Currency Manipulations in Internatonal Economic Law: The Applicability of WTO’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

Abstract

Currency manipulations, which aim at gaining a competitive advantage in trade through undervalued exchange rates, is prohibited by the IMF Treaty. Both the IMF's weak sanction tools and the direct distortive effects of currency manipulations on trade raise the question of whether WTO rules and its sanction mechanisms can be applied as a solution against them. This study investigates whether the relevant rules of GATT can be applied to currency manipulations and whether complaints can be made in the WTO dispute settlement mechanism which is a more advanced and sanctions-backed tool. In this regard, it argues that there are sufficient provisions to enable it to initiate violation complaints under Article XV and non-violation complaints under Article XXIII. It also addresses the role of the IMF in a dispute settlement process under the WTO.

Keywords

• Currency Manipulations
• The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
• World Trade Organization (WTO)
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Uluslararası Ekonomi Hukukunda Kur Manipülasyonları: DTÖ Gümrük Tarifeleri ve Ticaret Genel Antlaşmasının (GATT) Uygulanabilirliği

Abstract

Eksik değerlenmiş kurlar vasıtasıyla ticarette rekabet avantajı elde etmeye yönelik kur manipülasyonları IMF Antlaşması tarafından yasaklanmıştır. Gerek IMF’nin zayıf yaptırım araçları gerekse de kur manipülasyonlarının ticaret üzerindeki doğrudan bozucu etkileri nedeniyle, onlara karşı DTÖ kuralları ve yaptırım mekanizmalarının uygulanıp uygulanamayacağı sorusu gündeme gelmektedir. Bu çalışma, GATT’ın ilgili kurallarının kur manipülasyonlarına uygulanıp uygulanamayacağını ve bu kapsamda, daha gelişmiş ve yaptırımlarla desteklenmiş bir araç olarak DTÖ anlaşmazlıkların halli mekanizmasında şikâyete konu edilip edilemeyeceğini araştırmaktadır. Bu bağlamda, Madde XV kapsamında ihlal şikâyetleri ile Madde XXIII kapsamında ihlalsiz şikâyetler başlatma imkânı verecek yeterli hüküm bulunduğunu savunmaktadır. Ayrıca, DTÖ bünyesinde yürütülecek bir uyuşmazlık çözüm sürecinde IMF’nin rolünü ele almaktadır.

Keywords

• Kur Manipülasyonları
• Gümrük Tarifeleri ve Ticaret Genel Antlaşması (GATT)
• Dünya Ticaret Örgütü (DTÖ)
• Uluslararası Para Fonu (IMF).

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