Checklist of Questions for the Analysis of Initial Offers.
This note focuses on the analysis of initial offers for specific commitments that Members have started submitting since March 2003 in the context of the current services negotiations. Indeed, in order to facilitate and streamline the analysis of the initial offers it may be useful to identify several key questions that can be used as a guide in the analysis of offers. (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…)
Classification Issues in the Current GATS Negotiations: A Review of the Different Proposals and Some Preliminary Considerations.
The main objective of this paper is to review some of the classification proposals that have been submitted so far by various WTO Members in the current GATS negotiations and to assist developing countries in understanding the implications of adopting these different classifications. (more…)
Process Issues in the WTO: State of Play November 2002.
“Process” issues have been on the agenda of the WTO for a number of years now. Currently, these issues can be divided into three distinct, but closely linked, areas: (more…)
Background note on the implementation-related issues: History, Implementation, and Negotiating strategy for developing countries.
First, this paper looks at the history of implementation issues in the GATT/WTO system, and how such issues were dealt with up to the conclusion of the Uruguay Round. (more…)
Export competition – Main negotiating positions. (more…)
Market Access – Main negotiating positions. (more…)
The relationship between Trade and Debt.
The existence of a relationship between trade and debt is a contentious issue. In fact, a clear divide exists between developed and developing countries regarding the subject, a division which has necessitated the formation of the Working Group on Trade, Debt, and Finance (WGTDF) within the World Trade Organization (WTO). (more…)
Comparative analysis of relevant WTO safeguard provisions for agriculture negotiations. (more…)
Backgound paper in the context of the work programme of the WTO working group on Trade, Debt and Finance.
This paper provides a general background to the issues of Trade, Debt, and Finance, and what role they may have in future World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations envisioned through the Working Group on Trade, Debt, and Finance (WGTDF).
Review of the Existing Special and Differential Treatment Provisions: Implementing the Doha Mandate.
By placing Special and Differential Treatment (hereafter referred to as ‘S&DT’) at the heart of the WTO Agreements, the Doha Ministerial Declaration explicitly acknowledged that S&DT is a fully accepted core principle in the WTO legal regime. (more…)
Integrating Public Health Concerns into Patent Legislation in Developing Countries
The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) requires all WTO Member countries to adapt their laws to the minimum standards set out in the Agreement, within established transitional periods. Conforming with the Agreement by recognizing or strengthening the protection of pharmaceutical products and processes by intellectual property rights (IPRs) has posed a special challenge for developing countries. The way in which the required legislative reform is made may have a significant impact on public health policies, and particularly on the population’s access to drugs.
This document presents options for the design and implementation of public-health-sensitive patent policies in developing countries. It examines approaches to selected issues in patent law that may help to strike a balance between the public and private interests involved in the protection of health-related inventions, including those of States, patients, and of the suppliers of health-related goods and services. This document has been prepared as part of an initiative aimed at exploring health-related aspects of intellectual property rights that may further the needs of the poor and excluded in developing countries. It is primarily addressed to policy makers and others concerned in the field of public health in developing countries.
Integrating Public Health Concerns into Patent Legislation in Developing Countries
