RESOURCES

NEGOTIATING THE REVIEW OF THE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT UNDERSTANDING. By Thomas Zimmerman. Cameron May, 2006. This study analyses recent negotiations to reform the WTO's Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU). The study offers an overview and analysis of the negotiating process, as well as a detailed review of specific proposals on stage-specific and horizontal issues of the dispute settlement mechanism. The author also explores the difficulties faced by negotiators in completing the DSU review, and makes policy recommendations for further negotiations. The study is intended to serve as a point of departure for other researchers who wish to explore further specific aspects of the DSU review. To this end, references available on the DSU review exercise are comprehensively documented. The report is available at http://www.zimmermann-thomas.de/publikationen/zimmermann_2006_book_dsu.pdf.

NEGOTIATING ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS: AGRICULTURE. By A. Alpha and V. Fautrel. The European Centre for Development Policy Management, 2007. The aim of this short paper is to identify the key issues at stake for the agricultural sector in the context of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) being negotiated between the European Union and six African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regional groupings. This paper offers an overview of the trade or trade-related provisions, highlighting their relevance for the ACP and identifying a range of policy options for the negotiations. This analysis is then used to pinpoint various negotiating options for the ACP countries, including the development dimension of EPAs. In conclusion, the paper identifies provisions that could be adopted to construct an "ideal" EPA. The report is available at www.ecdpm.org/inbrief13c.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY PROVISIONS IN EUROPEAN UNION TRADE AGREEMENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. By Maximiliano Santa Cruz S. International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, June 2007. The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) negotiations between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries offer an important opportunity for consolidating and expanding market access in the ACP states. However, many stakeholders are concerned about the potential impact of TRIPS-plus provisions on the use of flexibilities and exceptions that have been designed to safeguard certain public interests and development objectives. This study offers a detailed analysis of EU policy regarding intellectual property rights in bilateral and regional trade agreements, with the ultimate goal of contributing to a better understanding of the proper role of intellectual property in a knowledge-based economy. The report is available at http://www.iprsonline.org/resources/docs/Santa-Cruz%20Blue20.pdf.

A COMPARISON OF THE BARRIERS FACED BY LATIN AMERICAN AND ACP COUNTRIES' EXPORTS OF TROPICAL PRODUCTS. By Jean-Christophe Bureau, Anne-Celia Disdier, and Priscila Ramos. International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, June 2007. The purpose of the study is to shed a light on the reality of market access conditions for tropical products in the main import markets, namely the EU, the US, Japan and Canada, for the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) group of states, as well as the group of Latin American countries. To do so, the paper focuses not only on most favoured nation (MFN) tariffs but also analyses trade under different preferential schemes as well as bilateral free trade agreements. The paper, however, does not enter in a discussion on the pros and cons of multilateral liberalisation versus a more selective liberalisation under preferential schemes. Nor does it address prospects for the possible evolution of such schemes in the near future. The report is available at http://www.agtradepolicy.org/output/ictsd/bureau_disdier_ramos.pdf.