ICTSD » ICTSD Publications

ICTSD Submission | Views on Options and Ways for Further Increasing the Level of Ambition

gpascolini — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:46:40 +0000

Responding to a call from Parties to UNFCCC in Durban in December of 2011, ICTSD has submitted views on options and ways for further increasing the level of ambition in climate change action. Although recognizing the urgency to increase ambition in all areas under the “Durban Platform on Enhanced Action”, notably adaptation, finance and technology development, ICTSD’s submission focuses on mitigation. In particular it highlights the need to provide a space for addressing concerns for carbon leakage, which to date are one reason why some countries face difficultiues in adopting effective mitigation policies. It also proposes that the UNFCCC initiates a structured discussion about the role for the UNFCCC in relation to trade.

Bridging the Gap on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources in WIPO’s Intergovernmental Committee (IGC)

interns — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:40:21 +0000

Discussions on how to address concerns about the misappropriation of genetic resources and traditional knowledge have been high on the agenda of a variety of multilateral forums such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

In the past two years, WIPO’s Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) has witnessed an acceleration of its work in particular on traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions. However, the gap in positions on genetic resources remains significant.

Against this background, this issue paper examines at length the range of measures and options discussed in the IGC especially biodiversity disclosure requirements and databases. It also considers the binding or non-binding nature of the instrument(s) that might emerge from the IGC and their different implications. In connection to all these aspects, the paper makes recommendations regarding processes, substance and existing research gaps that could contribute towards advancing the IGC’s deliberations.

Market Access Opportunities for ACP Countries in Environmental Goods

gpascolini — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:55:16 +0000

Increasing access to and use of EGS could yield a number of benefits, including reducing pollution, improving energy and resource efficiency, and facilitating solid waste disposal. Gradual trade liberalisation and carefully managed market opening in these sectors can also be a powerful tool for economic development by generating economic growth and employment and enabling the transfer of valuable skills, technology, and know-how embedded in such goods and services. Developing countries currently have no clear overview though of which goods could address environmental protection and poverty reduction, and how they should target such goods in trade negotiations.

For that reason, this paper analyses market access opportunities for environmental goods (EGs) from developing countries in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions and focuses on a few issues particularly relevant to these countries. The paper uses a partial equilibrium model to estimate the possible trade effects of different tariff liberalisation scenarios for ACP countries. It finds that any tariff elimination by ACP countries will result in an increased level of imports and a deepening of the trade imbalance in this sector. The paper subsequently discusses how to leverage the benefits that may come from tariff liberalization of environmental goods.

Trade and Development Symposium | Perspectives on the Multilateral Trading System

interns — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:53:21 +0000

On this page are the think pieces on the Future of the Multilateral Trading System that were made available during the Trade and Development Symposium (TDS), which was held from 16 to 17 December 2011 in Geneva. Please note that they are in draft form and the final version will be available in our upcoming E-book.

James Bacchus - A Way Forward for the WTO

Roderick Abbott - The Future of the Multilateral Trading System and the WTO

Pradeep Mehta - Towards a Multilateral Framework on Competition Policy

Rorden Wilkinson - Four Principles for Reforming the WTO

Andrew Stoler - WTOplus Issues in the Multilateral Trading System

Robert Lawrence - Competing with Regionalism by Revitalizing the WTO

Debra Steger - Establishment of a Dispute Tribunal in the WTO

Nicolas Imboden - The Accession of Least Developed Countries to the World Trade Organization

Lin Guijin - The Revival of Industrial Policy: How should the WTO address it?

Carolyn Deere Birkbeck - The Future of the WTO: Governing Trade for a Fairer, More Sustainable Future

Miguel Rodriguez Mendoza - Towards ‘plurilateral plus’ agreements

Roberto Bouzas - Towards ‘Plurilateral plus’ Agreements

Peter Draper - Africa’s Tripartite Preferential Trade Agreement and the PTA-WTO Conference Debate: Yin and Yang

Kimberly Ann Elliot - Breaking the Deadlock on Market Access for Least Developed Countries

Kevin Gallagher - The Challenging Opportunities for the Multilateral Trade Regime

Carlos Galperin - Biofuel Policies as a Complement to and a Substitute for Agricultural Policies

Henry Gao - The Shifting Stars: The Rise of China, Emerging Economies and the Future of World Trade Governance

Gary Hufbauer - The Trans-Pacific Parnership

Magda Shahin - There is Nothing Wrong with the WTO

Rashid Sumaila - Is an All or Nothing WTO Fisheries Subsidies Agreement Achievable?

Pedro de Motta Veiga - Should the WTO deal with Private Sector Initiatives?

Marcel Vaillant - How to Encourage the Network Trade Rules Interconnections? An Application to the Case of Non Tariff Barriers

Mahesh Sugathan - Harnessing Trade and Markets for Sustainable Energy: A Case for a Sustainable Energy Trade Initiatives

Peter Allgeier - The Trade Toolbox and Environmental Sustainability: The Case for Fisheries

Implicaciones de los Cambios en la Política Comercial para la Competitividad de las Exportaciones de Banano Ecuatoriano al Mercado de la UE

Maximiliano Chab — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:32:31 +0000

El banano, durante décadas, ha sido un asunto particularmente delicado para el Ecuador en sus negociaciones de comercio internacional. El tema, en su más reciente versión, ha estado a la vanguardia de las negociaciones referentes a la suscripción de acuerdos comerciales regionales entre la Unión Europea (UE) y los países andinos, así como en el contexto de las negociaciones entre la UE y Centroamérica. En tanto que mayor exportador de banano a nivel mundial, Ecuador juega un papel crítico en el establecimiento de los precios mundiales de la fruta. Por otro lado, la UE, siendo el principal importador de banano, es un actor crítico en la determinación de los niveles y las dinámicas de la demanda. Es probable que un acuerdo entre ambas partes tenga un impacto importante en el mercado mundial para el banano y en los relacionados desafíos del desarrollo.

Nuestra investigación se basa en una serie de diálogos sobre políticas y en consultas realizadas por el ICTSD en los últimos quince años y en particular en estos últimos dos años, con ministros, formuladores de políticas y otros actores importantes de los países productores y exportadores de banano. Este trabajo llamó la atención del Ministerio de Coordinación de la Política Económica del Ecuador y constituye los fundamentos para el documento que se presenta a continuación. El Ministerio y el ICTSD facilitaron el diálogo entre el profesor Anania y diversos actores de la industria bananera nacional. Las discusiones con actores del sector privado y público llevaron a la reformulación de algunas de las preguntas principales y al descubrimiento de nuevas rutas de investigación. De esta manera, el profesor Anania ha sido capaz de abordar temas que aún no se han tratado en la literatura existente.

Transport, Trade and Climate Change

Joachim — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:30:25 +0000

International transport, be it by ship, airplane, train or truck, is essential for international trade and to global economic development. However, transport is at the same time the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The objective of this paper is to examine the viability and potential effects of different actions that Germany and the European Union (EU) can take to curb the growth of GHG emissions from the international transport sector. It analyzes different options that policy makers have available to reduce transport induced emissions. In doing so, this paper takes the impacts on trade, especially for developing countries, into account. The overarching question that is reverberates throughout this paper is: what are the advantages and disadvantages of different measures that Germany and the EU can take to limit emissions from trade-related transport?

Trade Preferences for Environmentally Friendly Goods and Services

Joachim — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:09:01 +0000

International trade in environmental goods and services (EGS) may contribute to the achievement of environmental, economic and developmental benefits and to the transition towards a “green economy”. The international community has been exploring several strategies to promote sustainable development through enhanced trade in EGS. One key question remains how to maximise the sustainable benefits of trade liberalization and market creation/expansion of EGS for developing countries. This paper seeks to explore the possible role of trade preferences for EGS in promoting the transition towards a “green economy”, focusing on potential beneficial effects for developing countries.

Evaluating Aid for Trade on the Ground: Lessons from Nepal

Paolo Ghisu — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:18:22 +0000

The paper assesses the effectiveness of the AfT initiative in Nepal. It demonstrates that AfT has played a role in enhancing the country’s export performance. Notably, AfT-supported capacity building programmes have, in some cases, improved the competitiveness of Nepali exporters and promoted small-scale industries for products such as tea, cardamom and ginger. However, the potential effectiveness of AfT in Nepal is also hampered by various factors, such as low absorptive capacity; limited progress in making AfT projects financially and institutionally sustainable; and the need for more ownership by government agencies and the private sector. Finally, building on the study’s findings, the paper provides concrete recommendations to assist Nepal in making AfT programmes more effective in achieving their trade and development goals.

A Decade in the WTO

gpascolini — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:50:32 +0000

China’s 10 years of membership in the WTO has taken place against a backdrop of dynamic change in the world economy. Indeed, China’s participation in the WTO and the implications of its membership have both been key factors in that change. China’s membership today is as essential for the WTO as it is for China.

It is in this context that the ICTSD China Initiative invited key policymakers and researchers to prepare think pieces on the implications of WTO membership for China and global trade governance. The authors participated in a dialogue entitled “A Decade in the WTO: Implications for China and Global Trade Governance” held on 29 June 2011 in Geneva, organized by the ICTSD in partnership with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Geneva Office and the China Society for WTO Studies.

This ebook is composed of four parts: an overview of the membership’s implications for China and global trade, impact on the WTO as an institution, evolution of China’s trade relations with other WTO members, and what comes next?

This publication is based on think pieces prepared by the authors for the Dialogue on 29th June, and launched on 16th December Launched on 16th December 2011 at the Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference.

Key authors of this book are: Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz, Xiaozhun Yi, Harsha V. Singh, Paul Blustein, Zhenyu Sun, Henry Gao, Razeen Sally, Scott Kennedy, Gary Hufbauer, Faizel Ismail, Debapriya Bhattacharya, Roberto Carvalho de Azevedo, Xinkui Wang, Jean-Pierre Lehmann, Tao Hu, Xin Wang, Shuaihua Cheng.

Evaluating Aid for Trade on the Ground: Lessons from Cambodia

Paolo Ghisu — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:18:47 +0000

This paper is part of a research project that ICTSD has undertaken to assess the effectiveness and impact of aid for trade (AfT) at the country level. In doing so, ICTSD seeks to complement existing monitoring mechanisms led by the WTO and the OECD by providing a comprehensive and integrated picture of the unique experiences of individual countries in their effort to enhance their capacity to trade through AfT.
The paper assesses the effectiveness of the AfT initiative in Cambodia. It shows that the AfT initiative have been so far effective in terms of expanding Cambodia’s trade capacities and in supporting the country’s economic reforms. The analysis also shows that there are many challenges that Cambodia needs to tackle to further enhance the effectiveness of the AfT initiative and sustain its efforts to reduce poverty. For instance, poor human and institutional capacity risks to make progresses achieved so far not sustainable. The paper finally provides some concrete recommendations intended to assist Cambodia in implementing AfT programmes more effectively and the donor community at both the local and international levels to better respond to the country’s development needs.