UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Goyal, Greer deliberate ‘early conclusion’ of trade treaty

Q1. With reference to the stages through which a bilateral trade agreement passes, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Once both parties have signed a trade agreement, signature by itself is sufficient for its tariff concessions to take effect.
  2. After negotiations are concluded, the agreed text is usually put through a legal scrub before it is signed.
  3. A trade agreement may have been signed and still be awaiting entry into force.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q2. With reference to interim agreements and free-trade areas under GATT Article XXIV, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. An interim agreement leading to a free-trade area must itself satisfy the conditions of Article XXIV to be WTO-consistent.
  2. An interim agreement must contain a plan and schedule for forming the free-trade area within a reasonable length of time.
  3. Since a free-trade area already departs from most-favoured-nation treatment, its members may raise their duties on non-members above pre-agreement levels.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 3 only
  • C. 1 and 2 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q3. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. A free trade agreement that removes tariffs on almost all of an exporter's trade by value may still leave that exporter's agricultural goods with limited real access to the partner's market.
  2. GATT Article XXIV requires a free-trade area to eliminate duties on substantially all trade among its members, but does not permit it to address other restrictive regulations of commerce.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct

Q4. With reference to free-trade areas and customs unions as defined under GATT Article XXIV, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. In a free-trade area, each member keeps its own tariffs on imports from non-members.
  2. In a customs union, members apply substantially the same duties to trade with territories outside the union.
  3. Both arrangements must eliminate duties and other restrictive regulations on substantially all the trade between their members.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 2 and 3 only
  • D. 1 and 2 only

Q5. Countries X and Y form a free-trade area but keep their separate external tariffs. X charges 5% on widgets from non-members, while Y charges 25%. To stop a third-country firm shipping widgets into X and then sending them on duty-free to Y, the agreement would most likely depend on:

  • A. rules determining which goods qualify as products of the partners
  • B. national treatment of imported goods after customs clearance
  • C. most-favoured-nation treatment extended to all WTO members
  • D. a common external tariff that both partners apply to outsiders

Q6. With reference to how the Group of Twenty (G20) is organised, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The G20 operates without a charter or a permanent secretariat.
  2. The G20 presidency is held for a fixed two-year term, and the agenda is set by a standing bureau of all members.
  3. The G20's work runs through a Finance Track and a Sherpa Track, with Sherpas serving as personal emissaries of the Leaders.
  • A. 1 and 2 only
  • B. 1, 2 and 3
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 2 and 3 only

Q7. Consider the following statements: Which of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

  1. Several WTO panel rulings, including some that found members' measures WTO-inconsistent, have remained unresolved because they were appealed.
  2. Since December 2019, the WTO Appellate Body has lacked the minimum number of members needed to hear an appeal.
  • A. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I
  • B. Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
  • C. Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect
  • D. Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct