If you have a relevant resource (books, papers, bulletins, etc.) you would like to see announced in this section, please forward a copy for review by the BRIDGES staff to resources@ictsd.ch . Submissions of publications to ICTSD’s documentation centre would also be welcomed (see mailing address below).
PUTTING HEALTH FIRST: CANADIAN HEALTH CARE, TRADE TREATIES AND FOREIGN POLICY. A summary report prepared by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives consortium on globalisation and health for the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, October 2002. The report urges Canadian governments to act quickly on health care reform before trade- treaty obstacles make such reforms more difficult and expensive. It discusses the implications of Canada’s trade obligations (including NAFTA and the WTO) for health care reforms affecting health insurance, access to home care, and coverage of prescription drugs. It includes recommendations for health-care-reform measures, changes to Canada’s trade policies and new approaches to strengthening coherence among Canadian health, trade and foreign policies. Principal authors of the summary report are Matthew Sanger and Scott Sinclair. To obtain a copy of this publication, visit http://www.policyalternatives.ca or www.healthcarecommission.ca .
“Long-term sustainability between environmental and man-made goods,” in JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS AND MANAGEMENT 44 (2, 2002): 329- 345. By Reyer Gerlagh B. C. C. van der Zwaan. Substitutability between environmental and man-made goods plays a major role in the sustainability debate. The notion of substitutability covers a continuous spectrum, with perfect substitutability at one end and poor substitutability at the other. In this paper, it is shown that if economic growth sustains, a sharp distinction emerges between perfect and poor substitutability, without any intermediate interpretation of substitutability. If poor substitutability prevails, environmental resources will eventually constitute the major part of total consumption value. We relate our results to “Baumol’s disease,” and assess the implications of this phenomenon for the compensation of environmental losses.
TRADE-RELATED TECHNOLOGY DIFFUSION AND THE DYNAMICS OF NORTH-SOUTH AND SOUTH-SOUTH INTEGRATION (World Bank Paper WPS# 2861). By Maurice Schiff, Marcelo Olarreaga and Yanling Wang. June 2002. This paper examines the impact on total factor productivity of North-South and South-South trade-related research and development (R&D) spillovers. It is the first to do so at the industry level for developing countries. The main findings are: North-South and South-South R&D flows have a positive impact on total factor productivity, though the former is larger; R&D-intensive industries benefit mainly from North-South R&D flows, while low R&D-intensive industries benefit mainly from South- South R&D flows. These results have implications for dynamic comparative advantage and for the dynamics of North-South and South- South regional integration. To obtain a copy of this paper, visit http://www.worldbank.org/research/trade/archive.html .
“Environment’s New Role in the U.S. Trade Policy,” in TRADE, EQUITY, AND DEVELOPMENT Issue 3, September 2002, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. By John Audley. The Trade Policy Act of 2002 integrates environmental policies into U.S. trade negotiations. This will require increased involvement by the Congress to ensure that the policies reflect the broad interests of American society. Working together, Congress and the administration must demonstrate leadership and win back public opinion for trade agreements that reflect American values that include respect for worker rights and the protection of the environment.
WTO Resources
Unless otherwise specified, WTO documents announced in this section can be downloaded from the WTO website at: http://docsonline.wto.org .
REVIEW OF ARTICLE 27.3(B) OF THE TRIPS AGREEMENT, AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND THE CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (CBD) AND THE PROTECTION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND FOLKLORE, “A CONCEPT PAPER”(IP/C/W/383). WTO Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), Communication from the European Communities and their member states, 17 October 2002. This text addresses the issues dealt with under paragraph 19 of the Doha Declaration, which instructs the TRIPs Council to continue the review of Article 27.3(b) of TRIPs (on patenting of life forms), and to examine the relationship between TRIPs and the CBD and the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore, and other relevant new developments. It reflects the EC’s stated willingness to commit to this process in a spirit of openness, with the aim of finding ways of interpreting and implementing the TRIPs agreement in a way to support the objectives of the CBD.
WTO NON-AGRICULTURAL MARKET ACCESS (TN/MA/W/9). Communication from Canada, 17 October 2002. In this submission, Canada sets down some goals for trade liberalisation for the next round of negotiations. In addition to advocating a combination of approaches in negotiating modalities (including sectoral agreements, formula-based approaches and the request-offer process), Canada supports an increased liberalisation of trade in the areas of environmental goods and non-tariff barriers. It also calls for an approach to this liberalisation that would be specific to each country according to its level of development and tariff structures.
MEAS: INFORMATION EXCHANGE AND OBSERVER STATUS (TN/TE/W/15). Submission by the European Communities, 15 October 2002. This paper argues that a number of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) should be given observer status to the Committee on Trade and Environment despite ongoing debate on observership at the General Council/Trade Negotiations Committee level. The submission argues that these groups have a direct interest and competence in this trade area.
SUBMISSIONS FOR CLARIFICATION OF PARAGRAPH 22 OF THE DOHA DECLARATION (WT/WGTI/W108 to WT/WGTI/W147). At its third meeting since the Doha Ministerial on 16-18 September, the Working Group on Trade and Investment completed its review of paragraph 22 of the Doha Declaration. Altogether 39 contributions were made by Members involved in the discussions, including nine by the WTO Secretariat. To view these submissions, visit http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/invest_e/invest_e.htm#news .
Electronic Resources
WTO SITUATION REPORT: OCTOBER 2002. Prepared by the Agency for International Trade Information and Cooperation. Provides a review of negotiations since the Doha Ministerial, including legislative measures that countries inside the WTO have taken in their own governments and where the negotiating process currently stands. The report also gives information concerning what is in store for the coming months before the fifth Ministerial in Cancun in September 2003. To view this paper, visit http://www.acici.org/aitic/documents/notes/note22_eng.html#6 .