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B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 10 International Trade Economics 2023 Mar Question Paper with Solutions

KSLU Solved Question Papers

International Trade Economics

Previous Year Question Paper with Solution

B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 10

2023 Mar Examination

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Mumbai

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First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.

Published by munotes.in, Mumbai.

Model answers written and edited by the munotes.in editorial desk.

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munotes.in is an independent study resource for students of Karnataka State Law University. It is not affiliated with Karnataka State Law University, and is not endorsed by it.

The University does not publish an official answer key for this paper. The answers in this volume are model answers, written to show how a full-mark answer is built. They are a study aid, not an authority on what an examiner marked.

The question paper reproduced here is the paper as set by Karnataka State Law University at the 2023 Mar examination.

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Contents

The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2023 Mar examination, in the order it was set.

MarksPage

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MarksPage

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The Paper as Set

The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2023 Mar examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.

Duration 3 hours  ·  Total marks 80  ·  20 questions answered

Instructions printed on the paper

  • N.B. (1) Answer all five Units. (2) One essay type question and Short note/Problems is compulsory in each Unit. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answer should be written either in English or Kannada completely.

How to use this volume

Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.

Read the original question paper

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Q1

Unit I

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(a)Discuss the organisational structure, objectives and scope of World Trade Organisation.[10]

Answer

For full marks, cover: the WTO's origin in the Marrakesh Agreement of 1994; its objectives as set out in the Preamble; the means the Preamble names (reduction of barriers, elimination of discrimination); its scope under Article II (the Annexes, the single undertaking, the plurilateral agreements); the functions in Article III that serve those objectives; the structure under Articles IV and VI (Ministerial Conference, General Council and its two other forms, the three Councils, committees, Secretariat); decision-making under Article IX; how well the structure serves the objectives.

Introduction

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established by the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization. The Agreement was signed on 15 April 1994 at the close of the Uruguay Round. It began work on 1 January 1995. It replaced the provisional GATT arrangement of 1947 with a permanent international organisation having legal personality (Article VIII). India has been a member from the first day.

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Part A: the objectives

The objectives are stated in the Preamble to the Marrakesh Agreement. Members recognise that their trade and economic relations should be conducted with a view to:

  1. raising standards of living;
  2. ensuring full employment;
  3. a large and steadily growing volume of real income and effective demand;
  4. expanding the production of and trade in goods and services; and
  5. allowing for the optimal use of the world's resources in accordance with the objective of sustainable development. The environment is to be protected and preserved in a manner consistent with members' different levels of development.

The Preamble adds a sixth aim. Members recognise the need for positive efforts for developing countries, especially the least developed. These countries must secure a share in the growth of world trade that matches their economic needs.

The means. The Preamble names two means of reaching these objectives:

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  • reciprocal and mutually advantageous arrangements for the substantial reduction of tariffs and other barriers to trade; and
  • the elimination of discriminatory treatment in international trade relations.

These two means are the source of the WTO's core principles: market access through bound tariffs, and non-discrimination through most favoured nation and national treatment.

Sustainable development has legal effect. In United States: Shrimp (WT/DS58/AB/R, adopted 6 November 1998), the United States banned shrimp caught without turtle-excluder devices. The Appellate Body relied on the sustainable development objective in the Preamble. It read "exhaustible natural resources" in Article XX(g) of GATT to include living species such as sea turtles. The ban failed only because it was applied in a discriminatory way.

Part B: the scope (Article II)

Article II:1 makes the WTO the common institutional framework for trade relations among its members in matters covered by the agreements in its Annexes. Its scope is therefore set by those agreements:

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  1. Annex 1A: GATT 1994 and the other agreements on trade in goods, such as Agriculture, SPS, TBT, TRIMs, Anti-Dumping and Subsidies;
  2. Annex 1B: the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS);
  3. Annex 1C: the TRIPS Agreement on intellectual property;
  4. Annex 2: the Dispute Settlement Understanding;
  5. Annex 3: the Trade Policy Review Mechanism; and
  6. Annex 4: the plurilateral agreements.

Under Article II:2, the agreements in Annexes 1, 2 and 3 bind all members. This is the single undertaking: a country cannot pick some agreements and refuse others. Under Article II:3, the plurilateral agreements in Annex 4, such as the Agreement on Government Procurement, bind only those members that accept them. Article II:4 makes GATT 1994 legally distinct from GATT 1947.

So the WTO reaches much further than GATT did. GATT dealt only with goods. The WTO also covers services, intellectual property, investment measures and dispute settlement. Matters outside the Annexes, such as labour standards and competition policy, are outside its scope.

The functions that serve the objectives (Article III)

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  1. To facilitate the implementation, administration and operation of the WTO agreements.
  2. To provide the forum for negotiations among members.
  3. To administer the Dispute Settlement Understanding.
  4. To administer the Trade Policy Review Mechanism.
  5. To cooperate with the IMF and the World Bank for greater coherence in global economic policy-making.

Part C: the structure

Article IV sets out the structure. Every body except the Secretariat is made up of all members, acting in different capacities.

1. Ministerial Conference (Article IV:1). The supreme body, made up of representatives of all members. It meets at least once every two years. It may take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements. The Fourteenth Ministerial Conference met at Yaounde in March 2026.

2. General Council (Article IV:2). It conducts the functions of the Ministerial Conference in the intervals between its meetings. It usually meets in Geneva at the level of ambassadors. It also meets:

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  • as the Dispute Settlement Body (Article IV:3), to establish panels, adopt reports and authorise retaliation; and
  • as the Trade Policy Review Body (Article IV:4), to review the trade policies of members in turn.

3. The three Councils (Article IV:5). Working under the general guidance of the General Council:

  1. the Council for Trade in Goods, for GATT 1994 and the other goods agreements in Annex 1A;
  2. the Council for Trade in Services, for the GATS; and
  3. the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, for TRIPS.

4. Committees (Article IV:7). The Ministerial Conference establishes the Committee on Trade and Development, the Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions and the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration. Each agreement also has its own committee, such as those on agriculture, subsidies and anti-dumping.

5. Secretariat (Article VI). Located in Geneva and headed by a Director-General appointed by the Ministerial Conference. The Director-General and staff are international officials and may not take instructions from any government (Article VI:4).

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BodyWho sitsMain role
Ministerial ConferenceAll members (ministers)Supreme decisions, every two years
General CouncilAll members (ambassadors)Day-to-day governance
Dispute Settlement BodyAll membersPanels, adoption, retaliation
Trade Policy Review BodyAll membersReviews of trade policy
Councils and committeesAll membersRunning each agreement
SecretariatInternational staffSupport, no decisions

Decision-making (Article IX)

The WTO continues the GATT practice of consensus. Where consensus cannot be reached, a matter may be decided by vote, with one vote for each member. Authoritative interpretations and waivers need a three-fourths majority. In practice almost every decision is taken by consensus.

Does the structure serve the objectives?

Strengths. The structure gives every member an equal seat and a voice. The Trade Policy Review Body brings transparency, and the dispute machinery has decided hundreds of cases.

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Weaknesses. Consensus lets a single member block decisions. Since 1995 only two new multilateral agreements have been concluded: Trade Facilitation (in force 22 February 2017) and Fisheries Subsidies (in force 15 September 2025). The Appellate Body has had no members since 30 November 2020, which weakens the dispute function.

Conclusion. The Preamble to the Marrakesh Agreement sets the WTO's objectives. They are higher living standards, employment, growing trade in goods and services and sustainable development. Developing countries are to get a fair share of the gains. Its structure under Article IV puts every member at every level, from the Ministerial Conference down to the committees. The Secretariat serves these bodies but does not decide. The structure is democratic but slow, and its weakest point today is the stalled appellate stage.

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