Classification in Services: An Overview of the Main Issues for Developing Countries.
The main objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the main issues related to classification within the context of the services negotiations and to assist developing countries in understanding the implications. (more…)
Commodity market stabilisation and commodity risk management: Could the demise of the former justify the latter?.
The objective of this paper is to cautiously analyse whether leaving commodity markets to operate in unfettered fashion while hedging commodity price risks through the use of commodity risk management instruments is a viable and better alternative than market stabilisation policies. (more…)
The World Development Report 2005: An Unbalanced Message on Investment Liberalization.
The principal message of the World Development Report 2005 of the World Bank to the developing countries is that they should adopt liberal policies related to foreign investment to spur economic growth and development, and that the development of binding multilateral rules relating to foreign investment would create a favorable climate for foreign investment in developing countries. (more…)
Considerations for the Submission of Initial Offers in Light of the Current State of Play of Negotiations.
This note discusses the differing negotiating scenarios for individual Members and aims to present a clearer picture of the near term prospects for market access negotiations. From this, general considerations and options are provided for Members facing pressure to submit initial offers. (more…)
The UNCTAD XI: Comments on the 13 May 2004 Draft Negotiated Text.
This paper is intended as a follow-up to the South Centre’s informal paper entitled “The UNCTAD XI: Defining UNCTAD’s Future Mandate” in which readers were provided with a brief overview of the current state of play (as of late March 2004) of the pre-conference negotiations, and then a paragraph by paragraph description of the differences in negotiating positions among various countries. (more…)
A Development Agenda for Intellectual Property Negotiations in 2004 and Beyond.
In 2003, activities in the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) were fairly subdued, save for the negotiations relating to the implementation of paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health. (more…)
European Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) reform in the WTO context.
This note is an attempt to appraise the possible implications of the decisions reached in Europe on 26 June on CAP reform for the agriculture negotiations at the WTO. That is, trying to understand how the policy changes agreed could be translated into the WTO framework and put it in context. (more…)
Technical Assistance in the Area of Trade and Investment.
The Doha Ministerial Declaration (DMD) confirms the understanding among members that adequate, demand driven and recipient-controlled technical cooperation and capacity building constitute a core element of the development dimension of the multilateral trading system. (more…)
The Balance of Negotiations and Discussions in the Doha Work Programme: Overview Matrix of Negotiating and Non-Negotiating Areas.
The Doha Ministerial Conference of the WTO, held in November 2001, launched an ambitious work programme. The discussions/ negotiations initiated under this work programme include a number of issues in addition to the WTO built-in agenda and purely trade-related issues. (more…)
The relationship between Trade and Debt.
The existence of a relationship between trade and debt is a contentious issue. In fact, a clear divide exists between developed and developing countries regarding the subject, a division which has necessitated the formation of the Working Group on Trade, Debt, and Finance (WGTDF) within the World Trade Organization (WTO). (more…)
Backgound paper in the context of the work programme of the WTO working group on Trade, Debt and Finance.
This paper provides a general background to the issues of Trade, Debt, and Finance, and what role they may have in future World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations envisioned through the Working Group on Trade, Debt, and Finance (WGTDF).
