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CAPPING UNUSUALLY HIGH TARIFFS: THE WTO DOHA ROUND AND ‘TARIFF PEAKS’. The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, November 2009. This information note examines the proposed tariff cap and what this would mean for countries with extremely high tariffs. The tariff peaks of Iceland, Japan, Norway and Switzerland are examined in closer detail. For more information, please see http://ictsd.org/i/publications/60731/. Connect with the ICTSD Agriculture Programme for the most relevant information on agricultural trade on Facebook and on Twitter. Or join the email list.
AGRICULTURAL SUBSIDIES IN THE WTO GREEN BOX: ENSURING COHERENCE WITH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS. Edited by Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz, Christophe Bellmann and Jonathan Hepburn, Cambridge University Press, December 2009. Do the World Trade Organization’s rules on ‘green box’ farm subsidies allow both rich and poor countries to achieve important goals such as food security, or do they worsen poverty, distort trade and harm the environment? Current WTO requirements set no ceiling on the amount of green box subsidies that governments can provide, on the basis that these payments cause only minimal trade distortion. Governments are thus increasingly shifting their subsidy spending into this category, as they come under pressure to reduce subsidies that are more directly linked to production. However, growing evidence nonetheless suggests that green box payments can affect production and trade, harm farmers in developing countries and cause environmental damage. By bringing together new research and critical thinking, this book examines the relationship between green box subsidies and the achievement of sustainable development goals, and explores options for future reform. To learn more or purchase a copy of the book, please visit http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521519694.
LEGAL AND SYSTEMATIC ISSUES IN THE INTERIM PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS: WHICH WAY NOW? By Cosmas Milton Obote Ochieng, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, 2009. This issue paper provides a legal analysis of some systemic issues regarding the relationship between the WTO and Economic Partnership Agreements. Some of these issues include the following: the application of the Most Favourable Nation Clause, Article XXIV of GATT and its relationship with EPAs; the effects of the “standstill” clause on bound or applied tariff rates applied to ACP countries by WTO members; the political and legal effects of the “Non-Execution Clause” in EPAs; and the articulation of the dispute settlement mechanisms of EPAs and their interactions with the WTO one. The paper concludes with a series of legal recommendations that could be useful to all stakeholders in understanding the stakes involved in the EPA negotiations. To download the publication, please see http://ictsd.org/i/publications/61869/
WORKING TOWARDS MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS: INDONESIA’S EXPECTED CHALLENGES IN PURSUING AN FTA WITH THE EU. By Alexander C. Chandra, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2009. Indonesia and the European Union took a major step recently to cement their economic relationship through the signing of a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). The agreement, which was signed in July 2009, covers diverse areas of cooperation, such as trade, investment, human rights, climate change, and so on. But the signing of the PCA is likely to present considerable challenges, particularly for Indonesia. Among other things, the agreement paves the way for negotiations to resume on the long-awaited Indonesia-EU Free Trade Agreement (IEUFTA).Given the economic imbalance between the EU and Indonesia in the world economy, economic relations between the two sides remain in favour of the EU. Consequently, in order to redress this imbalance, the proposed IEUFTA must take into account the development objectives of Indonesia. To download the publication, please visit http://www.tradeknowledgenetwork.net/research/pub.aspx?id=1161
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