Negotiating a Trade Facilitation Agreement: Considerations and Lessons from WTO Jurisprudence
This note discusses the lessons learned from WTO jurisprudence on trade facilitation articles under the GATT (i.e. Articles V, VIII and X GATT) and on other articles and WTO agreements that embody language similar to the one currently under negotiations. (more…)
Summary of South Centre Analysis of Implementation Issues Likely to Arise from Trade Facilitation Rules
How Far Does The Trade Facilitation Negotiation text (Rev.16) Go Beyond The WCO Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC)?
This Note assesses the extent to which the Trade Facilitation negotiation text (Rev.16) goes beyond the WCO Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC). The backdrop to this Note is the erroneous view that the TF Agreement only differs slightly from the WCO RKC. (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…)
Fact Sheet 12: EPAs and Development Assistance: Rebalancing Rights and Obligations.
The purpose of this analytical note is to highlight the inherent imbalances interim EPA texts contain with regard to development assistance. Its analysis, furthermore, can provide guidance to regions and countries that need to (more…)
South Centre Analysis on the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.
The South Centre Analysis of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration evaluates the developments in the Doha Work Programme since the launch of the Round, examines the implications of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration and identifies some important strategic issues for developing countries that need to be considered in subsequent negotiation. (more…)
A Compilation of Negotiating Proposals on Trade Facilitation
Paragraph 27 of the 2001 Doha Ministerial Declaration states that: 27. Recognizing the case for further expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit, and the need for enhanced technical assistance and capacity building in this area, we agree that negotiations will take place after the (more…)
From Doha to the July 2004 Framework Package.
On 31 July 2004, the WTO General Council decided to establish a framework for continued negotiations under the Doha Work Programme set out in the Doha Ministerial Declaration (DMD, WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1) of 2001. This note seeks to present a content analysis of the WTO General Council Decision of 31 July 2004 (WT/GC/W/535). (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…)
