Analytical Notes

Analytical Note, September 2018

Towards the Adoption of a UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working In Rural Areas

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas has been constructed by an Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group over six years of open and transparent negotiations. The text has significant support from members of the Human Rights Council. Accordingly, member States of the Human Rights Council should adopt the  Declaration through an upcoming Resolution at the 39th Human Rights Council Session (10-28 September 2018).

(more…)

Analytical Note, July 2017

The WTO’s Fisheries Subsidies Negotiations

Attempts are made to revitalise the fisheries subsidies negotiations at the WTO with the aim of achieving an outcome at the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference in December 2017.

(more…)

Analytical Note, July 2017

Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs)

Since 2015, the theme of Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs) has emerged after the Philippines submitted a proposal on this issue in the WTO, calling for discussions to take place in a more sustained way.

(more…)

Analytical Note, March 2017

The TRIPS and WTO Negotiations: Stakes for Africa

This paper discusses the current negotiation issues in the context of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and the position the African Group has taken in these negotiations. (more…)

Analytical Note, January 2017

The WTO’s Special and Differential Treatment Negotiations (Paragraph 44)

Paragraph 44 of the 2001 Doha Ministerial Declaration mandates the ‘strengthening’ of Special and Differential Treatment (S&D) provisions in the WTO Agreement, and making them ‘more precise, effective and operational’. This Note tracks the evolution of these negotiations from the start of the Doha Round in 2001 until the Nairobi Ministerial in December 2015. (more…)

Analytical Note, January 2017

The WTO’s Discussions on Electronic Commerce

The WTO has a 1998 Work Programme on E-commerce. This Work Programme provides for the discussion of trade-related issues relating to electronic commerce to take place in the relevant WTO bodies: the Council for Trade in Services; the Council for Trade in Goods; the Council for TRIPS; and the Committee for Trade and Development. The General Council was envisaged to play a review or oversight role. (more…)

Analytical Note, January 2017

The WTO’s Agriculture Domestic Supports Negotiations

The historical problems in agriculture continue today. Developed countries with the financial capacity continue to subsidise their farmers and export these agricultural products. This has also been enabled by the Uruguay Round through large AMS entitlements for mostly developed countries ($19 billion for US and now about $95 billion for EU27), as well as the Green Box (Annex 2 of the Agreement on Agriculture). (more…)

Analytical Note, May 2016

Key Substantive and Process Issues Arising from the WTO’s Nairobi Ministerial Conference (MC10)

Despite concerted attempts by major trading partners to bury the WTO’s Doha Development Agenda (DDA) in Nairobi, they were unsuccessful. Part I of this paper provides a legal reading of the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration (NMD) as it pertains to the DDA, and also discusses other legal questions regarding the conclusion of the DDA. (more…)

Analytical Note, May 2016

Assessing the WTO’s Nairobi Package (MC10)

This paper provides an overview of the Decisions that came out of the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC) in Nairobi taking into account the interests and concerns of developing countries.

The Nairobi package includes Decisions on (more…)

Analytical Note, May 2016

Discussions in the Working Group on the Relationship between Trade and Investment (2001-2003)

This Note reviews Members’ submissions in the Working Group on the Relationship between Trade and Investment (WGTI) between 2001 – 2003.

The Singapore Ministerial Declaration established the WGTI to examine the relationship between trade and investment. Subsequently, the Doha Ministerial Declaration tasked the WGTI to focus on the clarification of seven elements of a possible future multilateral investment agreement, as well as some other issues: (more…)

Analytical Note, December 2015

WTO’s MC10: The Call for ‘New Issues’ at the WTO and Implications for Developing Countries

Narratives concerning enhancing the participation of developing countries in ‘Global Value Chains’ (GVCs) and supporting micro, small and medium enterprises have featured prominently in the WTO
and other international organizations. These have intensified in the run up towards the Ministerial Conference in Nairobi. These discourses on GVCs and MSMEs have often been linked to (more…)

Analytical Note, December 2015

WTO’s MC10: The Nairobi Ministerial Declaration

When launched in 2001, the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) had the objective of being a Development Round. However, substantive development concerns have often been sidelined in the course of the negotiations. Without the Doha mandate, developing countries have no guarantee that the important issues of disciplines on domestic supports, special safeguard in agriculture and cotton will feature in future negotiations on Agriculture. (more…)