US’ Section 301 Actions: Why They are Illegitimate and Misguided
By Aileen Kwa and Peter Lunenborg
This research paper examines the US’ Section 301 unilateral actions against China, stemming from the US’ concerns over China’s ambitious industrial policies and its rapid technological advancements. It outlines the accusations of the US regarding China’s conditions for technology transfer and what the US sees as overly intrusive Chinese government involvement in investments. It looks in detail at why the US’ actions are in fact illegitimate and misguided. (more…)
Vacancy Announcement – Finance and Administration Officer (FAO)
The South Centre was established in 1995 as a permanent inter-governmental organization of developing countries. It has full intellectual independence in working towards the establishment of a fair, equitable, and rule-based global order. In responding to the needs of the South, it is open to new ideas and approaches (including multilateralism and regionalism) that can promote better South-South and North-South dialogue and cooperation.
The South Centre is a small institution in which all staff members work in a team and help in whatever tasks they are requested and may be required to undertake. With new project funding and the increasing complexity of work the need for capacity reinforcement within the finance and administrative function has been identified as a priority.
In that context, the South Centre is seeking to recruit a Finance and Administration Officer, “FAO” in its Finance and Administration department. Besides the general roles and responsibilities of the finance function, the incumbent shall also be engaged on specific project related financial management aspects as well as in the continuous improvement and capacity upgradation of the finance and administration systems within the Centre. The FAO, together with other staff in the Finance and Administration Unit shall work together as a team to support the implementation of the South Centre’s mandate.
The FAO reports to the Controller – Finance and Administration and assists in dealing with administrative and finance issues affecting a program fund management in particular and other substantive programmes in general.
US’ Section 301 Actions are Illegitimate and Misguided
On 23rd August, the US Administration imposed yet another set of discriminatory tariffs on China under its Section 301 Trade Act covering US$16 billion of its imports from China. This is in addition to the additional tariffs imposed on 6 July 2018 on US$34 billion of its imports from China. According to the US, these actions are supposedly because of China’s unreasonable or discriminatory practices relating to technology transfer, intellectual property and innovation.
The International Debate on Generic Medicines of Biological Origin
By Dr. Germán Velásquez
The debate on generic medicines is not new. What makes it different today is that attacks levelled against biological generic products are couched in even more “technical” and abstruse language. The high price of biological drugs stems mainly from the introduction of barriers to the entry of generics into the market. In any debate on the feasibility of producing biological generic products identical to the ‘original’ ones, it should be made clear that what are at stake are not identical products but therapeutic equivalents.
A giant walks with us no more. Tribute to Dr. Samir Amin, 1931-2018
Professor Samir Amin passed away on Sunday, August 12, leaving a large gap among those luminaries of the South who offered critical thinking on the challenges facing developing countries and the alternative pathways to development.
Interaction of Transfer Pricing & Profit Attribution: Conceptual and Policy Issues for Developing Countries
By Dr. Vinay Kumar Singh
Till 2010, model tax conventions treated profit attribution to permanent establishments and transfer pricing under different articles, and profit attribution under Article 7 allowed sales to be taken into account both in the direct accounting method as well as the indirect apportionment method. However, the revised Article 7 in the 2010 update of the OECD Convention approximated profit attribution with transfer pricing and omitted the option of apportionment, thereby undermining sales and contributions made by market jurisdiction to business profits. When a tax treaty retains Article 7 based on the UN Convention or the earlier OECD Convention, Contracting States can take sales into account and also opt for apportionment. Developing countries need to fully understand these implications of Article 7 in their tax treaties, and opt for informed choices for transfer pricing and profit attribution to permanent establishments, including apportionment that takes sales into account.
Presentation of Dr. Carlos Correa, Executive Director of the South Centre, at the G77 and China Briefing
Below is the statement of the new Executive Director of the South Centre Dr. Carlos M. Correa during his first meeting with the Group of 77 and China held at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on 11 July 2018.
Major Outcomes of the 71st Session of the World Health Assembly of WHO
By Nirmalya Syam and Mirza Alas
The 71st session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) of the World Health Organization (WHO) took place from 21 to 26 May 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland. The Assembly adopted several decisions and resolutions including the adoption of the General Programme of Work (GPW) of WHO for the period 2019-2023, as well as decisions on addressing access to medicines and vaccines and their global shortage, and the recommendations of an overall programme review of the WHO Global Strategy and Plan of Action on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (GSPA-PHI). (more…)
Collaboration or Co-optation? A review of the Platform for Collaboration on Tax
By Manuel F. Montes and Pooja Rangaprasad
The Platform for Collaboration on Tax (PCT), launched in April 2016, is an effort to intensify cooperation on tax issues among the staff of the OECD, IMF, World Bank and the United Nations. The PCT’s stated objectives include the production of joint outputs, strengthening interactions between standard setting, capacity building and technical assistance and sharing information. PCT has since produced toolkits on issues such as tax incentives, transfer pricing, and taxation of offshore indirect transfers. The PCT also held its first global conference in February 2018 at the UN where a concluding ‘conference statement’, negotiated among the four secretariats, was produced.
