Title: Briefing for Developing Countries on Global Trends and Linkages to Geneva Multilateral
Processes
Date: Monday, 13 February 2017, 9:30-13:00
Venue: Room XXIV, Palais des Nations
Organizer: The South Centre
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…)
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…)
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…)
South Centre Statement at 2nd UN Conference on LLDCs
The attached is a Statement by the South Centre at Second UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries. (more…)
Special And Differential Treatment Under A Potential Trade Facilitation Agreement
I. BACKGROUND
Negotiations of a trade facilitation (TF) agreement under the World Trade Organization (WTO) were launched pursuant to the 2004 July Framework Package (referred to as the post-Cancun decision). (more…)
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…)
Summary Table of the Cancun Annex C 28, Special and Differential Treatment Proposals.
The Cancun Annex C containing 28 S&D proposals has been put forward for possible adoption at the WTO’s Ninth Ministerial Conference (MC9) in December 2013. (more…)
EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreements: Current State of Play.
This note provides an overview of the EPA negotiations. It illustrates the fact that the same critical contentious issues persist in the EPAs across various regional blocs. It also highlights the concerns of the highest political authorities of ACP States regarding the EPAs and the inherent dangers for (more…)
Operationalising the 2002 LDC Accession Guidelines: An Analysis.
Benchmarks to ‘further strengthen, streamline and operationalize’ the 2002 LDC Accession Guidelines have been developed. The following conclusions can be made regarding these benchmarks: (more…)
The EPAs and Risks for Africa: Local Production and Regional Trade.
One of the main contentious issues in the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and African countries is the level of trade liberalization which Europe is asking for. This issue is certainly one of the most critical for Africa. (more…)
WTO’s MC8: Some Critical Issues for Developing Countries.
This Analytical Note provides an overview of the following: issues at stake in MC8 for developing countries and key messages for Ministers; the state of play including the main events that took place in the production of the ‘Elements for Political Guidance’ text; the legal status of the Chairman’s Statement as the outcome document of the Ministerial; (more…)
