ICTSD » Issue paper

Trade Policy Options for Enhancing Food Aid Effectiveness

nkisiri — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:23:54 +0000

This paper looks at how food aid could be made more effective, in the light of recent food price trends, and examines how different approaches could affect trade and development. The author argues in favour of establishing international rules that will provide a meaningful framework for ‘bona fide’ food aid.

Multilateral Negotiations at the Intersection of Trade and Climate Change

nkisiri — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:33:45 +0000

Trade can have an important role to play in the mitigation of, and adaptation to climate change.
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) - are among those that have touched on this issue at various levels. The authors examine the various priorities and positions of these agencies and relevant developing country member concerns that have informed their responses.

Issues and Considerations for Negotiating a Sustainable Energy Trade Agreement

gpascolini — Mon, 14 May 2012 08:01:08 +0000

Climate change is an unprecedented challenge facing humanity today, one that requires a quick and concerted response. With this context in mind, a rapid scale up in the deployment of renewable or sustainable energy sources is essential in order to reduce the emissions responsible for global warming.

In this paper, Gary Hufbauer and Jisun Kim examine the conditions necessary for achieving a credible, low cost alternative to fossil fuel-based energy, placing an emphasis on how trade policy can be used to spur development in the sector, and the key issues that need to be addressed in order to accomplish a sustainable energy trade agreement (SETA).

This publication is a joint effort by ICTSD, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGI) and the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE).

The Inclusion of Aviation in the EU ETS

nkisiri — Tue, 01 May 2012 14:56:06 +0000

This paper contains an assessment of the inclusion of aviation in the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in the context of WTO law. The decision of the EU to apply the EU ETS to aviation has already raised substantial controversy. Several airlines have – unsuccessfully - pursued proceedings against the legislation at the European Court of Justice, and a group of almost 30 nations has been working together to develop a strategy to counter Brussels’ plan, with some governments having already prohibited their airlines from complying with the EU scheme.

The following questions are addressed in this paper: is it possible to design a carbon trading scheme that is both administratively feasible and justiﬁable under WTO law? Does the inclusion of aviation in the EU ETS violate the unconditional most-favoured nation obligation in Article I:1 GATT? Is the scheme exempt from regulation because of the GATS Annex on Air Transport Services? Does the scheme violate the most favoured nation and national treatment obligations under Articles II and XVII GATS? And can the scheme be justiﬁed under the environmental exceptions of Article XX GATT and Article XIV GATS, respectively?

In order to put this legal analysis in the context of a broader political and strategic landscape, this paper includes a commentary written by Professor Robert Howse of the New York University School of Law.

Possible Effects of Russia’s WTO Accession on Agricultural Trade and Production

nkisiri — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:15:58 +0000

This study examines how Russia’s WTO accession could affect agricultural trade and production. It finds that developing countries could gain from the accession, especially those exporting products such as beef, pork or sugar, and that grain importers could also gain from greater market stability if Russia respects new commitments on export restrictions.

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.

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.

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.

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.