Development and building trade capacity

Low- and middle-income countries face supply-side constraints such as technical capacities adequate hard infrastructure capacities human capital (above all knowhow) access to adequate credit and access to environmental goods and services that affect their capacity to address climate change and other environmental issues. This chapter discusses how the existing framework of international economic law may constrain the ability of low- or middle-income countries to overcome such supply-side constraints in order to address their or their trading partners’ environmental concerns regarding climate change and be included in global value chains. We will consider what should be done from a legal perspective what might be achieved and the likely implications of international economic law for acquiring and implementing environmentally friendly technologies and financing climate change mitigation and adaptation.

This volume has been produced under the WTO Chairs Programme (WCP) a WTO capacity-building programme launched upon the initiative of Hakim Ben Hammouda and Patrick Low in 2010. The WCP is jointly managed by the WTO’s Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation and Economic Research and Statistics Division under the direction of Bridget Chilala and Robert Teh respectively. The editors thank Fatima Chaudhri and Gerardo Thielen for their contribution to the initial stages of this book project and Clémence Gros for editorial assistance. Anthony Martin and Helen Swain are thanked for managing the production process of the volume.

For most countries foreign trade makes a critical contribution to the national economy and the Russian Federation is no exception to this. Over the last five years the world economy has been strongly affected by the global economic crisis which also seriously affected the Russian economy in general and its foreign trade in particular.

A comprehensive and fruitful analysis of the shaping factors of international trade and their implications for trade policy cannot be performed without having a clear idea of the evolution of trade patterns over time. This part of the Report analyses past present and future trends in international trade and economic activity. It begins with a historical analysis of trade developments from pre-industrial times to the present focusing on the key role that technology and institutions have played in the past. It then identifies and explains important trends in international trade that have emerged over the last 30 years. In doing so the section describes who the main players are in international trade (in terms of countries or companies) what countries trade and with whom and how the nature of trade has changed over time. Finally it provides some illustrative simulations of possible future trade scenarios.

This year’s World Trade Report looks at how trade and other forces of change are affecting our world. It combines contemporary analysis with conjecture about the future. The approach is eclectic reflecting many different forces at work. The intermingling of these drivers of change is multidirectional and complex and the pace of change is rapid.

This report has examined the forces that will shape the future of world trade. These forces are complex and numerous. They interact with trade itself and with each other as well as being influenced by government policy. One thing seems clear: the landscape and nature of world trade are changing fast. As trade evolves new policy challenges will arise. If properly managed international trade will further increase prosperity around the globe. What are the main issues therefore that policy-makers need to take into account?

The world is changing with extraordinary rapidity driven by many influences including shifts in production and consumption patterns continuing technological innovation new ways of doing business and of course policy. The World Trade Report 2013 focuses on how trade is both a cause and an effect of change and looks into the factors shaping the future of world trade. One of the most significant drivers of change is technology. Not only have revolutions in transport and communications transformed our world but new developments such as 3D printing and the continuing spread of information technology will continue to do so. Trade and foreign direct investment together with a greater geographical spread of income growth and opportunity will integrate a growing number of countries into more extensive international exchange. Higher incomes and larger populations will put new strains on both renewable and non-renewable resources calling for careful resource management. Environmental issues will also call for increasing attention.

This paper examines the role of competition law and policy as tools for poverty reduction and development. The authors put forward five related principles building upon the important work on related issues that has been done by the OECD the International Competition Network (ICN) UNCTAD and civil society organizations such as CUTS in recent years in addition to the earlier work done on these topics in the WTO Working Group on the Interaction between Trade and Competition Policy when that body was active from 1997 through 2003. Together these principles comprise the "holistic approach" to competition law and policy which is referenced in the title of the paper: First the focus of policy makers in using competition policy as tool for poverty reduction should be on approaches that are relatively easy to implement but have a trackrecord of being effective and economically sound. Second for competition policy reforms and legislation to be successful public acceptance and support is critical and must be an essential focus of related initiatives. Third to serve as an effective tool of poverty reduction competition policy needs to address the needs of the citizens of poorer societies in their capacities as producers (and therefore as users of extensive input goods and services including public infrastructure) in addition to their capacities as final consumers/households. Fourth it is posited that "competition policy" is more than just "what competition agencies do" and includes the full spectrum of measures that governments employ to enhance competition and improve the performance of markets. Fifth in order to address the challenges posed by the changing landscape of competition policy worldwide new forms of international co-operation may need to be considered. The paper then develops the application of these principles with respect to five specific areas in which competition policy can contribute to poverty reduction namely: (i) the reform of public and business infrastructure sectors particularly in the context of developing and transition economies; (ii) the complementary roles of competition law enforcement and market liberalization in public procurement markets; (iii) various related dimensions of competition policy as they relate to public health objectives; (iv) the addressing of possible monopsonistic practices in international supply chains that may affect the ability of developing country producers to reap gains from participation in international markets; and (v) measures to address the enduring problem of international cartels which despite an impressive record of prosecutions by developed jurisdiction competition agencies over the past decade continue to impose substantial costs on developing economies. The paper concludes with some observations regarding the future of international cooperation in the competition policy sphere.