Key issues

Policy Brief 36, February 2017

Gandhi: Walking with us today

Gandhi, his writings and his words are as relevant as ever today as when he lived.   This is the theme of the Sixth Gandhi Memorial Lecture presented by Gurdial Singh Nijar, a prominent Malaysian lawyer and former law professor, and organised by the Gandhi Memorial Trust, Malaysia.   The text of the lecture, which was presented in Kuala Lumpur in October 2016, is published in this policy brief.

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Analytical Note, January 2017

The WTO’s Discussions on Electronic Commerce

The WTO has a 1998 Work Programme on E-commerce. This Work Programme provides for the discussion of trade-related issues relating to electronic commerce to take place in the relevant WTO bodies: the Council for Trade in Services; the Council for Trade in Goods; the Council for TRIPS; and the Committee for Trade and Development. The General Council was envisaged to play a review or oversight role. (more…)

Analytical Note, May 2016

Key Substantive and Process Issues Arising from the WTO’s Nairobi Ministerial Conference (MC10)

Despite concerted attempts by major trading partners to bury the WTO’s Doha Development Agenda (DDA) in Nairobi, they were unsuccessful. Part I of this paper provides a legal reading of the Nairobi Ministerial Declaration (NMD) as it pertains to the DDA, and also discusses other legal questions regarding the conclusion of the DDA. (more…)

Analytical Note, May 2016

Assessing the WTO’s Nairobi Package (MC10)

This paper provides an overview of the Decisions that came out of the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC) in Nairobi taking into account the interests and concerns of developing countries.

The Nairobi package includes Decisions on (more…)

Analytical Note, May 2016

Discussions in the Working Group on the Relationship between Trade and Investment (2001-2003)

This Note reviews Members’ submissions in the Working Group on the Relationship between Trade and Investment (WGTI) between 2001 – 2003.

The Singapore Ministerial Declaration established the WGTI to examine the relationship between trade and investment. Subsequently, the Doha Ministerial Declaration tasked the WGTI to focus on the clarification of seven elements of a possible future multilateral investment agreement, as well as some other issues: (more…)

Analytical Note, December 2015

WTO’s MC10: The Call for ‘New Issues’ at the WTO and Implications for Developing Countries

Narratives concerning enhancing the participation of developing countries in ‘Global Value Chains’ (GVCs) and supporting micro, small and medium enterprises have featured prominently in the WTO
and other international organizations. These have intensified in the run up towards the Ministerial Conference in Nairobi. These discourses on GVCs and MSMEs have often been linked to (more…)

Analytical Note, December 2015

WTO’s MC10: The Nairobi Ministerial Declaration

When launched in 2001, the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) had the objective of being a Development Round. However, substantive development concerns have often been sidelined in the course of the negotiations. Without the Doha mandate, developing countries have no guarantee that the important issues of disciplines on domestic supports, special safeguard in agriculture and cotton will feature in future negotiations on Agriculture. (more…)

Analytical Note, December 2015

WTO’s MC10: Agriculture Negotiations– Public Stockholding

Public stockholding programmes have over the past decades proven themselves to be very effective instruments for supporting domestic producers in agricultural production. Studies have shown that in
fact, countries that are still in the process of development, where markets are not well developed, need such public stockholding programmes to support their farmers.

Many developing countries do have these programmes. This non-exhaustive list (more…)

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