The Cotonou Partnership Agreement, the Economic Partnership Agreements and WTO Compatibility: Can Initialed Interim EPAs be Notified?.
This Analytical Note analyses the legal status of the interim Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) under WTO law. This is because most of the EPAs thus far initialed are interim agreements. It is thus important to understand the legal status of these interim agreements under article XXIV of GATT. (more…)
Negotiating Services Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with the European Union: Some Issues for Developing Countries to Consider.
This Analytical Note explores the options available to developing countries in negotiating agreements establishing Free Trade Areas (FTAs) involving a trade in services component with the European Union (EU). (more…)
Industrialisation and Industrial Policy in Africa: Is It a Policy Priority?.
The importance of industrialisation as an engine of economic growth and development cannot be overstated. Industrial production creates job opportunities at higher skill levels, facilitates denser links across the services and agricultural sectors, between rural and urban economies and between consumer, intermediate and capital goods industries. (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…)
EPAs and Benchmarking Development.
The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) being negotiated between the EU and Africa pose a major challenge for African countries since they are essentially free trade agreements. As such, the issue of development benchmarks has often been discussed. (more…)
Developed country climate financing initiatives weaken the UNFCCC.
This Analytical Note looks at the level and delivery vehicles of public financing for climate change actions in developing countries from developed country Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (i.e. the Parties listed in Annex I of the Convention). (more…)
WCO SECURE: Lessons Learnt From the Abortion Of the TRIP-Plus-Plus IP Enforcement Initiative.
The objective of this research paper is to extract lessons from the negotiation process of SECURE, an initiative to promote TRIPS-plus-plus standards on IP enforcement at the WCO, and assist developing countries in addressing the emerging global challenges in IP enforcement initiatives. (more…)
Patent Counts as Indicators of the Geography of Innovation Activities: Problem and Perspectives.
This Research Paper challenges the conceptual basis of patent counts being relied upon as indicators of innovation for assessing cross-country performance and for the purposes of understanding the geography of innovation in a particular location. (more…)
Article XXIV and RTAs: How Much Wiggle Room for Developing Countries?.
The issue of ‘WTO Compatibility’ of regional trade agreements (RTAs) has been intensely debated ever since the days of the GATT. RTAs are governed by Article XXIV in the GATT. The Article however does not have a development dimension. (more…)
Government Procurement in Economic Partnership Agreements and FTAs.
The ability of governments to procure from firms of its own choice can be an important development tool and can also be an instrument for macroeconomic management. (more…)
Controversial Points in the Discussion on Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) in the Doha Round.
The Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) is often quoted as one of the main controversial points that lead to the failure to the WTO mini-ministerial process in July 2008. Technical divergences relate to key aspects of the design and operation of the mechanism but also strong political divergences among exporters and importers. (more…)
Developing country perspectives on the role of the Development Cooperation Forum: building strategic approaches to enhancing multilateral development cooperation.
This Analytical Note follows up the study on stakeholder perspectives on the Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) prepared by the South Centre entitled “Reshaping the International Development Cooperation Architecture: Perspectives on a Strategic Development Role for the Development Cooperation Forum” (more…)
