Making Global Trade Governance Work for Development: Perspectives and Priorities from Developing Countries

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Deere Birkbeck
Author(s):  
Yves Dezalay ◽  
Bryant G. Garth

This chapter traces the development of international commercial arbitration, which is often presented as a response to the demand for law and dispute resolution created naturally by an increase in transnational commerce and investment. Indeed, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris was relatively marginal from its establishment in 1923 until the increase in global trade and commerce that came in the 1970s and 1980s. The demand naturally created the supply. Based on the recognition that this market was not inevitable, it has been argued that the rise of international commercial arbitration depended on institutional entrepreneurs around the ICC. The chapter then looks at how the relatively marginal group around the ICC that Sgard studies gained credibility and acceptance from both multinational enterprises and developing countries.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olu Fasan

The Uruguay Round of trade negotiations, completed in 1994, has fundamentally transformed the legal landscape of the world trading system, making the WTO arguably the most powerful international economic institution in the world. Yet, the systemic problems that have dogged the WTO since its establishment in 1995 have their roots in the nature of this transformation and its implications for developing countries, especially African states. Developing countries, hitherto excluded from GATT rules, became subject to expanded WTO legal rules and disciplines on a range of new areas, including services, intellectual property rights and investment measures. The possibility of deepening and widening the rule-base of the trade regime is also likely with the Doha agenda, which includes possible negotiations on new rules dealing with investment, competition policy, trade facilitation, and transparency in government procurement.Clearly, the increasing legalization and internationalization of trade rules have implications for weak states. International legalization involves sophisticated bargaining where power relations play a significant role. The purpose of this article is to explore, in the context of some of the theories of international law and political economy, how the preferences and interests of African countries are reflected in international rule making that involves both weak and powerful states. The article traces the institutional and legal evolution of the world trading system and how African countries have been affected by these developments. The new Doha agenda is examined with a view to establishing whether it holds out any real hope of redressing the imbalances in the system. Finally, suggestions are made as to how global trade rules can be fair, and therefore made to work for poor states.


2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatma Muthia Kinanti

Perdagangan bebas menjadi isu yang semakin menguat dalam pergaulan global saat ini. Berbagai perjanjian baik multilateral, regional dan bilateral yang mengatur mengenai penekanan hambatan perdagangan semakin banyak. WTO sebagai peraturan induk dan merupakan sumber hukum utama dari perdagangan bebas telah berjalan selama lebih dari satu dekade. Sejak pembentukan WTO terbukti bahwa partisipas masyarakat internasional dalam perdagangan global semakin meningkat. Namun, beberapa kritik muncul terutama dari negara berkembang yang merasa belum mendapatkan manfaat dari perdagangan bebas. Isu ini kemudian muncul dalam negosiasi WTO yang menghasilkan konsep Special and Differential Treatment (SDT) yang diadopsi dalam ketentuan-ketentuan WTO. Penelitian ini mengangkat tema besar mengenai ketentuan-ketentuan dan kerjasama WTO yang mencerminkan perdagangan bebas dan kaitannya dengan negara berkembang. Beberapa hal yang disorot adalah bagaimana pengaturan dalam WTO terkait perlakuan berbeda (Special and Differentiated Treatment) yang diberikan kepada negara-negara berkembang. Selain itu penelitian ini difokuskan juga untuk menganalisis diferensiasi antara negara-negara berkembang dalam WTO. Kemudian, analisis difokuskan terhadap peran dan dampak Doha Development dan Bali Round terkait negara berkembang terutama di sektor agrikultur dan dampak adanya diferensiasi dari negara berkembang.<br /><br />Free trade is an issue that has gained strength in today’s global society. Various multilateral treaties, regional and bilateral governing the suppression of trade barriers more. WTO as a central rule and is the main legal source of free trade has been running for more than a decade. Since the establishment of the WTO proved that the participation and the international community in global trade is increasing. However, some criticism arose primarily from developing countries that have not benefited from free trade. This issue arises in WTO negotiations that resulted in the concept of Special and Differential Treatment (SDT), which was adopted in the WTO provisions. This study raised the major themes of the provisions of the WTO and cooperation that reflects the free trade and its relation to developing countries. Some of the things highlighted was how the settings related to differential treatment in the WTO granted to developing countries. In addition, research is focused also to analyze the differentiation between developing countries in the WTO. Then, the analysis focused on the role and impact of the Doha Development Round and Bali related to developing countries, particularly in the agricultural sector and the impact of the differentiation of developing countries.<br /><br />


Author(s):  
Nir Kshetri ◽  
Nikhilesh Dholakia

Despite rapidly falling costs of hardware, software and telecommunications services, a wide gap persists between rich and poor nations in terms of their capabilities of accessing, delivering, and exchanging information in digital forms (Carter and Grieco, 2000). According to a report published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in 2006, a person in a high-income country was more than 22 times likely to use the Internet than someone in a low-income country (UNCTAD, 2006). The ratios were 29 times for mobile phones and 21 times for fixed phones. An estimate suggested that more than 95% of e-commerce transactions in 2003 were industrialized countries (Tedeschi, 2003). Another estimate suggested that 99.9% of business-to-consumer e-commerce in 2003 took place in the developed regions of North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific (Computer Economics, 2000). This is a form of commercial divide (UN Chronicle, 2003). Another estimate suggests that 80 percent of the global trade in high technology products originates from Europe, the U.S., and Japan (Bowonder, 2001) and 92 % of the patents granted in the world are owned by the members of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (Archibugi and Iammarino, 2000). Whereas high-income countries have income 63 times that of low-income countries, the respective ratios are 97 for PCs, 133 for mobile phones, and over 2,100 for Internet hosts (Dholakia and Kshetri, 2003). While reliable data on e-commerce transactions are not available, the ratio is likely to be even higher for e-commerce transactions since e-commerce is virtually non-existent in many developing countries. The pattern indicates that the gap between developed and developing countries is wider for more recent technologies such as PC, mobile phone, and the Internet than for technologies which were introduced earlier. This article provides an assessment of three computer networks that redefine the conventional definition of market value by allowing developing nations and communities (Brooks, 2001) reap the benefits of modern ICTs: Global Trade Point Network (GTPNet) and Little Intelligent Communities (LINCOS).


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feng Hao

Political economy theory posits decreasing economic intensity—i.e. the use of fewer materials per unit of economic growth—does not lead to a decrease in material extraction. Modernization theory suggests decreasing economic intensity may lead to a decline in the use of materials. Unequal ecological exchange theory suggests that the dominate position of developed countries in the global trade of materials allows them to protect their own environments by extracting materials elsewhere. By examining data from 95 countries between 1980 and 2009, this paper provides an empirical evaluation to theoretical statements discussed above. Findings show that economic intensity has declined markedly for decades while the total material extraction continues to increase worldwide. More developed countries enjoy an import surplus, while most materials extracted from developing countries are exported abroad. Positive associations (mediated by global trade of materials) exist between material extraction from developing countries and material consumption in developed countries.


2017 ◽  
Vol 08 (01) ◽  
pp. 1750006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vilas Pathikonda ◽  
Thomas Farole

Global value chains (GVCs) have altered the nature of global trade and offer significant opportunities for developing countries to expand exports, access technology, and raise productivity. Recent literature has pointed to a range of underlying characteristics that may drive participation in GVCs. Using a modified factor-content methodology, this paper shows that proximity to markets, efficient logistics, and strength of institutions are among the most important capabilities. However, the paper also shows that each sector has a unique mix of capability requirements. The paper applies the methodology to Southern African Customs Union countries, and demonstrates that, by filling gaps in underlying capabilities, these countries could increase participation in certain GVC sectors.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gamaliel Widya Susanto

Fairtrade is about better prices for smallholder farmers and workers in developing countries. Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which too often leaves the poorest, weakest producers earning less than it costs them to grow their crops. It's a bit like a national minimum wage for global trade.


2009 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 39-58
Author(s):  
Nazia Habib-Mint

This paper revisits the discourse on the roles of various stakeholders in improving labour standards in developing countries, paying particular attention on the role of multinational corporations (MNCs). standards is a multifarious issue, often misunderstood as overlapping motivations from a plethora of actors like the nation state, national and international labour unions and donor agencies are inter-engaged in complex political-economic contexts and have yet to agree on universal labour standards. None of the actors have sole responsibility or can unilaterally improve labour standards. While MNCs are seeking profit, developing countries are caught between foreign direct investment and overall economic growth through global trade. To substantiate, this article considers representative examples from mass produced consumer goods industries, which are major foreign exchange earners in developing countries, and are positioned at the centre of North-South and SouthSouth competition in the complex matrix of global trade.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gamaliel Widya Susanto

Fairtrade is about better prices for smallholder farmers and workers in developing countries. Fairtrade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which too often leaves the poorest, weakest producers earning less than it costs them to grow their crops. It's a bit like a national minimum wage for global trade.


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