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Bill: Treaty to Establish a Seleya Free Trade Zone
Details
Submitted by[?]: Txurruka/Aperribai/Mayoz's OPX
Status[?]: passed
Votes: This bill is a resolution. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: November 2095
Description[?]:
| PREAMBLE The governments of the signatory nations hereby resolve to promote, within reasonable limits, the free movement of goods and people across their borders. This treaty is thus intended to -Strengthen the bonds that tie our nations together -Enhance the global competitiveness of our firms -Support the overall economic growth of the Seleyan continent -Regulate trade between nations in a fair and transparent way. PART ONE - COVERED SECTORS All goods or services produced in one signatory nation, and sold or transported through another, are subject to the terms of this agreement, with the following exceptions. 1) Goods used for academic, not-for-profit research. 2) Goods used by the armed forces of either nation on a duly approved joint operation between two (or more) signatory nations. 3) Goods used by registered charitable organizations. 4) Commercial samples. PART TWO - PERMISSIBLE TARIFFS For all goods, tariffs charged on goods from a signatory nation must be as low or lower than the applicable tariffs for any other nation. The tariffs placed on goods from any one signatory nation must be the same for all signatory nations. A maximum tariff of 5% can be applied to any good. Please note that nothing in this treaty requires signatory nations to levy tariffs on any goods at all. Further, there are no restrictions on the existing ability of national or regional governments to subsidize domestic industry, except where such subsidies are on goods to be exported and would lead to dumping. (Dumping is defined elsewhere in the treaty.) PART THREE - NON-TARIFF BARRIERS No signatory nation may sell goods in another singatory nation at a price below the cost of production. This practice is to be known as "dumping". No signatory nation may create any restriction on the quantity of any specific type of good, nor of goods overall, entering their country from any other signatory nation. This does not, however, prohibit signatory nations from prohibiting the entry of certain goods from certain other signatory nations at any given time, for any of the following reasons: 1) Independent scientists have deemed the product to be defective, and therefore harmful to human health or likely to be harmful to human health. Note that this only applies to goods which are harmful due to their not being up to the normal standard of the good in question (for example, beef which may be tainted with disease) and not goods which, in their normal use, can be harmful to human health and for which consumers are or ought to be well aware of their dangers (such as cigarettes). 2) Reputable scientists have deemed the good to be harmful or likely to be harmful to animal health, in the case of animal feed or other agricultural goods. 3) The good is not legal to own and/or consume in the signatory nation. (This may apply, for example, to certain classes of firearm, or to goods of a pornographic nature.) 4) Nations reserve the right to ban imports from other signatory nations if there is a legitimate diplomatic reason and if the nation's legislature duly passes (in accordance with their own laws) a bill to create such a ban. One example of a legitimate diplomatic reason to implement a full or partial ban would be if a state of war existed or was very likely to soon exist between the two nations. PART FOUR - DISPUTE RESOLUTION Each signatory nation shall be encouraged to sort out any trade disputes through negotiations. Should this fail, companies reserve the right to sue the government of any singatory nation they feel has violated this treaty in the way it dealt with the company's goods. Such a lawsuit will be held in the courts of nation being sued, unless all parties agree to persue the matter in another setting. |
Proposals
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 09:00:19, August 08, 2005 CET | From |  Txurruka/Aperribai/Mayoz's OPX | To | Debating the Treaty to Establish a Seleya Free Trade Zone |
| Message | This can be found under Treaties. Fundamentally, a good idea but way too detailed and controlling. For example, I dont understand why we cant sell things below the cost of production. |
| Date | 01:29:29, August 09, 2005 CET | From | Progressive Conservative Party | To | Debating the Treaty to Establish a Seleya Free Trade Zone |
| Message | Aside from the fact its unwise... agreed. |
| Date | 03:12:40, August 09, 2005 CET | From | Hosengott Nationalists | To | Debating the Treaty to Establish a Seleya Free Trade Zone |
| Message | We would enjoy fielding the answer to that. HN's correct thing to think: The LLP cant understand because they are lefties. |
| Date | 05:30:48, August 09, 2005 CET | From | Democratic Centre Party of Gaduridos | To | Debating the Treaty to Establish a Seleya Free Trade Zone |
| Message | LLP - As the creator of this treaty, I'd be happy to answer your questions. I consider the treaty a draft until ratification is technically feasible, so I am entirely willing to make changes if it will make the treaty better. In fact, I have already revised the treaty and made several changes to streamline it, as suggested by parties in Lodamun who have been having a very good debate about this. I'd be happy to consider any issues you have as well, and I invite you to check out the revised draft of the treaty at http://82.238.75.178:8085/particracy/main/viewtreaty.php?treatyid=5 Sincerely, William Chen, Foreign Affairs Minister, Federal Union of Gaduridos. |
| Date | 06:35:12, August 09, 2005 CET | From | Txurruka/Aperribai/Mayoz's OPX | To | Debating the Treaty to Establish a Seleya Free Trade Zone |
| Message | "Aside from the fact its unwise" Obviously but surely its the company's decision to drive themselves into the ground. Our problems lie in: -The tariffs seem abitrary. -What's the definition of a reputable scientist? Surely, an *independent* scientist would be much more important. -Why can the covered sectors be tarriffed in particular? |
| Date | 06:37:23, August 09, 2005 CET | From | Txurruka/Aperribai/Mayoz's OPX | To | Debating the Treaty to Establish a Seleya Free Trade Zone |
| Message | Ok on the new version, our tariff problem is fixed. Our problem with dumping being illegal for no apparent reason still stands though. |
| Date | 06:43:01, August 09, 2005 CET | From | Democratic Centre Party of Gaduridos | To | Debating the Treaty to Establish a Seleya Free Trade Zone |
| Message | The reason for dumping being illegal is to prevent governments from subsidizing their exporters, allowing them to undersell in foreign markets and drive out domestic producers. The idea is that we want to encourage genuine competition, where products from one country are cheaper because that country is more efficient. We don't want to encourage phoney competition, where nations subsidize their exporters and try to run other companies out of business through predatory pricing. Some other parties have had concerns about the dumping issue. I'll be considering what to do about it and will get back to you. And your point about the scientists is well made. When I said reputable, I basically meant not corrupt or biased. Independent is a better word to use for that, I will change the wording. |
| Date | 06:17:02, August 10, 2005 CET | From | Txurruka/Aperribai/Mayoz's OPX | To | Debating the Treaty to Establish a Seleya Free Trade Zone |
| Message | So how do you decide what is the cost of production? |
| Date | 08:24:14, August 10, 2005 CET | From | Democratic Socialists | To | Debating the Treaty to Establish a Seleya Free Trade Zone |
| Message | Cost of production would presumably be the amount of money it costs to produce the goods in question. So the fixed and costs of manufacturing, wages, transport divided by the unit of goods solved - cost of production. We tentatively support this treaty as it stands. |
| Date | 09:14:20, August 10, 2005 CET | From | Txurruka/Aperribai/Mayoz's OPX | To | Debating the Treaty to Establish a Seleya Free Trade Zone |
| Message | I understand the definition of "cost of production". I more meant who measures it, I guess, and to what criteria? |
| Date | 16:33:50, August 12, 2005 CET | From | Democratic Centre Party of Gaduridos | To | Debating the Treaty to Establish a Seleya Free Trade Zone |
| Message | If there is a dispute about the cost of production, civil courts will settle the issue. As with any other dispute, a company that feels they have been wronged, and who can't reach a settlement, retains the right to sue the offending nation. The case will be decided in that nation's courts. Therefore, whichever judge is assigned the case will be responsible for coming up with a fair way to determine cost of production. |
| Date | 03:17:43, August 14, 2005 CET | From | Txurruka/Aperribai/Mayoz's OPX | To | Debating the Treaty to Establish a Seleya Free Trade Zone |
| Message | Good enough for me. |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | ||||
| yes |
Total Seats: 262 | ||||
| no | Total Seats: 0 | ||||
| abstain |
Total Seats: 158 |
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