The Extent of Agriculture Import Surges in Developing Countries: What are the Trends.
The paper gives an overview of the trends in different groupings of developing countries’ agricultural import surges, as well as the import surge statistics for a sample of 56 developing countries. This is followed by a look at the products for which import surges are most frequently occurring. (more…)
Analysis of the Draft Interim Trade Sustainability Impact Assessment (TSIA) of the EU-Central America FTA.
Currently, the EU and Central American countries are negotiating the Free Trade Agreement. The European Commission commissioned a Trade Sustainability Impact Assessment (TSIA) which is estimated to be completed by August 2009. On 6 April 2009, the draft interim technical report was published (in English). (more…)
The WTO’s July 2008 Mini-Ministerial: Agriculture, NAMA, Process Issues and the Road Ahead.
This paper outlines the main events which took place during the WTO’s July mini-Ministerial. It goes on to provide a discussion of the key issues that were important in that meeting – agriculture, cotton, the non-agriculture market access negotiations, as well as systemic process concerns. (more…)
A Positive Agenda for African Agriculture in EPAs.
This Analytical note gives an overview of the provisions on agriculture of the interim EPA initialed at the end of 2007 between the EU et 35 ACP countries. A better understanding of the challenges that faces sub-Saharan agriculture in its expansion as well as the implentation of (more…)
Liberalization of Trade in Health Services: Balancing Mode 4 Interests with Obligations to Provide Universal Access to Basic Services.
Health is a human Right. The Right is bestowed on human beings through national constitutions and various international legal instruments that have been signed and ratified by many, if not all, governments of the world. Inherent herein is the Right to access basic health services; which imposes an obligation on States to ensure that these services are universally accessible to all their constituents. (more…)
Fact Sheet 3: Trade liberalisation and the difficult shift towards reciprocity in the EPAs.
This Analytical Note is part of a series of Fact Sheets designed to overview and assess the development implications of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), which the EU is currently negotiating with 76 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP). (more…)
Migration: is it for development?.
This South Centre Analytical Note provides a brief discussion of the linkage between Migration and Development. (more…)
IP rights under investment agreements: The TRIPs-plus implications for enforcement and protection of public interest.
The proliferation of investment and IP agreements raises fundamental questions on the relationship between such agreements and the implementation of national policies for economic development. (more…)
Considering gender and the WTO services negotiations.
The objective of this paper is to raise awareness amongst trade negotiators from developing and least developed countries of the inter-relationship between gender and trade in services issues. The context is the negotiations within the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) under the auspices of the World Trade Organization (WTO). (more…)
THE USE OF FLEXIBILITIES IN TRIPS BY DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: Can they Promote Access to Medicines?
This study was commissioned to: (1) examine the extent to which the flexibilities contained in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) have been incorporated into the legislation of developing countries and the extent of the actual use for public health purposes; (2) review the stated trade policies of major industrialized countries, particularly the United States and the European Union , vis-à-vis developing countries, to determine whether they take adequate account of the public health priorities of developing countries; and (3) examine the practical effect and implications of recently concluded bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) for public health protection in developing countries. The study has been compiled based on existing literature and other available evidence.
Overall, the study finds that the use of TRIPS flexibilities can promote access to medicines in developing countries. Most developing countries whose laws and practices we reviewed had incorporated one or more of the TRIPS flexibilities and there has been increasing usage of these flexibilities such as compulsory licensing for public health purposes. However, there remain important gaps both in terms of incorporation and usage of flexibilities, which will need to be addressed if the TRIPS flexibilities are to be used effectively across the developing world.
With respect to the stated trade policies of the United States and the EU relating to the protection of intellectual property in third countries, especially developing countries, we find that although some concern for the public health needs of developing countries is reflected, in general, the policies fail to adequately take into account the public health priorities of developing country trading partners.
Finally, with respect to FTAs, we find that a number of provisions in recently concluded FTAs between developed countries (essentially the United States) and developing countries, pose a real risk of undermining the effective use of TRIPS flexibilities in developing countries for public health purposes.
THE USE OF FLEXIBILITIES IN TRIPS BY DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: Can they Promote Access to Medicines?
State of Play in the WTO Agriculture Negotiations: Country Groupings’ Positions – December 2005 Update.
The present note provides an overview of the position of various countries and group of countries active in the WTO agriculture negotiations, with respect to the critical issues under discussion. (more…)
Overview of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures in Quad Countries on Tropical Fruits and Vegetables Imported from Developing Countries.
A number of developing countries,1 and especially least developed countries (LDCs), rely on agriculture for their food security, export earnings and rural development. It has been estimated that the agricultural sector accounts for between 30 per cent and 60 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for many of these countries, and is the major source of foreign exchange. (more…)
