imbalance in tariff reductions. In order to prevent scandals and protect investors, the importance of regional trade agreement has become prominent since countries who sign often share similar culture, background and interest. Is regional trade agreement (RTA) a stumbling block or building block to the multilateral trading system? This question has long been discussed among international writers and experts. In recent years, the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) has become widely interpreted as the new generation of RTA, the importance of its implication to the multilateral trade system has caught the attention of both developed and developing countries. The initial participants in the TPP negotiations include ten APEC members from four different regions in the Asia Pacific: East Asia (Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan); Oceania (Australia, New Zealand); Latin America (Chile, Peru); and North America (United States). The agreement include core issues traditionally included in trade agreements, including industrial goods, agriculture, and textiles as well as rules on intellectual property, technical barriers to trade, labor and environment. The TPP seeks to represent a new kind of trade agreement, one that serves as a platform for other nations to join in to and that addresses both tariff and non-tariff barriers to set a standard by which countries can conduct true, market-based trade. The TPP is perceived as a pathway towards developing a comprehensive FTAAP. In Chapter 1, the thesis will review different stages of the development of regionalism, including regionalism from the 1950s to 1980s; regionalism since the 1990s and the new generation of regionalism. In Chapter 2, the initiation of TPP and the different stages of negotiations from various perspectives will be discussed. Key questions that will be covered include the factor that has prompted other states like the United States to join this agreement and the aspect that these member countries see in the TPP that gives them confidence for building a future together. In Chapter 3, the substantive issue on state-owned enterprises will be identified for more in-depth discussions. In Chapter 4, the thesis will focus on the new standards of TPP for intellectual property protection to promote an environment for innovation. These substantive issues are important because a) some comprehensive high standards will be set, b) they will become an example for developed countries to require other developing countries to follow high standards, c) they will create a better environment for the geographically widely covered TPP region. The thesis will also look into the implication of TPP to WTO from the wide geographical coverage. In Chapter 5, the thesis will discuss the stumbling block and building effects of TPP to the multilateral trading system. From the perspective that it is an exception to WTO, it can be seen as a stumbling block. From the perspective that there will be new and higher substantive standards, it can be seen as a building block because they might have positive affect to the future negotiation of WTO. The final section of this thesis is a summary and concluding remark in Chapter 6.