Economic Partnership Agreements in Africa: A Benefit-Cost Analysis.
This study provides a simple cost-benefit analysis of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between African countries and the European Union. It compares the costs of signing an EPA – measured as tariff revenue losses, versus the “gains” of signing an EPA – measured as (more…)
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…)
LDC Package: State of Play and Proposed Language for WTO’s MC8.
The LDC Package was proposed by the WTO Director General, in his capacity as Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) Chair in May 2011 for early harvesting at the Eighth Ministerial Conference (MC8) in December 2011. Since then, these negotiations have run into problems due to the resistance of the United States. (more…)
Special and Differential Treatment Negotiations: State of Play and Proposed Language for WTO’s MC8.
There has been some but not a significant amount of progress made on the Special and Differential Treatment negotiations mandated in the Doha Declaration (para 44) for developing countries. This paper provides an overview of: (more…)
Trade Facilitation State of Play and Implications of an ‘Early Harvest’ on Developing Countries.
Recently there has been an indication that some WTO members (especially developed countries) are proposing that an agreement on Trade Facilitation be one of the items to be an Early Harvest in the Doha negotiations in the WTO. (more…)
Present Situation of the WTO Doha Talks and Comments on the 21 April 2011 Documents.
Although Doha started as a “Development Agenda” with a pledge that developing countries‟ interests would be at the centre, ironically there is hardly any development content left in the Doha elements. The WTO released on 21 April 2011, a 600-page package providing an overview of the last 10 years of Doha negotiations. The following papers provide analysis of this overall package. (more…)
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).
EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP): Tools Protecting European Farmers.
The European Union (EU) uses a plethora of policy instruments to protect its agricultural sector and to ensure that European farmers, despite having higher production costs, are still able to continue production for both the European and export markets.
EU’s Increasing Use Of Decoupled Domestic Supports In Agriculture: Implications For Developing Countries.
The EU has been undertaking reform in its Common Agricultural Policy. Nevertheless, subsidies to EU agricultural producers are continuing. The major change is that 93% of these supports are now provided in the form of direct aid payments to producers. (more…)
Sub-Saharan Africa’s Exports Trends and the EPAs.
Trade trends are changing quite rapidly for Africa. A careful analysis of Africa’s export statistics reveals startling facts regarding the markets that are most important for Africa today, and in the years to come. (more…)
EPAs and WTO Compatibility – A Development Perspective.
The discussion on WTO compatibility in the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and ACP countries has so far been very narrowly defined, and largely from the perspective of the European Union. (more…)
Legal Analysis of Services and Investment in the Cariforum-EC EPA: Lessons for other Developing Countries.
This Research Paper is a legal analysis of the EC-Cariforum Services and Investment Chapter. It demystifies the many complex technical details in the EPA text and illustrates where this services and investment template goes beyond the WTO’s GATS. The paper highlights implications for other developing countries embarking on similar negotiations with the EU. (more…)
