Domestic Regulation

Policy Brief 101, September 2021

The Investment Facilitation Framework & Most Favoured Nation (MFN) Treatment

 By Peter Lunenborg

The issue of Investment Facilitation (IF) is one of the ‘Joint Statement Initiatives’ which has been under negotiation for a number of years between certain World Trade Organization (WTO) Members. It has not been without controversy as there is no multilateral mandate at the WTO for these negotiations. Questions have been raised about how the outcomes of these IF negotiations can be brought into the WTO framework. Despite these uncertainties, there is a draft Investment Facilitation Framework (IFF) text. This Policy Brief discusses the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment as contained in Article 2 of the Investment Facilitation Framework (IFF), also referred to as the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement (IFDA).  This brief highlights the potential implications of the proposed text and proposes some options.

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South Centre Quarterly Report, October-December 2019

South Centre Quarterly Report, 1 October to 31 December 2019

This Quarterly Report summarizes the activities undertaken by the South Centre during the period 1st October to 31 December 2019. It is intended to provide information, organized by themes, about recent developments in the areas covered by the Centre’s Work Program, meetings organized or co-organized by the Centre to examine particular issues or provide analytical support for negotiations taking place in various international fora, and conferences and other meetings where the Centre has participated. It also informs about publications made and publication/websites/social media metrics.

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Book by the South Centre, 2019

The Politics of Trade in the Era of Hyperglobalisation: A Southern African Perspective

 

About the Book:

Matters of international trade are increasingly widely recognised as major shapers of global politics. News bulletins are giving more and more coverage to matters like the so-called “trade wars” between the United States and China. These are, indeed, increasingly defining relations between the two largest economies in the world and could well underpin a multi-dimensional rivalry that could be a central feature of international relations for many years to come. Brexit is dominating and indeed re-shaping politics in the United Kingdom. By definition a rejection of a regional integration arrangement, Brexit has also revealed under-currents profoundly shaped by the outcome of a broader trade-driven process called “globalisation”. Just as regional integration is weakening in Europe, African countries have taken decisions that could lead to the most profound and ambitious step forward in African regional integration – the establishment of an African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). This study seeks to present an analysis of the political economy of trade negotiations over the past quarter century on two main fronts: the multi-lateral and those pertaining to regional integration on the African continent.

Author: Rob Davies is former South African Minister of Trade and Industry.

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South Centre Quarterly Report, January-March 2019

South Centre Quarterly Report, 1 January to 31 March 2019

This report summarizes the programmatic activities of the South Centre during the period 1st January to 31st March 2019. It is intended to provide information, organized by Program and themes, about recent developments in the areas covered by the South Centre’s Work Program and publications made and meetings organized or co-organized by the Centre to examine particular issues or to provide analytical support for international negotiations taking place in various fora. It also informs about external conferences and other meetings where the Centre has participated.

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South Centre Quarterly Report, October-December 2018

South Centre Quarterly Report, 1 October to 31 December 2018

This report summarizes the programmatic activities of the South Centre during the period 1st October to 31 December 2018. It is intended to provide information, organized by Program and themes, about recent developments in the areas covered by the South Centre’s Work Program and publications made and meetings organized or co-organized by the Centre to examine particular issues or to provide analytical support for international negotiations taking place in various fora. It also informs about external conferences and other meetings where the Centre has participated.

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Informal Note on WTO MC11, November 2017

WTO MC11: Issues at Stake for Developing Countries

This is an informal briefing note on all the pertinent issues to developing countries for the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference which will be held in Buenos Aires in December 2017.

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Research Paper 51, July 2014

Obstacles to Development in the Global Economic System

I. Obstacles to Development Arising from the International System

As the international community wades into the political discussions regarding the alternatives to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) after 2015 and the design of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as mandated by the Rio+20 conference, it is timely to consider the question of whether development is a matter mostly of individual effort on the part of nation-states or whether there are elements in the international economic system that could serve as significant obstacles to national development efforts.  (more…)

Analytical Note, November 2011

Analysis Of Draft Waiver Decision On Services And Services Suppliers Of LDCs.

This Note is an analysis of the draft waiver decision submitted by the Chairman of the CTS to Ministers for adoption at the 8th Ministerial Conference. This is essentially a waiver from the most-favoured nation treatment clause (Article II. 1) in GATS to allow Members to provide preferential and more favourable treatment to services and services suppliers of LDCs. (more…)

Analytical Note, April 2011

Domestic Regulation of Services Sectors: Analysis of the Draft Negotiation Texts.

This document provides a paragraph by paragraph analysis of the draft domestic regulation texts which are currently being discussed at the WTO’s Working Party on Domestic Regulation (services negotiations).

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Analytical Note, October 2009

The Draft GATS Domestic Regulation Disciplines – Potential Conflicts With Developing Country Regulations.

This Analytical Note updates a 2006 South Centre Analytical Note (SC/AN/TDP/SV/11) ‘The Development Dimension of the GATS Domestic Regulation Negotiations’, which discusses the implications of the GATS Article VI: 4 disciplines on domestic regulation for developing countries. (more…)

Analytical Note, June 2009

Negotiating Services Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the European Union: Some Issues for Developing Countries to Consider.

This Analytical Note explores the options available to developing countries in negotiating agreements establishing Free Trade Areas (FTAs) involving a trade in services component with the European Union (EU). (more…)

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