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WTO Issues
Regional Economic
Cooperation
Developmental
Issues
CUTS CITEE in Action
Call for Publications
WTO Issues
Multilateralising
Regionalism: The WTO’s Next Challenge
The world’s most important trade talks – the Doha Round – appear
to be slipping into a coma while key nations play a waiting game. What are
they waiting for? Some are waiting to see if Europe commits to
unilaterally dismantling the EU’s massively distortionary agricultural
policies during its 2008/2009 review. Others are waiting to see if the
next US president is more protectionist or more accommodating. And the
major developing nations see their exports growing at double-digit rates
despite the stalemate, so what’s the rush?
http://www.turkishweekly.net/comments.php?id=2849
Geneva Rhetoric, National Reality: Implementing TRIPS
Obligations in Kenya
At a prima facie level, this article is about translating obligations to
the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property1 into the
architecture of domestic law. On the other hand, the paper seeks to
re-direct attention away from Geneva and towards national capitals. What
might in Geneva be widely considered to be a valid interpretation of the
obligation may not necessarily be either politically feasible or
economically attractive in national capitals. More significantly, some
interpretations may not even get a mention in domestic debates.
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/csgr/research/workingpapers/2008/24108.pdf
Doha Dealbreaker
In today's world,
having access to world-class service providers can be the difference
between economic growth and stagnation. Open markets promote innovation
and entrepreneurship, generate lower costs and higher-quality goods,
increase the pace of technology diffusion and attract more foreign
investment. Reaching a strong outcome in services in the World Trade
Organization's Doha Round is so important that the United States and
Australia have decided to make our position clear: Like many other WTO
members, we will not support………
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120786517783006103.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Developing States and the WTO: What's Wrong with Inactivity?
How can developing
states' participation at the WTO be accurately measured? What are the
benefits and drawbacks of activity? Is inactivity by developing states a
rational strategy? This short essay questions conventional wisdom
regarding the level of developing state participation at the WTO and the
implicit assumption that more activity is desirable. It does so by
exploring some of the methodological and normative questions that arise
out of the study of developing state participation at the WTO.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1103255
Is what is good for ‘sealing’ the Doha talks good for
the trading system?
Trade diplomats and negotiators, who have returned to their desks
(after the year-end recess) and resumed efforts at the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) to conclude the Doha Round of trade talks, are facing
an existential situation. Every year in January, ministers and
policy-makers in charge of the economy or trade make a ‘pilgrimage’ to
Davos (the alpine luxury ski-resort town in northwest Switzerland) to
concert with ‘movers and shakers’ of global business, finance and industry
at the annual World Economic Forum meeting.
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title2/briefing_papers/No46.pdf
Regional Economic
Cooperation
Economic
Partnership Agreements: A ‘historic step’ towards a ‘partnership of
equals’?
This paper argues that the (interim) EPAs initialled between the EU
and less than half of all ACP states at the end of last year do not
represent a ‘historic step’ in EU-ACP relations. The majority of
EPAs concluded to date are neither complete nor comprehensive trade
agreements. Almost all signatory states were countries that would
bear substantial economic costs if they lost their preferences in
the EU market. Many ACP states submitted hastily drawn up
liberalisation schedules ………
http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/working_papers/WP288.pdf
Government Should Prepare People for Free Trade
After free-trade deals were put aside during the interim
government, the government is back at the negotiating table again.
This weekend, Asean, Australia and New Zealand are set to conclude a
free-trade agreement (FTA). The deal is a part of Asean's effort to
enhance economic ties within the region. Asean members have earlier
concluded deals with China, Japan and South Korea. If successful,
Asean's deal with Australia and New Zealand will be the fourth one.
In theory, FTAs are supposed to boost trade………
http://nationmultimedia.com/2008/04/16/opinion/opinion_30070830.php
'Deeper' Integration Must Go Beyond Asia's Borders
Asia needs to start considering ways to "deepen" its economic
integration while at the same time keeping itself open to parties
from outside the region, experts told the March 24 symposium. East
Asia has achieved a high degree of "de facto" market-based
integration through establishment of cross-border production
networks and now backed by institutional frameworks like free-trade
agreements. But the Asian countries should also look further than
mere tariff cuts, and move toward facilitation of services………
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nb20080404d2.html
Regionalism or Multilateralism? A Political Economy Choice
This paper provides a political economy analysis of the
incentives underpinning a country's decision to enter a regional
trade agreement when a multilateral free trade agreement is
available, and of how entering a regional trade agreement affects
the incentives to pursue multilateral trade liberalization. Taking
into account the influence exerted by organized interest groups in
the formation of trade agreements, we derive a formal condition
under which a regional trade agreement………
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.cfm?sk=21821.0
SAFTA: How Successful has it been So Far?
The South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) signed by the members of
the SAARC and implemented in July 2006, has since been a matter of concern
for the countries involved, regarding how effective it is in increasing
the economic wellbeing of the region in general. When it was initially
signed, the goals included forming a common currency for the region and
forming a Customs Union (CU) which would eventually lead to Total Economic
Integration.
http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=11589
Developmental
Issues
Accra 2008: The Bumpy Road to Aid Effectiveness in Agriculture
The 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness will be reviewed at the
Third High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra in September 2008.
The Paris Declaration establishes operating principles for donors and
recipient governments to improve the effectiveness of aid. These include
government leadership of the development process, a focus on policy
results, greater alignment by donors with national policies and management
systems, harmonisation between donors with.........
http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/nrp/NRP114.pdf
Commodity Dependence and Development: Suggestions to
tackle the Commodities Problem
A positive correlation
has been found between dependence on primary agricultural commodities and
poverty, as measured by the human development index. This is due to three
prominent features of commodity markets: price volatility; the secular
decline of long term prices; and market concentration. Commodity price
fluctuation is anathema to economic development for commodity –exporting
developing countries: it translates into export earning fluctuations. This
in turn lead to fluctuations……….
http://www.southcentre.org/publications/CommodityReport/AA_SC_Commodity_Report.pdf
Untangling links between trade, poverty and gender
Latin American experience shows women need support to benefit from trade
liberalisation. Links between trade, growth and poverty reduction are under
global scrutiny by a broad range of policy and civil society actors, as are
gender dimensions of trade liberalisation. Proponents assume that growth will
benefit women, given the disproportionate growth of their employment in
export-orientated, labour-intensive light manufacturing. Critics, meanwhile,
fear that women may be more vulnerable………
http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/briefing/bp38-mar08-trade-poverty-gender.pdf
Sustainable
Development Perspective of Climate Change
Global environmental problems like climate change should be conceptualised
as problems of consumption and not production patterns. A consumption rather
than a production-based vision for environmentally sustainable economic growth
would make the design and implementation of climate protection, as well as other
environmental problems, more effective. Moreover, implementation in the context
of international burden sharing, where benefits are not equally shared,
requires…………
http://www.epw.org.in/uploads/articles/12135.pdf
Growth - Building Jobs and
Prosperity in Developing Countries
Economic growth is the most powerful instrument for reducing poverty and
improving the quality of life in developing countries. Both cross-country
research and country case studies provide overwhelming evidence that rapid and
sustained growth is critical to making faster progress towards the Millennium
Development Goals – and not just the first goal of halving the global proportion
of people living on less than $1 a day. Growth can generate virtuous circles of
prosperity and opportunity.
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/growth-policy-paper.pdf
Call for
Publications
For
experts publishing articles in South Asian newspapers/publications,
civil society
organisations, research
institutes and academics, if you
would like your publication’s abstract and weblink to distributed to CUTS
International network (above 5,000
recipients all over the world) and added to the Economiquity
e-newsletter, please forward such details via email to following
address: citee@cuts.org
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International
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Disclaimer
Views expressed in these articles and papers are those of the respective
authors and in no way reflect the official positions of CUTS and the
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