General concept and components of fair trade: theory and international practice

Abstract

The relevance of the study is due to the fact that since 2017, official documents and statements of the US administration, among other things, place the main emphasis on the so-called fair trade. One of the promises of the future president during his election campaign was the withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the revision of the NAFTA Agreement (North American Free Trade Agreement - North American Free Trade Agreement) and support for new trade agreements that are extremely beneficial for the United States. The course of US trade policy today is highly controversial and controversial. In light of this new course, one of the main problems has become the understanding of what is meant by the term fair trade. The subject of research of the article is the process of development of the world trading system within the WTO, which is based on the principle of non-discrimination, market liberalization, free trade, etc. The goal is an analysis of the definition of fair trade from a literal, terminological, historical and conceptual point of view. The objective is to research the concept of fair trade in general and each of its elements (unfair trade practice, fair competition and level playing field) in theoretical interpretation and in practical use. General scientific methods are used, such as system analysis - to define the general concept of fair trade and its components in theoretical and practical aspects, as well as factor analysis - to formalize the cause-and-effect relationships of the investigated factors of the development of the world trade system in the direction of its liberalization. The following results were obtained: based on the analysis carried out, it can be concluded that fair trade should be understood as such trade that will exclude any manifestations of unfair trading practices, ensure fair competition, as well as a truly level playing field for trade. In practice, this is exactly what the world community is striving for in the development of the world trading system. Conclusions: the lack of a unified approach to understanding fair trade in general and each of its elements (fair trading practices, fair competition and equal conditions) allows these concepts to be manipulated and used in a way convenient for the one who uses them.