A SOUTH - SOUTH SURVIVAL STRATEGY: THE POTENTIAL FOR TRADE AMONG DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. By Marco Fugazza and David Vanzetti. UN Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), 2006. Trade between developing countries, or South-South trade, has been growing rapidly in recent years following significant reductions in tariff barriers. However, significant barriers remain, and there is currently reluctance in many developing countries to undertake further reductions, with a preference instead for focusing on opening up access to developed country markets, or maintaining the status quo given that multilateral liberalization may result in the erosion of preferential access enjoyed by some developing countries. This emphasis on Northern markets represents a missed opportunity for developing countries. The paper uses a general equilibrium model, GTAP, containing information on preferential bilateral tariffs, to estimate the impacts of the removal of barriers on South- South trade with the gains from developed country liberalisation and from regional free trade areas within Africa, Asia and Latin America. The results indicate that the opening up of Northern markets would provide annual welfare gains to developing countries of USD 22 billion, but the removal of South-South barriers has the potential to generate gains 60 per cent larger. Furthermore, the potential gains from further regional agreements on a continental basis are limited in Africa and Asia, although scope remains in Latin America. To access this publication visit: http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/itcdtab34_en.pdf
OECD-FAO AGRICULTURAL OUTLOOK: 2005-2014. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and UN Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2005. This eleventh edition provides an assessment of agricultural market prospects based on medium-term projections that extend to 2014 for production, consumption, trade and prices of included commodities. The projections presented in the report are based on specific assumptions regarding macroeconomic conditions, agricultural and trade policies and average weather conditions, and thus are one representative scenario for agricultural markets over the next decade. To access this publication visit http://www.oecd.org/document/5/0,2340,en_2649_33783_35015941_1_1_1_1,00.htm.
BILATERAL FREE TRADE AND INVESTMENT AGREEMENTS AND THE US CORPORATE BIOTECH AGENDA. By Aziz Choudry. (Pesticides Action Network Asia Pacific and People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty, February 2006. This issue is first of a series of special releases on food sovereignty issues published by the People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS) and the Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PANAP). According to this publication, bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) are seen by the agricultural biotechnology industry as an important conduit for spreading genetically modified organisms (GMOs) around the world. The author contends that US agribusiness corporations are looking into bilateral and regional trade agreements "to expand foreign understanding and acceptance of US regulations and standards, particularly with respect to agricultural biotechnology." The bilateral FTAs are said to threaten labeling laws on GM foods, the rights of countries to determine their own domestic biosafety regulatory approach, and the livelihoods of farmers. To access this publication visithttp://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=4861.