08/08/2012

GTDF news n°19

GC decision on LDCs accession: progress on goods and missed opportunities on services and transparency

IDEAS Centre’s comments on the recommendations on strengthening, streamlining and operationalization of 2002 LDC Accession Guidelines (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/55/Rev.2) 

Background

The decision of the Ministerial Conference back in December 2011 on giving the mandate to the Sub-committee on LDCs to “develop recommendations to further strengthen, streamline and operationalize the 2002 Guidelines” by, inter alia, “including benchmarks, in particular in the area of goods, which take into account the level of commitments undertaken by existing LDC Members” was seen as an acknowledgment that the Guidelines were not followed in the WTO accession negotiations of LDCs. It is a fact that only 5 LDCs acceded to the WTO since the WTO was formed under conditions which expose their economies to the worldwide competition much more than is the case with more developed original WTO members, or their LDC peers who became members of the WTO in 1995. While being a comprehensive and well balanced text, the Guidelines from 2002 offered opportunity to different interpretations and had no enforceable provisions.  The work on benchmarks, as it was thought, was supposed to fill in those blanks and provide better protection from unreasonable requests of WTO members in negotiations, while still guaranteeing a result which would be both development friendly and a contribution to global market openings.  

Almost seven months down the road of a complex negotiating process, a text has been presented to the members of the Sub-Committee which should meet these ambitious goals. Was it worth the trouble? Has it been able to meet the high expectations? What would be the future of WTO accessions for LDCs after this text is adopted?  The following analysis will try to address those questions and put the decision in the context of wider WTO reality.

IDEAS Centre believes it is well placed to provide this analysis as it has been providing policy- and negotiating advice over 10 years continuously in the accession process to LDCs, as well as to developing and transition economies. IDEAS has been involved in the discussions on the systemic issues of accession process for many years and has provided assistance to developing and least developed economies.

Overall context     

In 1995 when the WTO was formed, 30 LDCs acceded instantly to the organization as original WTO LDC members. Five more acceded since the WTO was formed while 10 are still in the various stages of the accession process. For 3 LDCs (Laos, Yemen and Bhutan) which are in advanced stages of negotiations the document will not be applied. There are therefore only 7 LDCs still being in the accession process. With the potential arrivals of Tuvalu, Kiribati, East Timor, Eritrea, Somalia and South Sudan who are still some time apart from starting their negotiations we are arriving at a number of 13 LDCs who can count on agreeing their terms of accession according to the provisions of this document. It is clear that the size of the markets of these 13 countries is negligible in world trade terms, which speaks about the economic impact of this document. To put it more bluntly, we may speak on closing the barn doors after the horses have already left.

Clearly the document has much stronger political relevance than economic one. After all, it comes at a time when the Doha Round reached its most serious stalemate so far. This context has facilitated the agreement on the decision as WTO members wanted to send a message about being able to reach agreement on providing urgent response to critical situation faced by the LDCs. The LDCs WTO accession is an issue which may be outside of the scope of the Round but it is still important for the efficient work of the organization, and the urgency and diligent work on the document are therefore easy to understand. 

It needs to be said that the LDCs felt bigger pressure to conclude the negotiations, as the decision directly concerned the future of 13 LDCs. Developed countries, on the other hand, could afford not to have a decision as the current model was acceptable to them. The only pressure they had was a political one, and they responded to it by agreeing on the decision as it is today. This asymmetric distribution of negotiating power is the reason why the final result is tilted more towards the negotiating position of developed countries.

General assessment

The fact that the WTO has come to an agreement on an issue which was disputed is already a huge success given the fact the members have failed to come to a common denominator on any of the subject under the Doha agenda. In this sense the decision is a step in a right direction, and we hope it will bring much needed positive impulse in the Doha round.   

The merit of the decision is that it reaffirms the development content and priority of trade policy. It is certainly useful to remind WTO members that the development priorities of acceding countries should be the target of accession negotiations rather than the commercial interests (which in the case of LDCs are anyway very limited) of WTO members. When it comes to looking at concrete results of this document we can see it adding positive value in the area of goods negotiations, while being potentially dangerous for the development interests of LDCs when it comes to the text on services negotiations. In other areas, the document contributes only one new and useful element.

Obviously, the full agreement on a more meaningful package in all areas the decision covers would be probably much more difficult to achieve, both from political, and technical perspectives. Such wide-ranging package would also take considerably more time to be agreed upon. It is for that reason that we support this document acknowledging the little added value it brings to the negotiations, as the alternative would be no deal or a deal at such a late point that it would not benefit anybody. 

The Benchmark document deals with the following six areas: Goods negotiations, services negotiations, transparency, S&D and transition periods and technical assistance. The whole chapter on multilateral negotiations (probably the most important track in the accession process) has been left out. The fact that LDCs did not insist on inclusion of multilateral negotiations in the package is regrettable as it would greatly improve the conditions of the process. The LDCs position was always that reforms are a painful way to arrive to international best practices which should be in line with their development objectives. Obviously it would have been useful if WTO members could have agreed on what are the key priority reforms for both the integration into the world market and the development objectives. We regret that the decision does not address requests of members which go beyond WTO requirements. We also believe that the decision was a perfect opportunity to introduce the rule which would require WTO members not to ask commitments they themselves are not able to do.    

The document is a result of a hard and dedicated work of the group of interested members headed by the Chair of the Sub-Committee and is clearly reflecting the flow of the discussions within the Sub-Committee. In terms of wording, it departs slightly from its previous iterations as it is more concrete and offers clearer solutions and numbers in the area of goods negotiations, but also new provisions in the area of services negotiations.  

In the remainder of this document we will provide comments on different areas of the decision from our perspective.

Goods benchmarks

As explained above LDCs were the only ones to gain or lose from these negotiations. Developed countries did not have a direct interest to conclude negotiations and therefore had a stronger negotiating position. From a pragmatic standpoint it seems that any result higher than the average of recently acceded LDCs (status quo) is a win for the LDCs. 

And indeed, the decision stipulates that all agricultural products should be bound at 50%, while for the industrial products LDCs should bind at the average of 35% if they decide to bind 95% of the tariffs, or have a higher average if they decide to bind at 100% after a transition period.

IDEAS is of the view that by exempting 5% of tariffs from binding LDCs should be able to protect its vital economic interests. Virtually all of each acceding LDCs trade can be covered with the exempted 5% of tariffs. The proposals for average bindings are also a good result for LDCs as they are quite above the average commitments of recently acceded LDCs (for AG products 50% compared to 32% and for NAMA products 35% or higher compared to 23%).  The fact that the decision provides the incentive for LDCs to bind at 100% is positive too, as many LDCs have applied rates far below required bound rates and would be able to enjoy “policy space” even if the bindings would be at 100%. Moreover the fact that the tariffs are bound provides more transparency and predictability to the trade system of LDCs and contributes to their development.  Additionally, an average of 50% means that there are tariffs for sensitive product which can go much above this level, as long as there is a sufficient number of less sensitive tariffs below this threshold.

This decision is therefore important as the two parties could agree on a common denominator which puts clear and enforceable limits to potential unreasonable demands on acceding LDCs. 

Services benchmarks

Services negotiations are important for the development of acceding LDCs. The proposed text, however, clearly shows that no serious effort has been made to show either the importance of services for the development of the countries concerned or to find some common ground on what would be a reasonable approach to services negotiations. We believe members missed the opportunity to address in a comprehensive manner the complex services negotiations. It seems that the complexity prevented members from entering into discussions which would made an attempt to provide measurable benchmarks.

The agreed text does not contain benchmarks but repetitions of principles which already exist and are largely not applied. The only benchmark: “no commitments in services sectors and sub-sectors that … (go beyond)…what has been committed by existing WTO LDC members” could actually be dangerous for the development interests of LDCs and could negatively reflect on their negotiating processes. If the interpretation of this wording by the WTO members would go into the extreme direction by adding the maximum commitment of each LDC in the various sectors and sub-sectors, this decision may give full freedom to them to impose ever more stringent commitments on newcomers which go way beyond what other countries have done. No benchmark would actually be better than a benchmark that can be interpreted that way.

The principles of members exercising restraint and LDCs having the right to do less in terms of commitments were all enshrined in the Guidelines from 2002. The reason why members decided to go one step beyond the Guidelines is because those principles were largely not applied. It is in this sense disappointing to note that members were not able to go beyond this general language which will not advance the process.

Transparency in accession negotiations

Again, here we believe another opportunity to elaborate a mechanism which would guarantee a transparent proceeding in bilateral negotiations was missed. The provisions of using offices of the chairs of Sub- Committee, or reporting on the progress of discussions were all available and used even before the decision was made. We do not see how this set of general clauses could help resolve more contentious issues in bilateral negotiations, as they mainly count on peer pressure, which many members proved to be able to resist quite effectively.

We commend the provision which prevents members from reopening the accession package once negotiations have been completed and consolidated schedules circulated for verification at the level of the Working Party. In the past members demonstrated on occasions that they are ready to contravene to this “good common practice” which now became an obligation.  

S&D and transition periods

The provisions under this chapter are mainly repetition of previous commitments or simply stating the obvious developments observed already in the accession processes. No serious effort has been made to provide concrete examples or areas where LDCs should be able to benefit from the differentiated treatment.

Technical assistance

The creation of new aid functions and monitoring mechanisms to be added to the WTO portfolio are largely functions that should be done by development agencies which have been created for that purpose. This decision can, in our view, therefore well contribute to further bureaucratization of technical assistance activities without the promise of more efficiency.

05/01/2012

GTDF news n°18

WTO accession represents an important step towards global economic and trade mainstream, but at the same time implies a complex, long-lasting process which includes a number of painful and wide ranging reforms of trade and political systems for acceding countries. This difficult path of reforms is necessary. However, the manner in which the accession process is currently structured makes the whole exercise unpredictable for the acceding countries and is perceived as unfair in particular for least developed ones. The 2002 Guidelines for the accession of LDCs (WTO document WT/L/508) was a laudable effort to facilitate and streamline the accession procedures of least developed candidates. Unfortunately, implementation of these guidelines has been at the least questionable.

The 8^th Ministerial Conference’s (MC8) decision to strengthen the guidelines and to make them operational is thus a cause for celebration not only because it is one of the handful outcomes of MC8 but because it is aiming at bolstering the development content of the LDCs in the accession negotiations. It clearly gives the opportunity to design a framework to make the accession process of LDCs more transparent. In essence, WTO members should work by July 2012 to present (i) benchmarks on goods and if possible services; (ii) proposals to “complement[…] bilateral market access negotiations with multilateral frameworks”; (iii) recommendations “to assess the needs and to ensure greater coordination in the delivery of technical assistance”. The full decision is available here (WTO document WT/L/846).

Given the short timeframe in which the decision was adopted and having in mind the differences among WTO Members in the stalled DDA negotiations, the agreement on this decision is a remarkable achievement for the organization and an example on how WTO could promote development objectives. First drafts of a decision to strengthen the accession process of LDCs were circulated in September 2011 by the coordinator of the ACP group (the Ambassador of Mauritius) and the coordinator of the LDCs (the Ambassador of Bangladesh). These initial attempts faced opposition from some developed countries. Positions between LDCs and the big powers seemed irreconcilable. Two months before the Ministerial Conference the proposal seemed doomed. But in a twist of fate and thanks to countless efforts from the coordinators of the ACP group and the LDCs as well as the Chair of the Sub-Committee on LDCs, but also the flexibility shown by major WTO Members, a compromise was found which laid the ground for the adoption of the final decision.

However, the devil is in the detail and in the present case making the decision operational will be a challenging task. The spirit of the decision goes nonetheless in the right direction and shows willingness on all sides to find solutions to make the accession of LDCs more transparent, predictable and ultimately more conducive to development. The next few months will be decisive to ensure that acceptable recommendations are elaborated and agreed within the deadline of July 2012. It will be up to the LDCs to drive the process of negotiations on putting into practice the provisions of MC8 decision.

IDEAS Centre has been at the forefront of the fight to strengthen the accession process on a systemic level through the Friends of Accession initiative since 2009 (more information on this initiative is available here). These long-term efforts have prepared the field for the negotiations and ultimately the MC8 decision of the accession of LDCs. The Centre is proud to have been part of the 2011 efforts to reach the MC8 result on the accession of LDCs and is happy to continue offering its assistance to LDCs on its operationalization. In this respect, IDEAS Centre thanks the Swiss cooperation (SECO) for its continuous support on this initiative.

More information on the accession of LDCs is available in the think piece written by IDEAS Centre’s Executive Director Nicolas Imboden for the ICTSD Trade and Development Symposium.

27/09/2011

GTDF news n°17

Food security: How to Address Agricultural Export Restrictions?

27/09/2011

Food security: How to Address Agricultural Export Restrictions?

Humanitarian exemption from agricultural export restrictions only a first step

More and more experts agree that the fundamentals of the world food market have changed substantially. If the world is indeed moving into an era of higher and more volatile prices, there are significant implications for food security in low-income regions that rely on food imports from the world market.

This presents a need for rule-making focused on the instruments and actions of food exporters. Yet in past decades, the trade community under GATT and WTO has been more concerned with situations of food surpluses and depressed prices. A call to rebalance importers’ and exporters’ rights under the WTO was issued 20 September at the WTO Public Forum, in a session organized by IPC and CUTS International.

Rebalancing trade rules

The discussion recalled the longstanding debates about export restrictions under the GATT/WTO. Panelists agreed that export restrictions are not a new phenomenon, and that there are no easy solutions. Ambassador Otabe of Japan reminded participants of efforts by his country to advance rule-making in this area from the early days of the Doha Round. Export restrictions are also relevant in other sectors, in particular on rare earth materials, but agricultural export restrictions merit particular attention given their link to food security.

It is important to keep the existing rules in mind: quantitative restrictions are banned under the GATT 1994 rules, although there are notable exceptions that have made it easy for countries to justify export restrictions. It states, in Article XI paragraph 2(a), that the prohibition on export restrictions does not extend to “restrictions temporarily applied to prevent or relieve critical shortages of foodstuffs or other products essential to the exporting contracting party.”

While such language provides a basis for disciplining export restrictions, substantial efforts are required to better define key terms, such as “temporarily” and “critical shortages”, and the WTO Agricultural Committee should undertake such efforts. The Agricultural Committee was urged to elevate the profile of export restrictions in its deliberations.

Focus on transparency and dialogue and “abide by existing rules”

Several contributors suggested that a practical and potentially potent way of raising the Committee’s profile on export restrictions is for members to insist on a better implementation of existing rules on transparency. There are clear notification rules under Article 12 of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture, which have hardly been followed (even though providing information on trade policies is part and parcel of WTO membership obligations). Article 12 stipulates that any WTO Member implementing export restrictions shall “give due consideration to the effects of such prohibition or restriction on importing Members’ food security”, “give notice in writing, as far in advance as practicable, to the Committee on Agriculture comprising such information as the nature and the duration of such measure” and “consult, upon request, with any other Member having a substantial interest as an importer with respect to any matter related to the measure in question”. 

Panelists from the missions of Japan, Egypt, the US and Netherlands,  agreed that existing rules are not perfect. Arancha Gonzalez, chief of staff of the WTO’s Director General voiced the widely shared sentiment that “We may not be able to craft big rules on export restrictions in the present, but we should abide by the existing rules”. Participants emphasised that improved transparency and information on export restrictions would facilitate dialogue among members.  It could also make an important contribution to the transparency and dialogue efforts launched under the G-20 process, in particular the new agricultural market information system (AMIS).

Ramifications and solutions go well beyond the trade agenda

Food inflation has risen across the world, but many low-income net food importing countries (NFIDCs) have experienced particularly profound food crises with rising food insecurity and “deep ramifications on their macroeconomic fundamentals”, said Mr Debapriya Bhattachariya, fellow of Bangladesh’s Centre for Policy Dialogue and IPC member, at the event. He recalled that the Marrakesh Agreement on NFIDCs and subsequent conferences issued calls to eliminate measures on food imports into the least developed countries. Yet, as pointed out by Mr Dmitri Rylko, Director of the Moscow-based Institute for Agricultural Market Studies, export restrictions are being imposed more frequently and rapidly export restrictions in Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Livestock producers that rely on domestic feedstock supply have been observed to call upon the Russian government for restrictions. Following extraordinary droughts last year,  the transparent export tax system was temporarily replaced with more trade-distorting export bans. This year, however, Russia is back on the world grain market as a major exporter.

The April 2011 proposal of the NFIDCs also called for improved disciplines on export measures, as explained by Mr Mokthar Warida of Egypt’s Mission to the WTO. This proposal has not been taken up in the  trade debate, which so far is limited to “carving out” an exemption on export measures for purchases by the World Food Program. It is important to keep in mind that the scope of that exemption in terms of volume on the global grains market is very limited, as Mr Gregg Young of the US Mission reminded the audience.

It was also stated that the solution to the food crises lies to a large extent beyond the trade domain. Mr Pieter Gooren of the Netherlands Mission and other contributors highlighted the positive thrust of the G-20 process, which includes a much-needed agenda on agricultural productivity and growth, in particular in developing countries.

The way forward for export restrictions

There are several options to improve disciplines on food export restrictions, Mr Bipul Chatterjee of CUTS International pointed out at the session, even if only the humanitarian exemption seems feasible in the short term. He called for stepping up the  the dialogue in the Agriculture Committee. With population growth, dietary changes and more frequent climatic incidents expected over the next decades, more upheavals in the food system seem inevitable. As summarized by the session’s moderator Mr Nicolas Imboden, Executive Director of IDEAS Centre and IPC member, the disciplines on export restrictions can substantially be improved by ensuring enforcement of existing rules and operationalizing the definitions contained in present rules. Ministers’ discussions at the MC-8 therefore hopefully will go beyond carving out humanitarian WFP food aid from export restrictions.

***

For a thorough background paper on agricultural export restrictions, download Siddhartha Mitra and Tim Josling, Agricultural Export Restrictions: Welfare Implications and Trade Disciplines, IPC Position Paper, Agriculture and Rural Development Policy Series, International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council, January 2009 at http://www.agritrade.org/GlobalExpRestrictions.html.

This alert is based on the results of a discussion on “Rebalancing the Rights of Importers and Exporters: How to Address Agricultural Export Restrictions?”, organized by the International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council & CUTS International at the WTO Public Forum "Seeking Answers to Global Trade Challenges", 19-21 September 2011. We thank all speakers, panel members and participants for their contributions. Financial support for this publication from the Netherlands to the IPC is acknowledged.

For more information, contact Thom Achterbosch at IPC (achterbosch@agritrade.org) or Bipul Chatterjee at CUTS (bc@cuts.org).

27/09/2011

GTDF news n°16

Governance of the multilateral trading system: Developing Country Coalitions in the WTO

At an informal mini-ministerial meeting on 30 November 2009, the GTDF “Inclusive International Trade Architecture” initiative started a reflection on the functioning of the WTO. On 30 June 2010, the initiative’s Geneva Group of Ambassadors decided to focus the work on the issue of coalitions. As a follow-up to this decision, an analysis was prepared based on consultations with various stakeholders and a review of the scholarly literature. The GTDF is pleased to present the result of these efforts: the policy brief “Developing Country Coalitions in the WTO: Improving the Participation of the WTO’s Weakest and Poorest Members” by Carolyn Deere Birkbeck.

The paper explores what is known about when and how coalitions are effective. It reviews perceptions about the effectiveness of different coalitions in enhancing the representation and participation of developing countries in WTO decision-making, and their impact on outcomes, with any eye to yielding lessons for the weakest, smallest and poorest WTO members. In so doing, it addresses the following questions: 1) What are the factors that help coalitions work effectively? 2) What would help the weakest and poorest WTO Members achieve greater impact through coalitions? 3) Are different strategies and tactics needed in the agenda-setting and negotiating phases of negotiations as compared to the final deal-making phase? and 4) What level of resources and energy does it makes sense for countries to devote to different kinds of coalitions? Where is their participation most likely to generate impact on negotiations?

The paper proceeds in four parts. Part I reviews the challenges facing small and poor states in multilateral trade negotiations and the evolution of developing country engagement in coalitions. It also introduces the typology of different coalitions used in this paper. It highlights variation in regard to their purpose, composition, and negotiating strategies of coalitions, their degree of external support, internal coordination, and selection process for leadership and representation. Part 2 summarizes some of the challenges that the WTO’s weakest, smallest and poorest members face in their participation in and use of coalitions. Part 3 explores perspectives on the performance of different kinds of coalitions and the factors that explain perceived success stories. Finally, Part 4 sets out options and recommendations for consideration by developed and developing country WTO Members and the WTO Secretariat.

The GTDF governance initiative is working with a network of stakeholders from developed and developing countries to further strengthen the paper and build on its main findings and recommendations. It plans on discussing it with the Young Wolves and the Geneva group of Ambassador after the summer break to elaborate concrete proposals to be submitted to a group of Ministers at the Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference in December.

The governance initiative has been launched under the GTDF project funded by several donors in particular SECO, the Agence Française de Développement and the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs. The current activities are financed by the French Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

30/08/2010

GTDF flash news 15

Trade governance: think pieces from partner institutions and feedbacks from Geneva-base delegates: the issue of coalition to be deepened

Researchers from institutions from the North and the South have associated with the GTDF to work on trade governance during the first semester of 2010. These researchers are: Thomas Cottier, World Trade Institute (WTI), Switzerland; Uri Dadush, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, USA; Carolyn Deere Birkbeck, Oxford University, UK; Peter Draper, South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA), South Africa; Manfred Elsig, World Trade Institute (WTI), Switzerland; Mustafizur Rahman, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), Bangladesh; Brendan Vickers, Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD), South Africa. They have prepared think pieces to feed the reflection of the GTDF that address the following issues: the role of the WTO, the role of the Secretariat, the role of coalitions, the issue of plurilaterals, and the issue of rounds of negotiations vs. permanent negotiations. Please click here to discover several of these papers.

In June 2010, a second meeting of the Geneva group – an informal group of 10 Ambassadors from developing, emerging and developed countries – took place to discuss these think pieces. In July 2010, a reunion of the “young wolves” also addressed the themes raised in these papers (see fourth item of this flash news). These meetings gave some signals on the priority issues to be deepened by the GTDF and its partner institutions. In particular, the question of coalitions emerged as key in the efforts to strengthen the system and the participation of poorer countries. Please click here to read some feedbacks from the Geneva group and the young wolves meetings.

For more information on the GTDF Trade Governance initiative please click here.

Trade & Climate Change: Free allowances another possible threat to developing countries’ exports?

As a complement to last year’s roundtable on Border Carbon Adjustments (BCAs), the GTDF organised a roundtable focusing on “Free allowances, Trade and Developing countries”. The meeting provided a good overview of free allocation of greenhouse gas emissions allowances under EU emissions trading schemes (ETS) and options discussed under the US‘s proposed Waxman-Markey Bill. To access the report of this roundtable please click here.

For more information on the GTDF Trade & Climate Change initiative please click here.

WTO accession: the Friends of Accession endeavouring to strengthen the WTO accession process

In 2010, the GTDF continued working with the Friends of Accession (FOA), a group of 8 delegates from developing, emerging and developed countries who are interested in strengthening the WTO accession process and participate in their own name. Following the Informal Group of Developing Countries submission to the 20 October 2009 General Council and the mitigated reactions from some members, the FOA have drafted a new proposal taking into accounts the different feedbacks and comments.

The FOA is currently consulting with a wide-range of members and key countries to present and discuss the proposal, and gather strong support to it. The purpose of these efforts is to continue the process launched last year in view of strengthening and making the accession process more transparent.

For more information on the GTDF WTO accession initiative, please click here.

The “young wolves”: hands-on targeted and proactive capacity-building in Geneva

The GTDF has created a group of a dozen Geneva-based delegates from African countries who are dynamic, engaged in the trade negotiations and interested in pushing the interests of their countries in multilateral trade discussions. The group is dubbed the “young wolves” referring to the innovative and dynamic features as well as the engagement of the group members. The initiative aims at providing the young wolves with the information needed to raise their awareness, build their capacities and help define their positions on negotiating, systemic and new issues through regular and carefully prepared meetings.

The first working meeting of the young wolves took place in July and touched upon "the governance of the multilateral trading system" from the perspective of poorer countries, i.e. how to ensure that the system is efficient, legitimate and inclusive and that proposed reforms of the system do not overlook the two latter components. This meeting was linked and provided inputs to the GTDF trade governance initiative (see first item of this flash news). Please click here to access some conclusions of the meeting.

For more information on the GTDF “young wolves” initiative, please click here and on the GTDF Trade Governance initiative, please click here.

The GTDF hopes you had a pleasant summer and looks forward to continuing its efforts with reenergized dynamism!

21/12/2009

GTDF flash news 14 - WTO accession: a necessary (too) painful process? – Views from acceding countries

WTO accession: a necessary (too) painful process? – Views from acceding countries

At the margin of the WTO Conference Ministerial, the GTDF organized on 30 November an informal meeting of acceding countries representatives, including several Ministers, in the premises of AITIC. This meeting was very useful to collect acceding countries’ experiences and perception of the process. The general impression was that joining the club often requires tough reforms, which were seen as a painful but at the same time necessary and useful exercise. More problematically, some member countries’ demands in the bilateral process were perceived as arbitrary – as they are not necessarily based on commercial interests – or unfair – as they impose on acceding countries obligations which exceed what existing member countries are willing to take.

In the context of the GTDF, this issue is addressed by an informal group of 8 developing, emerging and developed countries dubbed the Friends of Accession (FOA). This group endeavours to reflect on the accession process and identify possible solutions to make it more development-friendly. The FOA collaborates with existing coalitions at the WTO such as the Informal Group of Developing Countries or the Least Developed Countries to find ways within the organization to push this issue forward.

In 2010, the GTDF aims at convening further meetings of acceding countries to facilitate their coordination and support their voice being heard. At the same time, the GTDF will continue hosting FOA meetings to give impulsions to reforming the accession process from within the WTO.

For the full report of the meeting, click here.

The GTDF wishes you festive holidays and a happy and successful New Year 2010!

May this New Year bring more development-friendly impulsions to the trading system! We look forward to collaborating with you in this perspective!

14/12/2009

GTDF flash news 13 - Roundtable discussion - Toward International Agreement on Border Measures for Climate Change

The GTDF is deepening the work launched at Crans-Montana with small Geneva-based coalitions. 30 representatives from developing, emerging and developed countries are already working in the different groups in their personal capacity. In a second phase, policy makers will provide impetus to the endeavours.

20/11/2009

GTDF Flash news 12

Roundtable discussion on the launch of the Carnegie report “the Impact of the Doha Round on Kenya”

On 6 November 2009, UNDP and IDEAS Centre successfully co-hosted a roundtable discussion at the occasion of the launch of the study “the Impact of the Doha Round on Kenya” edited by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and UNDP. Attendance has overreached expectations with representatives from permanent missions, international organizations, NGO and journalists. After the presentation of the key findings by the main author Mr. Eduardo Zepeda, the two discussants Ms. Lisa Borgatti (UNCTAD) and Mr. Nicolas Imboden (IDEAS Centre) broadened the topic by showing the lessons that can be learnt for Developing Countries and in particular for Africa before giving the floor to the audience for an open discussion that turned into an exciting and useful debate.

Among many interesting conclusions, this report showed that, although the general impact of a Doha Round is relatively limited on Kenya’s economy, the WTO remains an excellent instrument to push for reforms domestically. This study was launched at a timely moment – a few weeks before the WTO ministerial meeting – and allows grasping the potential effects of a deal that could inspire policy makers. For the full report click here.

Learn about the GTDF four initiatives!

The GTDF current four initiatives are:

1. Fostering an inclusive international trade architecture
2. Climate change measures: how to make them compatible with poorer countries’ trade interests?
3. Industrial policies and latecomers
4. Encouraging a more development-friendly WTO accession process (Friends of Accession)

Click here for more details.

The GTDF is deepening the work launched at Crans-Montana with small Geneva-based coalitions. 30 representatives from developing, emerging and developed countries are already working in the different groups in their personal capacity. In a second phase, policy makers will provide impetus to the endeavours.

The major upcoming milestone for most of the groups is the WTO Ministerial meeting 30 November-2 December which will be used to crystallize the work, mobilize policy makers and other stakeholders as well as float some of the ideas developed.

28/10/2009

Book launch and rountable discussion on study

The Impact of the Doha Round on Kenya

Lessons for Developing Countries

Friday 6^th November 2009 1pm to 3pm

World Meteorological Organization, 7bis, avenue de la Paix, Geneva

Advanced registration is required

 Speaker: Eduardo Zepeda, key author of the study, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and United Nation Development Programme

Moderator: Esperanza Durán, Executive Director, AITIC

Discussants:

-         Nicolas Imboden, Executive Director, IDEAS Centre

-         Stephen Karingi, co-author of the study, UNECA

-         Lisa Borgatti, UNCTAD

-         H.E. Phillip Richard Owade, Ambassador / Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kenya (invited)

UNDP and IDEAS Centre have the pleasure to host the presentation of the report “The Impact of the Doha Round on Kenya”. The study analyzes the effects on Kenya’s economy of a Doha negotiation package that came close to being agreed in July 2008. The study uses detailed country data and a realistic Doha scenario to show the potential impact on sectors. The study examines the adjustment costs of trade liberalization under Doha and provides insights on how the Doha Round might affect the distribution of income.

By analyzing the impact of the Doha Round on Kenya, this study contributes to the larger debate about the role of trade liberalization in development. It also contains an analysis of the impact of such Doha package for the Sub- Saharan African region offering the broader contours of the effects of a likely deal.

The study can guide developing countries to design policies aiming to cope with the effects of Doha. It encourages policy makers to look carefully at the matters on the Doha negotiating table to ensure that what has positive effects is preserved in the final approved Doha package, and what has negative effects is lessened or properly compensated.

Feel free to forward this invitation to any interested parties.

Light refreshments will be provided from 12:00

For logistical reasons, please confirm your participation by sending an email to laurent.charlet@ideascentre.ch or by fax 022 807 17 41.

29/09/2009

GTDF Flash News 11

News from the GTDF

Exactly a year ago, the Geneva Trade and Development Forum (GTDF) held its first high-level Conference in Crans-Montana. Since then, the GTDF team has networked with many stakeholders worldwide to discuss the best way forward after the September 2008 Conference. The main conclusion of this consultation is that there is a need for a neutral and informal platform where the various stakeholders active in trade and development can engage in substantive debates on emerging issues/challenges faced by poorer countries and produce concrete and innovative solutions that improve their integration into the world economy.

The Conference was an excellent medium to mobilize forces, exchange views and analysis on several issues of importance to developing countries and identify the most pressing ones. From this milestone, the GTDF team has decided to concentrate its activities on four smaller-scale but more focused and forceful initiatives. In the future, the GTDF will address other key issues on the basis of ideas exchanged within the platform and eagerness from stakeholders.

Learn about the GTDF four initiatives!

The GTDF current four initiatives are:

1. Fostering an inclusive international trade architecture
2. Climate change measures: how to make them compatible with poorer countries’ trade interests?
3. Industrial policies and latecomers
4. Encouraging a more development-friendly WTO accession process (Friends of Accession).

 Click here for more details.

The GTDF is deepening the work launched at Crans-Montana with small Geneva-based coalitions. 25 representatives from developing, emerging and developed countries are already working in the different groups in their personal capacity. In a second phase, policy makers will provide impetus to the endeavours. A launching meeting is foreseen in the fall for the three first initiatives under Chatham House rules. The Friends of Accession has already met twice and has elaborated actions to be undertaken in the next months.

The major upcoming milestone for most of the groups is the WTO Ministerial meeting 30 November-2 December which will be used to crystallize the work, mobilize policy makers and other stakeholders as well as float some of the ideas developed.

Empowering poorer countries: Agenda-setting and decision-shaping

The Doha negotiations have shown that poorer countries can make their voice heard in multilateral negotiations provided they have well identified their interests and that they submit pro-active proposals. At the same time, experience has demonstrated that poorer countries have to raise awareness on their concerns at an early stage before key powers have established their positions. Indeed, the chances of influencing the policies of bigger countries are superior at the decision shaping and agenda setting stages than during the decision-making phase.

Unfortunately poorer countries lack the human capacity to be pro-active: their small delegations are fully absorbed by the day to day work of the negotiations. Hence the need to pool theirs resources (together with delegations from other constituencies) in small dedicated groups to address issues which are not yet on the negotiating table, but that will be part of a future trade agenda. An informal setting – animated by think tanks from the South and the North – is considered by both the concerned parties and other interested groups – as the best method to define their interests proactively and to bring in their concerns at an early stage.

Partnerships with think tanks from the South

The GTDF is collaborating with think tanks from developing countries to provide South perspectives and analysis to the groups. The first partners of the Forum are the Institute for Global Dialogue and the South African Institute of International Affairs from South Africa which will lead the substantive work of the “inclusive international trade architecture” constituency for change.

Collaboration with think tanks from the North

Fruitful first contacts have been made with several think tanks from the North, such as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The Brookings Institution and the Peterson Institute for International Affairs, to initiate collaboration on the different initiatives.

Quotes for autumn meditation …

"No nation was ever ruined by trade" – Benjamin Franklin

"When a man says that he approves something in principal, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of putting it in practice." - Otto Von Bismarck

"Success, remember is the reward of toil." – Sophocles

05/11/2008

Conference proceedings now available!

Youssouf Ouedraogo, Special Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank and Chairman of the 1^st Conference of the Geneva Trade & Development Forum (GTDF), declared the four-day meeting in Crans-Montana that brought together 250 stakeholders from over 45 developing and OECD countries, including over 20 Ministers and other high-level actors, a success. Click here to see for yourself; plenary session reports, webcasts, and theme groups’ conclusions (way forward) are now available.

05/11/2008

The GTDF Way Forward

05/11/2008

GTDF Flash News 10

Conference proceedings are now available!

Youssouf Ouedraogo, Special Advisor to the President of the African Development Bank and Chairman of the 1^st Conference of the Geneva Trade & Development Forum (GTDF), declared the four-day meeting in Crans-Montana that brought together 250 stakeholders from over 45 developing and OECD countries, including over 20 Ministers and other high-level actors, a success. Check the Geneva Trade & Development Forum (GTDF) website to see for yourself; plenary session reports, webcasts, and theme groups’ conclusions (way forward) are now available.

Esperanza Durán, Executive Director of AITIC, added, “The follow-up will depend on keeping the momentum and for all the stakeholders to ensure that the commitments made are put into practice and fulfilled.”

Read the GTDF Way Forward prepared by Nicolas Imboden, Executive Director of IDEAS Centre, to see how the GTDF intends to build on this 1^st edition. Your comments are welcome.

IDEAS Centre thanks participants, partners and donors

Nicolas Imboden thanks all participants, partners and in particular the shepherds as well as the GTDF principal donors Canada (CIDA), Denmark (Foreign Affairs), France (AFD and Foreign Affairs), Germany (Inwent), the Netherlands (Foreign Affairs), Sweden (Foreign Affairs) and Switzerland (SECO) for their wholehearted support of the GTDF.

In the coming weeks, the GTDF team will contact all shepherds to discuss with them the follow up to their theme groups and approach interested members to participate in the proposed constituencies of change.

Your feedback is important

If you haven't yet done so, thank you for filling out the GTDF feedback form and sending it back to us!

Winners of GTDF Challenge

IDEAS Centre is happy to announce the winners of the GTDF Challenge. They will receive their prize during the next weeks:

Ingrid Jegou, Sweden

Maxwell Awumah, Ghana

Aboubacar Mamadou Kourna, Niger

Luna Shamshuddoha, Bangladesh

Antonio Pedro, Ethiopia

Isabelle Magnin, Switzerland

Ismail Hussein Mfinanga, Tanzania

Did you know that …

… of the world’s ten most populous nations, six have not had a woman as head of government or state in the modern era? Besides the United States and China, they include Brazil, Russia, Nigeria and Japan. Interestingly, all of the large countries that have had a woman leader in modern times are located in South Asia, and — aside from India, which has a sizable Muslim minority population — are Muslim-majority countries with a Muslim share of between 83-97%.

… the budget allocated to the security of the Beijing Summer Olympics amounted to 6.5 billion dollars? In 2004, Greece spent 1.5 billion dollars for Olympic security, five times more than Sydney in 2000.

Sources: The Globalist, Le Temps

10/09/2008

Working groups final action plans / set of recommendations are now available

03/09/2008

GTDF Flash News 8

DFID’s Gareth Thomas signs up for Conference

Gareth Thomas, the UK’s Under-Secretary of State in the Department for International Development (DFID) has confirmed his participation in the 1^st Conference of the GTDF. He will co-chair the Ministerial Caucus.

Other Ministers and VIPs have confirmed their participation

Felix Mutati, Zambia’s Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry; Ghulam Quader, Adviser, Ministries of Communications and Housing & Public Works Government of Bangladesh; Rachid Mohamed Rachid, Egypt’s Minister of Trade and Industry and Khemmani Pholsena, Vice-Minister of Industry and Commerce of Laos as well as Grant Aldonas, former US Commerce Department Undersecretary for international Trade and Jason Bordoff, Policy Director of the Brookings Institution’s Hamilton Project will participate in the Conference.

GTDF offers platform for caucus on food security in West Africa

The GTDF will host a caucus on food security in West Africa in Crans-Montana on 18 September. In the wake of the current world food crisis, many countries have launched programmes at increasing self-sufficiency and moving back towards autarky. The objective of the caucus is to identify possibilities and strategies to redress the situation and to find paths to food security in Africa. 15 high-level multi-stakeholder participants from Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone will participate. More information here.

CIDA among GTDF donors

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has joined the ranks of the GTDF donors. CIDA will support developing countries representatives’ participation in the GTDF.

Notes from the GTDF organizers: registration continues, GTDF glossary published

§         Registrations for the Conference in Crans-Montana are still accepted. Sign up here.

§         For a list of key confirmed participants, click here.

§         The GTDF glossary explains some of the jargon of the Forum.

Free time

• Play open doors here
• Enjoy rice field art here
• Reports and working papers making your eyes weak? Practice speed reading and get in a groove

25/08/2008

A caucus on Food security in West Africa will be organized at the conference: Agricultural globalisation in reverse

Agricultural globalisation in reverse :

the story of West Africa

Full report

Background

In today’s globalised economy, no country in the world can pretend to be self-sufficient in food. Food nevertheless remains the only commodity that cannot be compromised under any circumstances. The recent global food crisis is here to remind us of its sheer im­portance. Eliminating hunger, food insecurity and mal­nutrition is humankind’s foremost challenge. Failure to meet this challenge will result in continued high levels of unnecessary human suffering, lost economic oppor­tunities and an increasingly unstable world.

The recent food shortages and price rises have led to demands in developed and developing countries for increased protection of domestic agriculture and for greater domestic food sufficiency. To tackle the emer­ging food crisis, West African countries have shifted their trade-based food-security strategy into reverse.

Regional problems and strategies to guarantee food security in West Africa

West Africa has historically relied on international and regional trade to help assure its food security. Al­though some governments in the sub-region promo­ted national food self-sufficiency in the 1980s, by the early 1990s, most West African countries had adopted a broader notion of food security that built upon histo­rical regional and international trade patterns based on comparative advantage.

Countries in the sub-region fall into four categories :

a)      Countries such as the Gambia, Mauritania, Se­negal and Sierra Leone that have historically based their food strategies on large imports of Asian rice combined with imports of coarse grains (millet, maize and sorghum) from nei­ghbouring countries, while exporting cash crops and mineral resources

b)      those that were food exporters in the 1960s (most notably Nigeria), but have become ma­jor importers of rice, wheat, and some coarse grains, as their economies and population have grown faster than domestic agricultural output those that are largely self-sufficient or expor­ters of staples in normal years (e.g., Mali, Bur­kina Faso, Niger, Chad) and

c)      those (e.g. Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Guinea) that import significant quantities of rice from overseas and millet from northern neighbours, but that seasonally export significant quanti­ties of maize (and in Guinea’s case, fonio) to their northern neighbours

In reality, most countries, even significant exporters and importers, are involved in some two-way regional trade in staples. For example, Nigeria exports signifi­cant quantities of coarse grains to Niger in exchange for cowpeas, while Mali and Burkina Faso import some rice from Asia.

The current world food crisis has shifted the West African trade-based food-security strategy into rever­se for several reasons. Soaring prices (e.g., rice selling for over US$1000/tonne) and export bans from some Asian countries such as India not only threatened the availability of rice imports, but led many West African governments to conclude that the risks were very high in depending on the international market for staples. At the same time, some West African coarse grain ex­porters, most notably Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria, have also restricted exports in attempts to pro­tect domestic consumers from the soaring prices. This in turn has driven up costs in neighbouring countries, while holding down prices paid to their own farmers.

All these actions have led many countries to launch programmes aimed at increasing self-sufficiency in sta­ples and moving back towards autarky.

The step back from a food-security strategy based in part on comparative advantage and trade raises se­veral fundamental questions about the development strategy West African countries may follow in the co­ming years.

Objectives of the caucus

The overall objective of the caucus is to address the issue of food security in West Africa and concentrate the debate on the emerging policy options being consi­dered in the region to achieve sustainable food security in West Africa. These options include :

a)      self-sufficiency in staple foods at the national level, behind both regional and international trade barriers

b)      self-sufficiency at the regional level, taking advantage of regional trade but with some protection from import surges and dumping from the world market through a common ex­ternal tariff and

c)      open trade based on current comparative ad­vantage in the international market

Its specific objective is to identify possibilities and strategies for addressing food security situation in West Africa. A variety of stakeholders will be asked to share their views and provide advice on food security issues in West Africa. Pre-caucus materials will be distributed to participants before the event takes place and will form the basis of the discussions.

Target countries : Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gha­na, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone

Participants : The caucus will provide an opportuni­ty for key stakeholders to get together and discuss the constraints and the paths to food security in Africa. A group of 30 high level representatives has been invited to participate in this event and consists of Government representatives (Ministers of trade and agriculture) and key decision-makers, food-security experts as well as high level personalities from NGOs, private sector and international organisations (ECOWAS, UNIDO, CILSS, UNECA and IITA).

Date and place : The Caucus is scheduled on Sep­tember 18, 2008 under the auspices of the Geneva Trade and Development Forum (GTDF), which will take place in Crans-Montana, Switzerland from 17 – 20 September 2008.

Framework of the caucus : The proposed fra­mework aims at examining the following interrelated themes :

1) Key causes and consequences of food and nutri­tion insecurity in West Africa

2)      The relationship between food trade and food se­curity

3) The controversy between protection and World market integration

4)      The identification of priority needs at national and sub-regional levels in order to build a coordinated policy of regional food security in West Africa

5)      Possible solutions and their implications for enhan­cing regional coordination on food security mat­ters

The panel will be conducted under the Chatham House Rule*

* « When a meeting or part thereof is held under the Cha­tham House Rule, participants are free to use the informa­tion received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s) nor that of any other participant, may be revealed. » www.chathamhouse.org.uk

05/08/2008

GTDF Flash News 7

La version française apparaît après la version anglaise.                         

Sweden, Sri Lanka, South Africa to participate at GTDF Conference at ministerial level

Swedish Minister of Foreign Trade Ewa Björling; Sri Lanka’s Minister for Export Development and International Trade G.L. Peiris and South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Rob Davies will take part in the 1st Conference of the Geneva Trade & Development Forum. Also recently signed up: Eveline Herfkens, Executive Coordinator of the Millennium Campaign and Peter Thompson, the European Commission’s Director of Development and EPAs in DG Trade. For the latest list of key participants confirmed, click here.

Only 43 days left until Conference opening!

You have marked the dates of the 1st Conference of the GTDF in your calendar? Complete the process by registering for the event here. By sticking to the 15 August deadline, you help facilitate the organiser’s travails. Thank you!

Trade & development news

Three major trade and development publications have recently been issued. According to the World Bank’s World Trade Indicators 2008: Benchmarking Policy and Performance, average real growth in trade in 2007 amounted to 7.7 percent for the world as a whole and countries that have the best policies and institutions overall tend to have stronger and more consistent trade performance (full report). The WTO’s World Trade Report 2008: Trade in a Globalizing World examines the gains from international trade and the challenges arising from higher levels of integration. Among the many findings of the report: gains following trade opening arise from economies of scale, product variety and increased competition, but trade has sometimes contributed to increasing inequality in developing countries (full report). Finally, UNCTAD’s 2008 Report on the Least Developed Countries: Growth, Poverty and the Terms of Development Partnership argues that despite recent record level rates of economic growth and exports achieved by LDCs as a group, they remain locked into a pattern of economic growth that makes them highly vulnerable to external shocks (for an overview of the report, click here).

Did you know that …*

… the first recorded patent for an industrial invention was issued in 1421 to Italian architect and engineer Filippo Brunelleschi?

… China, one of the most egalitarian (and poorest) countries of the world a quarter century ago, today is among the most inegalitarian ones, together with Brazil or Zimbabwe, with the 10% richest of the country owning 45% of the national resources?

… worldwide air traffic increased 6 per cent in 2007, transporting 2.2 billion travellers?

* Sources: www.answers.com, Le Temps, ICAO

18/07/2008

GTDF Flash News 6

Trade ministers from Mozambique, Pakistan and Switzerland’s State Secretary for Economic Affairs confirm participation in Conference

António Fernando, Mozambique’s Minister of Industry and Trade; Ahmad Mukhtar, Minister of Commerce of Pakistan and Jean-Daniel Gerber, Swiss State Secretary For Economic Affairs, have confirmed that they will participate in the ministerial caucus that will take place during the 1st GTDF Conference in Crans-Montana from 17-20 September 2008.

News from the theme groups

According to its latest update (see full report here), the theme group “Trade and Intellectual Property (IP)” has made good strides in its quest to assist Uganda in bridging the technological divide. The group’s action plan will try to ensure that the country’s IP laws are supportive of its development objectives, in particular with regard to access to medicines, access to knowledge and transfer of technology. The group “Commodities, Governance and Poverty Reduction” has found its co-chair. Claude Kabemba is Director of the Southern Africa Resource Watch (www.sarwatch.org).

Development news

The MDGs Global Monitoring Report 2008 published by the World Bank/IMF warns that most countries will fall short on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Prospects are gravest for the goals of reducing child and maternal mortality. Serious shortfalls are also likely in primary school completion, nutrition, and sanitation goals.

Free time

Take a fascinating art lesson in 2 minutes here.

An image says more than a thousand words. Watch how the environment is changing around the world here.

27/06/2008

Update of theme group Trade and Intellectual Property

20/06/2008

Labour Mobility and Development working group released a background paper on the case of Senegal

Labour mobility: A win-win-win model for trade and development

The case of Senegal

Background study  integrating report from theme group’s workshop2 of 24–25 April, 2008 prepared by Marion Panizzon

18/06/2008

GTDF Flash News 5

11/06/2008

GTDF Flash News 4

World Bank among Forum sponsors

 The World Bank agreed to contribute to the work of the two theme groups “Newcomers and International Trade Rules” and “International Governance for Development”. The Bank’s support will allow experts from developing countries to participate in preparatory workshops.

Boao Forum’s Secretary General joins GTDF’s High-level Advisory Board

 Ambassador Long Yongtu, Secretary General of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) has agreed to join the High-level Advisory Board (HLAB) of the Geneva Trade and Development Forum. The BFA is a non-government, non-profit international organization committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries even closer to their development goals. For more information on the BFA, click here. The HLAB is described in more details here.

News from the theme groups

 The Trade and Livelihoods theme group is examining the impact of alternative scenarios of international trade negotiations on trade and production patterns, employment and poverty in Kenya. Click here for the progress report.

The first draft of the roadmap of the group on Trade in Services for fostering the development of services trade in Mozambique (focus on tourism) is available here.

The group on Newcomers and International Trade Rules has, according to its update report, identified no less than 20 practical ways in which parties associated with the WTO accession process could move forward.

Free time

Make art, frame it and put it up in a gallery. Express yourself and get inspired with ArtPad.

Missed out on recent world events because you were to busy? View Swiss cartoonist Chappatte’s comments on world events here.

30/05/2008

Theme groups updates: new papers from Trade and Livelihoods, Trade in Services and Newcomers and International Trade Rules

For the uptade on the situation of the Trade and Livelihoods group: click here

Trade in Services: 1st draft of the roadmap for fostering the development of services trade in Mozambique: a focus on tourism: click here

For the uptade on the situation of the Newcomers and International Trade Rules: group: click here

28/05/2008

Report of the Shepherds' meeting 14.05.08

23/05/2008

GTDF Flash News 3

GTDF Conference rescheduled to 17-20 September 2008

 The first conference of the Geneva Trade and Development Forum will now take place from 17-20 September 2008 to allow for a possible ministerial meeting at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in July. Click here for more details.

News from the theme groups

 An interim report on Bangladesh from the theme group on Entrepreneurship and Trade Facilitation is now available. The report highlights that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in creating jobs and reducing poverty in Bangladesh despite a complex environment. Their impact could be strengthened by investing in infrastructure and skills development, fostering social entrepreneurship, promoting access to finance and boosting regional integration as well as a more entrepreneurial approach from aid and trade agencies. For the full version of Entrepreneurship and trade facilitation in Bangladesh: unleashing the potentials of SMEs in a regional context, click here.

Did you know that …*

… natural disasters were more frequent in 2007 and cost 75 billion US dollars, 50% more than in 2006?

… official development aid from the world’s major donors (OECD-DAC) dropped 8.4% in real terms to 103.7 billion US dollars in 2007?

… the cosmetics industry has global sales of 280 billion US dollars?

* Sources: MunichRe, OECD, The Economist

13/05/2008

Interim report on Entrepreneurship and trade facilitation in Bangladesh

24/04/2008

The Labour Mobility group meets on 24 - 25 April: A win-win model for trade and development, the case of Senegal

24/04/2008

GTDF Flash News 2

Theme groups’ work reaches finishing line

Theme groups’ efforts are starting to bear fruit. For example, the Group on Labor Mobility, Trade and Development is holding a two-day workshop in Geneva from 24 – 25 April with the objective to develop a win-win model for labor mobility, analyzing the case of Senegal. Watch out for the upcoming background study, which will be published on the GTDF website! The Group on Trade and Intellectual Property (IP) will meet in Geneva on 25 April to finalize its draft recommendations for bridging the technological divide and promoting innovation and growth in least developed countries. The IP-Group will debate the need for new types of partnerships between the North and the South and review Uganda’s technical IP needs. Other theme groups are progressing fast.

New shepherd for theme group on Trade Building on Decent Work

The theme group on Trade building on Decent Work has a new Shepherd. Ms Arntraud Hartmann is a consultant and Senior Lecturer at the Johns Hopkins University in Bologna, Italy; at the Fachhochschule für Wirtschaft, Technik und Politik in Berlin, Germany and at the Center for European Integration Studies in Bonn, Germany.

Did you know that …*

… the Egyptian parliament is considering a law allowing Egypt to request copyright payments for reproductions of the Pyramids, the Sphinx and other ancient monuments to fund the maintenance of archaeological sites?

… in 2006, international migrants send a whopping 221 billion dollars back to their home countries, nearly double the amount of 2001?

… half of the 14 million people living in Mumbai reside in hutments, more commonly known as slum dwellings?

* Sources: Le Temps, Remittance Trends 2007, The Economist

15/04/2008

GTDF flash news 1

Why the GTDF news?

 Welcome to the first issue of the Geneva Trade & Development Forum news! The GTDF represents a major undertaking to provide an enduring neutral platform for reflection, innovation, debate and dialogue to address the specific challenges and opportunities of developing countries in their quest to take advantage of trade liberalization and integration into the world economy. With the GTDF Update, we aim to keep you posted on new developments as well as interesting or practical bits of information.

Preliminary program of the Conference now available

 The preliminary conference program for the first edition of the GTDF is now available on the Forum’s website. Click here to download your copy! For questions and/or suggestions, write to info@ideascentre.ch

The Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation are now supporting the GTDF

The Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation have joined a growing number of donors and sponsors supporting the GTDF. Click here for more information on this issue.

Our website is now also in French

 To see it, click here.

13/03/2008

The Agenda of the Conference is now available

"Trade as a development tool:  partnerships and policies"

07/02/2008

Shepherds' meeting 14th May 2008