FOOD AID OR HIDDEN DUMPING? SEPARATING WHEAT FROM CHAFF. Oxfam International, April 2005. In a world prone to natural and human disasters, where 850 million people still suffer from hunger, food aid can sometimes be a crucial lifeline. However, food aid has also been used for less noble aims, including to dump surplus production and promote donor country exports. This type of food aid hurts poor farmers and distorts international trade. Strong disciplines against abuse of food aid must be agreed as part of the Doha Round negotiations at the WTO. To access the report visit http://oxfam.org/eng/pdfs/bp71_food_aid_240305.pdf.
THE END OF AN ILLUSION: WTO REFORM, GLOBAL CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE ROAD TO HONG KONG. Focus on the Global South, April 2005. The July Package is the last nail in the coffin of the illusion that the WTO can somehow be reformed, either piecemeal or comprehensively, to serve the interests of developing countries. More than ever, the July Package and its aftermath have revealed the WTO to be an iron cage that traps developing countries in a negotiations game that is systematically skewed in favour of the big trading powers of the North. To access this paper visit http://www.focusweb.org/trade/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=256.
THE TRAVELS OF A T-SHIRT IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY: AN ECONOMIST EXAMINES THE MARKETS, POWER AND POLITICS OF WORLD TRADE. By Pietra Rivoli. Wiley, John & Sons, February 2005. This book takes the reader on an adventure to reveal the life story of a six-dollar T-shirt from a West Texas cotton field to a Chinese factory, and from trade negotiations in Washington to a used clothing market in Africa. It argues that both globalisation’s critics and its cheerleaders have oversimplified the world of international trade. The book contends that "free markets" usually aren’t free; that even the staunchest allies of free trade regularly benefit from its restriction; that the alleged "victims" of globalisation are often its greatest beneficiaries; and that the life story of her T-shirt turns as much on power and politics as it does on markets.
DOES TARIFF LIBERALIZATION INCREASE WAGE INEQUALITY? SOME EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE. By Branko Milanovic and Lyn Squire. World Bank, April 2005. The objective of the paper is to answer an often-asked question: If tariff rates are reduced, what will happen to wage inequality? The authors consider two types of wage inequality: between occupations (skills premium) and between industries. They use two large databases of wage inequality that have recently become available and a large data set of average tariff rates covering the period between 1980 and 2000. The authors find that tariff reduction is associated with higher inter-occupational and inter-industry inequality in poorer countries and the reverse in richer countries. However, the results for inter-occupational inequality must be treated with caution. To access this paper visit http://www.worldbank.org.
"Climate change, regulatory policy and the WTO: How constraining are trade rules?" By Andrew Green in JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC LAW 8 (1, 2005), pp. 143-189. Climate change has come to be seen as a major global environmental challenge. This paper examines the extent to which WTO rules constrain countries’ ability to address climate change through domestic regulatory policies such as standards, labels, voluntary agreements and domestic emissions trading programs. The paper argues that existing WTO rules provide members with some scope to take action on climate change. However, they do constrain domestic regulatory policy, and the debate about future institutional changes will be central to how effectively global environmental issues such as climate change will be addressed.
"Limiting Access to Knowledge: Copyright Provisions in Bilateral Trade Agreements" in SOUTH CENTRE AND CIEL QUARTERLY IP UPDATE, First Quarter 2005. In addition to an update on relevant intellectual property developments in various fora, the update includes a report on increasing levels of protection of copyright and related rights established by bilateral trade agreements and their significance for the intellectual property and development agenda. To access the report visit http://www.southcentre.org/info/sccielipquarterly/ipdev2005q1.pdf.