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A well-maintained road network in Laos that connects farms to markets. An empowerment program for unemployed workers, SMEs, and women entrepreneurs designed to boost economic activity in Mauritius. These are two tangible examples of aid-for-trade initiatives described by the World Bank’s Richard Newfarmer and Elisa Gamberoni in TNI’s lead article this month. Newfarmer and Gamberoni argue in favour of a broad view of aid-for-trade programs, taking into account not only relevant concessional development aid to low-income countries, but also non-concessional trade-related assistance to middle-income countries. Among the benefits of taking a comprehensive approach to aid for trade are the direct links between growth in middle-income countries and their lower-income neighbours.
Next, TNI provides the second in a series of articles that examine the impact of the Lisbon Treaty on Europe’s external commercial policies, and the implications for ACP countries’ economic partnerships with Europe. Last month, the ECDPM’s Eleonora Koeb highlighted some key areas in which the Lisbon Treaty is expected to affect ACP-EU relations. This month, we examine one specific way in which the Lisbon Treaty changes the legal framework governing Europe’s external commercial policy: competency over Foreign Direct Investment. Under the Lisbon Treaty, FDI becomes part of Europe’s common commercial policy, making it the exclusive competency of the European Community. But as this month’s article by Damon Vis-Dunbar, TNI’s co-editor, explains, what the Lisbon Treaty means in practice for Europe’s International Investment Agreements remains an open question.
Also this month, Willemien Denner analyzes the various categories of safeguard measures in regional trade agreements. Denner, a Researcher with the Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa (TRALAC), also provides recommendations to trade negotiators who are designing safeguard measures, particularly officials in developing countries. She notes that safeguards, by temporarily excluding key domestic industries from trade liberalization, can be an important mechanism for helping to ensure that free trade agreements promote, rather than hinder, development.
In January 2010, Guyana and Suriname, the two largest exporters of rice in the ACP, will gain duty-free and quota-free access to the EU market under the comprehensive Caribbean-EU EPA. For both countries, which are facing strong competition from rice producers in Asia, the improved access to Europe is a welcome development. However, as the article based on analysis by Agritrade argues, it does not ensure success, particularly given the reduced prices which have resulted in the wake of reforms to the EU’s common agricultural policy. As such, Agritrade recommends that the Caribbean countries identify strategies for tapping into the market for higher-value rice varieties, as well as prepare for navigating Europe’s evolving food-safety standards.
In our final guest article this month, Jean-Michel Salmon describes a project managed by the ACP Secretariat to monitor ACP efforts towards regional integration. Salmon explains that a key strength of the ACP regional integration project is the fact that it will establish a common process by which to monitor regional integration, allowing for comparative analysis between regions. At the same time, individual ACP regional integration organisations can tailor the framework to their own particular circumstances.
We hope you enjoy the November issue of TNI. As always, TNI welcomes feedback, story tips, and proposals for articles. These can be addressed to Damon Vis-Dunbar, co-editor of TNI, at dvisdunbar@ictsd.org.
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