ES 521

World Trade Law

Zielgruppe

Everybody interested in knowing the world’s international trade rules

Inhalt und Ziele

In the last decades international relations were as stable as never before, free trade and investment agreements were thriving, and a high degree of international trust strengthened the belief in a resilient (economic) international world order. Then, suddenly, Russia invaded Ukraine and led to massive energy supply issues in Europe. Sanctions further reduced EU-Russian trade and the resulting energy transition plans of the EU (from fossil to renewable energies and e-cars) made clear the dependency on China having a monopoly on certain raw materials. Then, the Trump administration started a war on free trade and imposed massive tariffs on a big variety of goods, then reduced them again, then increased them and so forth, seemingly according to his current whim.

Knowing that, one starts asking him/herself: Where are the international rules? Do they even exist?

The answer is YES, and actually International Trade Law has been one of the best functioning and best enforced areas of international law. What these rules provide, how incompliance is handled and what has happened to them recently is the key topic of this seminar.

Participants will get a succinct overview of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its main legal principles as well as the functioning of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body. Furthermore, the legal nature and consequences of Free Trade Agreements and (Bilateral) Investment Treaties will be discussed.

On completion you will understand

• how tariffs and quotas work,
• the functioning of the WTO and its dispute settlement,
• what the main binding international trade rules are (i.e. how D. J. Trump should act), and
• what Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) are.

Lernmethode

Interactive presentation, simulation, group- and pair-work and reflection

Trainer

Dr. Harald J. Jauk MA LL.M. BA

Zeit und Ort

Seminarnummer:

ES 521

Trainingsform:

Präsenz

Dauer:

1 Tag(e) (8 Stunden)

Termin:

16.06.2026

Stundenplan:

09:00 - 17:00

Ort:

Verwaltungsakademie des Bundes

Organisation

Seminarleitung:

Hütterer Katrine, Mag.

Sekretariat:

Fröhlich Elisabeth