Economic research and trade policy analysis
Agriculture and trade solutions for rural poverty
Nearly 70% of the world’s poor live in rural areas, and most depend on agriculture for their livelihoods (World Bank 2007b). In many poor countries, agriculture accounts for at least 40% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 80% of employment. Thus agriculture plays a potentially crucial role in poverty reduction strategies. During the Green Revolution (in the 1960s and 1970s), development and aid communities stressed the relevance of this sector as an engine of growth for countries with a high proportion of rural population. However, in the 1980s and 1990s the attention given to agricultural policies as catalysts for development and poverty reduction decreased significantly. Currently, agriculture is once again on the forefront of development debate, as recent work on the role of agriculture in development has confirmed the importance of this sector in reducing poverty (World Bank 2007b, von Braun 2007, Food and Agriculture Organisation 2005).
Intellectual property rights protection: The plus/minus debate from a least-developed country perspective – sense and nonsense
This chapter asks whether distinctions exist between the original WTO least-developed country (LDC) members and the Article XII LDCs in respect of their obligations under the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement. The chapter examines the evidence from the protocols of accession of the seven Article XII LDCs in the context of the associated treaty dialogue in their working party reports. It finds that distinctions exist and that the commitments accepted by Article XII LDCs, in some respects, go beyond the original requirements of the TRIPs Agreements and therefore also go beyond the TRIPs obligations of original LDC members. The chapter investigates these WTO TRIPs ‘plus’ commitments and assesses their merits in relation to the sovereign determined domestic reform priorities of the Article XII members and possible implications for the rules-based multilateral trading system. It is argued that the TRIPs Agreement is a minimum standards agreement, consisting of both principles and substantive obligations, with built-in flexibilities and considerable scope for interpretation and national implementation of its provisions. WTO members may deviate from these minimum standards to the extent that they benefit from longer or shorter periods of transitional relief, which may vary according to an LDC member’s status as either an original member or Article XII member. Accession-specific commitments and associated treaty dialogue also show that there is implementation ‘flexibility’ on the basis of pre-determined action plans. The chapter finds that, in those instances where Article XII LDCs members have undertaken legally binding commitments to implement WTO-plus obligations, the substantive minimum standards of protection of the TRIPs Agreement have been increased. These WTO-plus binding commitments have been used to ‘lock in’ domestic institutional and structural reforms, based on domestic development priorities to encourage innovation and attraction of foreign direct investment, and they have served a domestic reform purpose to encourage innovation, induce foreign direct investment and strengthen the TRIPs Agreement by increasing substantive minimum standards.
Redistribution policies in a globalized world
Does the process of economic globalization curtail the capacity of national governments to pursue autonomous economic policies at home? Does the growing cross-border mobility of factors (and its associated threat of capital flight) discipline governments and limit the level of taxes and of public spending? Is economic integration inimical to redistribution at home? If trade and financial liberalization lead to higher levels of within-country inequality (or, at least, the emergence of economic sectors that bear significant economic losses), can states develop economically sustainable policies to compensate those made worse off by trade reforms? In fact, are there any particular policies that can make economic globalization and fair social policies at home (designed to share the gains from trade) compatible?
Remerciements et Avertissement
Le Rapport sur le commerce mondial 2017 a été établi sous la responsabilité générale de Xiaozhun Yi, Directeur général adjoint de l’OMC, et de Robert Koopman, Directeur de la Division de la recherche économique et des statistiques. Cette année, la rédaction du rapport a été coordonnée par Marc Bacchetta et José-Antonio Monteiro. Les auteurs du rapport sont Marc Bacchetta, Cosimo Beverelli, John Hancock, Mark Koulen, Viktor Kummritz, José-Antonio Monteiro, Roberta Piermartini, Stela Rubinova et Robert Teh (Division de la recherche économique et des statistiques).
Executive summary
More than two-thirds of world trade occurs through global value chains (GVCs), in which production crosses at least one border, and typically many borders, before final assembly. The phenomenal growth in GVC-related trade has translated into significant economic growth in many countries across the globe over the last two decades, fueled by reductions in transportation and communication costs and declining trade barriers. But, at the same time, it has contributed to distributional effects that mean that the benefits of trade have not always accrued to all, which has, at least in part, been a driver in the backlash against globalization and the rise of protectionism and threats to global and regional trade agreements. In addition, new technological developments such as robotics, big data, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are beginning to reshape and further transform GVCs. This second GVC development report takes stock of the recent evolution of GVC trade in light of these developments.
Acknowledgements
This report was jointly prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The crisis, policy reactions and attitudes to globalization and jobs
This chapter considers the effects of the financial crisis and subsequent recession on world labour markets. It begins by cataloguing the adverse effects on output of the sudden collapse in demand brought about by the financial crisis in what has come to be called the Great Recession. Next we look at the labour market and how employment and unemployment have been impacted and document the very different responses by country. We then move on to look at attitudinal indicators of the impact of the rising levels of joblessness that we observe across most OECD countries. We examine data on well-being and on attitudes to employment. We also examine a number of questions about the impact of globalization that respondents across many European countries were asked in 2008 and 2010. Finally, we examine the policy responses of governments, and consider what lessons might be learned from the marked differences in labour market outcomes following the recession.
Selected medium-term developments
International trade in fuels and pharmaceuticals has expanded at above-average rates in recent years, affecting the structure of global merchandise trade flows. These developments are examined here.
Avant-propos du Directeur Général
Au cours des derniers mois, le commerce a subi une contraction sans précédent depuis les années 30 par suite du ralentissement spectaculaire de l’économie mondiale provoqué avant tout par l’effondrement d’établissements financiers de premier plan. La croissance du commerce sera fortement négative cette année et il ne faut pas s’attendre à une reprise soutenue de l’économie avant 2010. Cette conjoncture défavorable met à rude épreuve l’ingéniosité politique des gouvernements de tous les pays et leur volonté de faire cause commune pour relever des défis partagés dans ce monde interdépendant. Une coopération internationale effective et des marchés ouverts sont aujourd’hui plus indispensables que jamais.
Avertissement
Le Rapport sur le commerce mondial et les opinions qui y sont exprimées relèvent de la seule responsabilité du Secrétariat de l’OMC. Ils ne prétendent pas refléter les vues des Membres de l’OMC. Les principaux auteurs du rapport souhaitent aussi exonérer ceux qui les ont aidés par leurs commentaires de toute responsabilité quant à d’éventuelles erreurs ou omissions.
Prólogo
El informe sobre el Comercio Mundial 2004 es 13 segunda publicación 3nual efe la nueva serle de 13 Secretarla de I3 OMC. Cerro ndipje el ano pasado, el informe sobre el Comercio Mundial trata de proporcionar al público la información necesaria para comprender mer los protlemas que actualmente se plantean en la esfera de 13 política comercial y contribur así a que se examinen con mayor conocimiento de C3 usa las opciones con qje se enfrentan los gobiernos. AJ igual que el año pasado, el informe empieza con un examen de la e.'clucicn reciente del comercio mundial. A ccntinjacion figuran tres ensayos mas breves: sotre preferencias comerciales, el movimiento temporal de personas físicas y las indicaciones geográficas. El tema principal del informe es este ano 13 coherencia.
Trade Reform, Managers, and Skill Intensity: Evidence from India
International trade economists have long been interested in understanding the distributional implications of globalization or trade liberalization or product market competition. One of the crucial aspects of such distributional effects, which have received a lot of attention, especially from the 1990s onward, is how such forces divide the labor pie into skilled (or nonproduction) and unskilled (or production) workers. In other words, does an increase in trade participation or exposure to international markets result in an increase in returns for skilled or less skilled workers?
WTO accession and accession to the Agreement on Government Procurement: What is the relationship? Why should WTO acceding governments also consider GPA accession?
The WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is unique in its duality as an international trade agreement that promotes and preserves market opening and as an instrument for the promotion of good governance. The recent successful renegotiation of the GPA has enhanced its coverage so that it now provides access to markets valued at US$1.7 trillion annually. In addition, the text of the GPA has been effectively modernised, making it more relevant, economically, and simplifying its implementation. Although not a substitute for domestic procurement reforms, it is a catalytic and reinforcing factor for reforms that enhance transparency and competition internally – thereby yielding important gains for governments and citizens in terms of value for money in national procurement activities. Participation in the GPA can also promote inward foreign direct investment by signalling a country’s commitment to good governance and the fair treatment of all players under national legislation. The review in this chapter of the evidence from WTO and GPA accessions indicates that the WTO accession negotiations of Article XII members are often used to leverage increased GPA accessions. Specifically, of the members that have acceded to the WTO pursuant to Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO (WTO Agreement), twenty-two have undertaken GPA-related commitments, and seven subsequently joined the GPA. Out of the ten WTO members that are currently seeking accession to the GPA, nine undertook commitments related to GPA accession at the time of their WTO accessions, pursuant to Article XII of the WTO Agreement. The chapter concludes that, even though WTO accession and GPA accession are formally separate steps, the basic policy decision as to whether to join the GPA is often made long before GPA accession negotiations are started, at the time of WTO accession. This chapter provides countries and other WTO members considering taking on accession commitments with a strengthened understanding of the relevant benefits and costs.
La función del comercio y la política comercial en el proceso de desarrollo
Desde sus comienzos, el sistema internacional de comercio ha estado configurado por una mezcla de principios y pragmatismo. Las relaciones comerciales no pueden determinarse exclusivamente sobre la base de simples principios puros definidos y acordados en los comienzos. En la determinación de las posiciones adoptadas por los gobiernos intervienen inevitablemente consideraciones prácticas y políticas y expresiones particulares del interés nacional. Algunos comentaristas reflejan esa realidad cuando se refieren a una medida o un enfoque de política del gobierno como “mala economía pero buena política”. Sin embargo, gran parte de la fuerza y del éxito histórico del sistema multilateral de comercio ha residido en la disposición de los gobiernos a comprometerse previamente a observar una serie de principios y normas, sostenidos por disposiciones vinculantes para la solución de las diferencias comerciales.
A Dynamic System
Methods of production and processing, as well as the paths that food travels along from farm to fork, are continuously evolving. The standards world must be ready to adjust to ensure that food trade can continue to flow smoothly. Stakeholders will need to be prepared, able to pick up the signals that change is taking place and to steer their national frameworks accordingly.
Innovation policy, trade and the digital challenge
This section focuses on innovation policy and discusses its economic rationales and impact on innovation. For innovation to take place, new knowledge has to be created through investment in research and it then diffuses through the education system or publications, patents and interchange of ideas. When firms or governments instigate technological progress by using this knowledge, or its embodiments via inventions, to change processes, behaviours or technologies, economic growth may be affected, depending on a number of variables. Within any country, the diffusion of new technology depends on institutions, the level of economic openness and investment in education and research.
Aperçu général
Le présent rapport a pour but d’améliorer la compréhension des effets du commerce et des politiques commerciales sur l’égalité hommesfemmes, et de fournir aux responsables politiques des données attestant les avantages du commerce pour les femmes, ainsi que des solutions possibles. Le cadre conceptuel retenu montre les différents canaux de transmission par lesquels le commerce et les politiques commerciales peuvent avoir une incidence sur les femmes, dans trois rôles économiques clés: le travail, la consommation et la prise de décisions. Le rapport rassemble et analyse également de nouvelles données1 pour montrer l’impact différencié du commerce et des politiques commerciales sur les femmes et les hommes – en termes de rémunération, de consommation et de bien-être, ainsi que de qualité et de quantité d’emplois disponibles. Une nouvelle analyse empirique fondée sur ces données donne à penser que l’expansion du commerce peut inciter les pays à améliorer les droits des femmes et à accroître leur participation à l’économie.
Trade policy commitments and contingency measure
Trade agreements define rules for the conduct of trade policy. These rules must strike a balance between commitments and flexibility. Too much flexibility may undermine the value of commitments, but too little f lexibility may render the rules politically unsustainable. This tension between credible commitments and flexibility is often close to the surface during trade negotiations. For example, the question of a “special safeguard mechanism” (the extent to which developing countries would be allowed to protect farmers from import surges) was crucial in the discussion of the July 2008 mini-ministerial meeting, which sought to agree negotiating modalities – or a final blueprint – for agriculture and non-agricultural market access (NAMA).
Conclusion
The key issue for MSME financing is risk assessment, and more specifically, how to better assess the risk potential of companies that lack a long credit history. Technological tools and data-driven solutions enable firms to approach this process from a new angle. They make it possible to harness a bigger pool of data to provide greater visibility into firms’ operations and creditworthiness. Rather than a backward-looking approach to risk assessment, as in the past, data can now allow financiers to make risk assessments a real-time process.
Notes techniques
Les Membres de l’OMC sont souvent désignés sous le nom de « pays », bien que certains ne soient pas des pays au sens habituel du terme mais, officiellement, des « territoires douaniers ». La définition des groupements géographiques ou autres, dans le présent rapport, n’implique de la part du Secrétariat aucune prise de position quant au statut d’un pays ou territoire, au tracé de ses frontières ou aux droits et obligations des Membres de l’OMC dans le cadre des Accords de l’OMC. Les couleurs, tracés de frontières, dénominations et classifications figurant dans les cartes n’impliquent, de la part de l’OMC, aucun jugement quant au statut juridique ou autre d’un territoire, ni la reconnaissance ou l’acceptation d’un tracé de frontières.
Are the “Poor” Getting Globalised?
Globalization is under fire. Public perceptions and recent policy debates increasingly appear to indicate that trade liberalization has been accompanied by rising income inequality in developed and developing economies. The fact that trade liberalization creates both winners and losers has never been in question. While international trade enhances economic growth in the aggregate, the distribution of its benefits may vary by income group, location, gender, and the formal-informal divide.
Conclusions
This report has addressed four fundamental issues relating to natural resources trade. The first is how key economic features of natural resources and the manner of their exchange influence patterns of trade for this class of goods. Second, we have examined how far the absence of trade barriers provides an efficient mechanism for ensuring access to natural resources and their long-run sustainability. The third issue concerns the incentives that governments face in setting trade policy in natural resource sectors and the consequences of this incentive structure. Finally, the report has considered how international cooperation affects the management of trade in natural resources, with particular emphasis on the role of the WTO.
Regulatory impact analysis: Addressing the trade and regulatory nexus
The potential for productivity growth to generate higher incomes makes it a natural and important consideration for decision-makers. Productivity is the only driver of income growth that is unlimited, as opposed to resource exploitation or increases in population and labour force participation, each of which faces natural limits. The continuing need to stimulate productivity growth rightly remains at the forefront of government policy, and is a key priority of the Australian government.
Notas técnicas
Con frecuencia se utiliza el término “países” para hacer referencia a los Miembros de la OMC, a pesar de que algunos Miembros no son países en el sentido usual del término, sino que se trata oficialmente de “territorios aduaneros”. La definición de los grupos geográficos y de otro tipo empleada en el presente informe no implica la expresión de opinión alguna por parte de la Secretaría de la OMC sobre la condición jurídica de ningún país o territorio, sobre la delimitación de sus fronteras ni sobre los derechos y obligaciones de ningún Miembro de la OMC respecto de los Acuerdos de la OMC. Los colores, fronteras, denominaciones y clasificaciones que figuran en los mapas de la presente publicación no implican, por parte de la OMC, ningún juicio sobre la condición jurídica o de otra índole de ningún territorio, ni constituyen una aprobación o aceptación de ninguna frontera.
WTO Rules, Accession Protocols and Mega-Regionals: Complementarity and Governance in the Rules-Based Global Economy
Over the past twenty years, the rules-based global economy has been subject to a dynamic process of transformation. The trading environment has been characterized by shifts in the balance of economic power, emerging structures and rapid changes in global and regional alliances. Since its establishment in 1995, the WTO has sought to adapt to these global trends. The 2017 Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), the 2015 Nairobi Decisions on Agriculture, the 2015 expansion of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and twenty years of cumulative WTO accessions acquis are all part of this process of constant adaptation by the WTO to a rapidly changing environment. However, after the Seattle Ministerial meeting in 1999, free trade agreements (FTAs) and regional trade agreements (RTAs) mushroomed. The 'spaghetti-bowl’ consequences and the continuing proliferation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and counter-PTAs have created challenges and opportunities for the rules-based multilateral trading system. Several questions have been raised, revolving around the compatibility and the discriminatory and trade diversion effects of such agreements. Are these agreements building blocks or stumbling blocks for the multilateral trading system? Moreover, the emergence of mega-regional RTAs (MRTAs), in particular the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), have called into question, in some quarters, the power and relevance of the WTO at large. This chapter examines the core question of whether mega-regionalism (and FTAs by implication) poses an existential risk to the multilateral trading system and argues that the answer is ‘no’. The negotiating results from FTAs, including in their mega-regional forms, and trade multilateralism can coexist in a constructive, healthy and competitive relationship and both are essential for the governance of the multipolar twenty-first-century global economy. To substantiate this conclusion, the chapter reviews the WTO accessions acquis and compares it to the provisions of the TPP, without pre-judging its future. The comparative analysis is conducted across several areas: market access; trade rules (bilateral/plurilateral/multilateral); trade negotiations as an instrument for domestic reforms; and discriminatory effects. The results of the analysis point to areas of significant complementarity and mutual supportiveness between WTO accession acquis and the TPP, and different degrees of trade liberalization in certain sectors. The accessions acquis demonstrates a process of mutually supportive coexistence between bilateral and plurilateral negotiations and the multilateral legal and policy framework of the WTO. The scope and quality of accession negotiations results are comparable to results from PTAs, including MRTAs, and go further to show greater robustness and durability.
Le programme de Doha pour le développement
L’un des objectifs sous-jacents de l’OMC est de promouvoir le développement économique par une participation effective au commerce mondial. Trois aspects de la structure et des règles de l’OMC sont pertinents s’agissant de la manière dont les pays en développement peuvent tirer davantage profit de leur participation au système commercial. Premièrement, les règles elles-mêmes, avec les exceptions autorisées et leurs interprétations, sont le fondement du système et jouent un rôle clé pour déterminer les conditions et possibilités d’échange. Deuxièmement se pose la question de la couverture du système. Il n’existe pas d’exemple de questions dont l’OMC se serait saisie et qu’elle aurait écartées; il s’agit donc ici de l’inclusion de nouveaux domaines. Troisièmement, le type de protection auquel se heurtent les exportations d’un pays contribue aussi pour beaucoup à définir les conditions et les possibilités d’échanges. En résumé, la nature des règles de l’OMC, leur portée et les conditions d’accès aux marchés sont les trois grands domaines qui déterminent la qualité et l’utilité de l’OMC pour ses Membres. Comme il fallait s’y attendre, chacun de ces trois aspects occupe une place importante dans le Programme de Doha pour le développement.
The 2013 WTO accession of Lao PDR: Specific commitments and the integration of leastdeveloped countries into the global economy
When Lao PDR applied for membership of the WTO in 1997, it used the WTO accession process as a tool to implement its decision to establish a market economy and fully integrate into the world economy. Although at the outset market access was not considered to be the principal benefit to be derived from WTO accession, Lao PDR was aware that WTO membership would give its economy additional security and predictability. WTO accession negotiations allowed Lao PDR to apply international best practices and to align its trade policy with the principles of nondiscrimination and transparency. Adaptation to international trade requirements is a longer-term challenge, and post-accession challenges remain, but the benefits are significant and worthwhile.
Las tecnologías digitales y sus efectos económicos en el comercio
En esta sección se estudia la transformación del comercio internacional que se está produciendo debido a las nuevas tecnologías, que están creando nuevas oportunidades para conseguir un sistema de comercio más inclusivo y están planteando nuevos desafíos. Al comienzo de la sección se examina la influencia de las tecnologías digitales en los costos del comercio internacional. A continuación, se analizan los cambios que las tecnologías digitales causan en la naturaleza de los intercambios, en la forma en que se lleva a cabo el comercio y en los agentes y el contenido del comercio. Por último, se cuantifican las posibles repercusiones de algunas tendencias importantes en el desarrollo tecnológico, y se formulan proyecciones a largo plazo sobre el comercio internacional empleando el Modelo de Comercio Mundial de la OMC.
Algunos acontecimientos y cuestiones comerciales
El Acuerdo sobre los Textiles y el Vestido (ATV) expiró el 1º de enero de 2005. Se manifestó gran interés, así como inquietud en las repercusiones que la eliminación de las restricciones contingentarias podría tener para la producción y el comercio. Era evidente para la mayoría de los observadores que habría quienes saldrían ganando gracias a la liberalización adicional en tanto que otros saldrían perdiendo. Es demasiado pronto para decir cómo será el mercado después del período relativamente breve en que podemos basar nuestras observaciones, pero en esta nota se examina lo que sabemos hasta ahora de la estructura del comercio desde que se eliminaron (buena parte de) las restricciones cuantitativas. Hay que hacer una salvedad: no cabe duda de que la expiración del ATV influyó en la estructura del comercio observada en 2005, pero no hemos elaborado un enfoque analítico riguroso para examinar los demás factores que también podrían influir en ella.
Recent Trends in Global Value Chains
The last few years have been challenging for globalization. While the world has benefited from the fragmented networks of production-sharing known as global value chains (GVCs), concerns are being raised over their risks. Chapter 1 of the Global Value Chain Development Report 2019 pointed to a rise in protectionism in general and a brewing trade conflict between the United States (US) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in particular. More obstacles have since emerged from the sudden and simultaneous closure of borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic that exposed vulnerabilities in some supply chains, rattling policymakers (Chapter 5). Despite these challenges, GVCs—for supporters and detractors alike—remain a reality that cannot be ignored. Indeed, the very vaccines crucial to ending the COVID-19 pandemic rely on multinational partnerships for the over 200 components that go into them (Irwin 2021).
Resumen
El Informe del Comercio Mundial 2006 comienza con un breve resumen de las tendencias más destacadas del comercio internacional, basado en un Informe anterior de la Secretaría publicado en el mes de abril. También ofrecemos breves comentarios analíticos sobre algunas cuestiones comerciales de actualidad, que este año se refieren a las recientes tendencias en el comercio de los textiles y el vestido, un examen de la evolución de los pagos internacionales de regalías y derechos, la evolución del comercio de los países menos adelantados y un análisis de los efectos de los desastres naturales y los actos de terrorismo sobre las corrientes comerciales internacionales. El tema básico del análisis que se aborda en el Informe del Comercio Mundial 2006 es el de las subvenciones. En el Informe se examina esta esfera de políticas y se estudia la manera en que se definen las subvenciones, qué es lo que puede decir la teoría económica acerca de ellas, por qué los gobiernos las utilizan, cuáles son los principales sectores en los que se aplican las subvenciones y la función del Acuerdo sobre la OMC en la regulación de las subvenciones en el contexto del comercio internacional.
Multilateralizing regionalism: Lessons from the EU experience in relaxing rules of origin
Over the last fifteen years or so the world trading system has witnessed the dramatic emergence and rise of regional or preferential trading agreements (RTAs/PTAs). This appears to be a significant shift away from the principle of multilateralism that the world trading system has been built around since the Second World War. There are a number of posited reasons for this emergence of regionalism, which between them suggest that liberalizing trade regionally rather than multilaterally may be easier to achieve, and that regional agreements may be able to ‘reach the parts that multilateralism cannot reach’ – i.e. that they might be able to go significantly further in key policy areas.
What do we know about skills and trade?
The level of skills of a country’s workforce can influence its comparative advantage. One theory of comparative advantage, predicts that countries endowed with more skilled labour would be likely to specialize in the production and export of relatively more skill-intensive products. The dispersion of skill levels also affects countries’ comparative advantage.
South Africa
Trade policy-making is a complex affair. In all countries a host of factors influence the outcome, with the mix varying according to domestic circumstances and the relationship of the country concerned with the global economy. As the introductory chapter of this book attests, strictly state-centric explanations regarding how trade policy decisions are made are no longer sufficient in a world where international trade negotiations increasingly impinge on domestic policies. Therefore, a nuanced understanding of how trade policy is made is required, and must interrogate the roles of non-state actors (NSAs), institutions and ideas, and their interactions with each other, in shaping preferences and policy.
Conclusion
Ce rapport se proposait de couvrir un vaste domaine. Le résumé analytique sur lequel il s’ouvre expose les grandes lignes des principaux secteurs abordés et les observations essentielles faites sur chacun d’eux. Un document de ce type est, en soi, un résumé de questions complexes et doit s’appuyer largement sur d’autres travaux analytiques plus approfondis, auxquels il a été fait référence dans le corps du texte. Beaucoup des questions évoquées ici sont des «cibles mouvantes», en particulier lorsqu’elles concernent des domaines où les Membres de l’OMC font en permanence des choix stratégiques qui influent sur les résultats des discussions et sont activement engagés dans une négociation commerciale d’envergure.
¿Pueden las cadenas de bloques revolucionar el comercio internacional?
Son muchos los titulares en los que se sostiene que la cadena de bloques puede revolucionar diversas esferas del comercio internacional, desde la financiación del comercio hasta los procedimientos aduaneros y la propiedad intelectual. El carácter transparente, descentralizado e inalterable de la cadena de bloques ha despertado el interés de los agentes privados -y de los Gobiernos- en explorar las posibilidades que ofrece esta tecnología para mejorar la eficiencia de los procesos comerciales, por lo que ya se han realizado multitud de estudios de viabilidad y proyectos piloto utilizando la cadena de bloques en prácticamente todos los ámbitos del comercio internacional.
The ITA and the international digital economy
Over the past 20 years, the ITA has led to the wider use of new technology by cutting the costs of key ICT goods. The ITA expansion further opens up trade on 201 new-generation IT products and technology.
One-page case summaries
A one-page case summary is devoted to each of the 316 GATT disputes identified by this publication.
¿Cómo prepararse para la transformación del comercio asociada a la tecnología?
En la presente sección examinamos cómo puede la cooperación comercial internacional ayudar a los Gobiernos de todo el mundo a aprovechar las tecnologías digitales y las nuevas oportunidades comerciales que estas generarán tanto para las empresas grandes como para las pequeñas. En la sección D.1 se resumen las principales oportunidades y retos asociados a la expansión del comercio electrónico. En la sección D.2 se ofrecen ejemplos de políticas que aplican los Gobiernos para explotar esas oportunidades y abordar esos retos. Por último, en la sección D.3 se analiza en qué medida (y de qué manera) puede la cooperación internacional ayudar a los Gobiernos a explotar los beneficios derivados del comercio electrónico y a afrontar los retos, sin renunciar al logro de sus objetivos de política pública actuales y futuros.
Aid for Trade and export diversification: The case of Barbados
Although Morocco is one of the main beneficiaries of Aid for Trade (AFT) – the first in the Maghreb and among the top ten in the world – researchers and national academic experts have not shown much interest in it.
Acknowledgements
The editors would like to extend their thanks to the participants of the ILO/WTO workshop on research in global trade and employment in Geneva, October 2009, for contributing to shaping this project, and to the four anonymous referees for their helpful comments. Thanks also go to David Cheong for his editorial and research assistance.
Post-Accession Support Platform
WTO obligations, including notification requirements, and specific accession commitments are complex. Most of them become effective from the date of WTO membership. From a centralized accession process, new members now suddenly have to adapt to a decentralized WTO procedures and participate in parallel in its multiple bodies. The twenty years of post-accession experience of Article XII members suggests that many, especially least-developed countries (LDCs), have faced major implementation challenges until a system of post-accession support was introduced recently. This chapter reviews the Post-Accession Support Platform (PASP), a framework developed by the WTO Secretariat to facilitate the transition from acceding economy to full-fledged WTO member. The PASP offers individual post-accession implementation strategies, technical assistance and capacity-building, best international practices, a dedicated website and internal Secretariat procedures that can be used to support new WTO members. The chapter reviews the use of the PASP by two recently acceded LDCs – Afghanistan and Liberia – and finds early signs of improved effectiveness in the WTO post-accession transition process.
Multilateralizing Regionalism
Regional trade agreements (RTAs) have proliferated around the world in the past two decades, and now virtually all the members of the WTO are party to at least one. Besides tariffs and rules of origin regulating trade in goods, many RTAs now include provisions on services, investment, technical barriers to trade and competition rules, as well as a host of issues not directly related to trade. The geograph-ical reach of RTAs is expanding, with transcontinental agreements spreading forcefully alongside intraregional agreements.
Appendice statistique
La définition des ressources naturelles donnée dans la sous-section 1 est suffisante pour bon nombre d’analyses, mais une définition statistique plus précise est nécessaire pour traiter de façon cohérente les données sur les flux commerciaux, analysées dans la sous-section 2. Dans le cas des produits non exportés, une conception plus large des ressources naturelles est nécessaire. Cet appendice donne des précisions sur les différentes définitions possibles des ressources naturelles, puis présente des tableaux récapitulatifs du commerce par pays, ainsi que des cartes illustrant divers aspects de l’offre et du commerce des ressources naturelles.
Conclusions
Dans le présent Rapport, nous avons examiné quatre questions fondamentales relatives au commerce des ressources naturelles. Nous avons d’abord étudié comment les principales caractéristiques économiques des ressources naturelles et la manière dont elles sont échangées influent sur la structure du commerce des produits de cette catégorie. Nous avons ensuite examiné dans quelle mesure l’absence d’obstacles au commerce est un moyen efficace d’assurer l’accès aux ressources naturelles et leur durabilité à long terme. Puis nous avons analysé les incitations qui s’offrent aux gouvernements dans l’élaboration de la politique commerciale dans le secteur des ressources naturelles et les conséquences de ces incitations. Enfin, nous nous sommes demandés comment la coopération internationale influe sur la gestion du commerce des ressources naturelles, en mettant plus particulièrement l’accent sur le rôle de l’OMC.
Coherence
The starting point for this study is that appropriately designed and sequenced trade liberalization measures and a well crafted set of trade rules can make a positive contribution to growth and development. But the extent of that contribution also depends on other policies. The notion of coherence has been deployed in this study to characterize a situation in which relevant policies are pulling together in the same direction. In a world of multiple policy objectives and priorities, and one where no consensus exists on the ideal policy set, the concept of coherence cannot be given operational precision – rather, it is indicative of the reality that policies are inter-dependent, and that poor policy or neglect in one area can undermine the efficacy of efforts in another. Coherence cannot be uniquely defined unless a set of policy objectives is formally established and the objectives ranked in terms of priorities that indicate how trade-offs are to be made when these are necessary. A precise specification of a fully coherent policy set would also identify the exact nature and timing of all relevant government interventions. Any such undertaking is well beyond the scope of this study. Instead, coherence in this context simply refers to the idea that mutually supportive approaches in related areas of policy are likely to produce greater harmony between intent and outcome. Coherence as discussed here is a matter of degree, and more coherence means that the benefits of sound trade policies are greater than they would be without supportive policies in other areas.
Globalization, Flexicurity and Adult Vocational Training in Denmark
For more than 20 years, the performance of the Danish labour market has attracted attention, with its relatively low unemployment rates and high but rather compressed wages. While Denmark was hit hard by the global financial crisis a decade ago, the unemployment rate did not exceed 8 per cent and it remained below the OECD average. Denmark is a small, open economy, and the Danish labour market has been exposed to globalization shocks and technological change over the same period of time. Offshoring, rising Chinese import competition, automation and immigration have forced many Danish firms and workers to adjust, but the labour market appears to have coped well with the adjustment process. This chapter discusses whether Danish labour market policies have been particularly effective in times of structural change.
Globalization, structural change and productivity growth
One of the earliest and most central insights of the literature on economic development is that development entails structural change. The countries that manage to pull themselves out of poverty and get richer are those that are able to diversify away from agriculture and other traditional products. As labour and other resources move from agriculture into modern economic activities, overall productivity rises and incomes expand. The speed with which this structural transformation takes place is the key factor that differentiates successful countries from unsuccessful ones.
Managing the challenge of acceding post-conflict states
This chapter posits that leaving WTO accession in the hands of trade experts or commercial specialists within the acceding government can be unwise. Accession to the WTO goes far beyond the remit of the trade, commerce and/or foreign ministry, and even beyond the responsibilities of the minister. In order to conclude an accession, what is required of the acceding government will involve many, if not most, ministries, call upon governmental agencies and other authorities and may very well include both regional and municipal levels of government. The acceding government must expect to make hard policy choices. Poorer developing countries are likely to come across particular challenges and solutions. Given the demanding nature of this process, it is important that the acceding government is entirely convinced, before embarking upon the process, that it has the right motivations and expectations in wishing to become a member of the WTO.
Exporting, Importing and Wages in Africa: Evidence from Matched Employer-Employee data
The economic and social development of the African continent has been on the agenda of policy makers and the international community for decades. With over a billion inhabitants and the fastest growing population worldwide, the African market presents an enormous potential. Despite remarkable economic growth rates, however, many countries on the continent struggle to translate this potential into significant improvements in socio-economic indicators. International trade is considered by many as one of the main contributors to reductions in poverty and the improvement of livelihoods (Dollar and Kraay, 2004; Le Goff and Singh, 2014). This stance has been adopted in global policy making, with trade forming an integral part of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda of the United Nations. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) include the objective to double the share of least developed countries’ (LDC) exports in global exports by 2020. Thirty-four of the 48 LDCs are located on the African continent, implying that this endeavor is particularly relevant for Africa.
Acknowledgments
Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Gender Equality is a joint report by the World Bank and the World Trade Organization (WTO). Maria Liungman and Nadia Rocha from the World Bank and José-Antonio Monteiro and Roberta Piermartini from the WTO coordinated the report. The team is grateful for the guidance and support of our World Bank colleaguesCaroline Freund, Global Director, Trade, Investment and Competitiveness; William Maloney, Chief Economist for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions; the World Bank gender group under the leadership of Caren Grown, Global Director Gender; and Antonio Nucifora, Practice Manager Trade and Regional Integration Unitand our WTO colleagues Aegyoung Jung, Chief Legal Advisor to the Director-General; and Robert Koopman, Chief Economist and Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division.
WTO accessions: What does the academic literature say?
This chapter takes stock of the recent academic literature on accessions. It focuses only on the analytical work published since 2000 in books, academic journals and working papers by key WTO scholars across the world. These contributions are related to the procedural, legal, economic and institutional aspects of WTO accessions, and to the proposals for their reform. Country-specific studies, research on the impact of accessions on individual industries and reports on accessions by national and international institutions are not included.
Remerciements et avertissement
Le Rapport sur le commerce mondial 2018 a été établi sous la responsabilité générale de Xiaozhun Yi, Directeur général adjoint de l’OMC, et de Robert Koopman, Directeur de la Division de la recherche économique et des statistiques. Cette année, la rédaction du rapport a été coordonnée par Cosimo Beverelli et Emmanuelle Ganne. Les auteurs du rapport sont Marc Bacchetta, Eddy Bekkers, Cosimo Beverelli, Emmanuelle Ganne, John Hancock, Mark Koulen, Andreas Maurer, José-Antonio Monteiro, Coleman Nee, Roberta Piermartini, Stela Rubinova, Viktor Stolzenburg, Robert Teh et Ankai Xu (Division de la recherche économique et des statistiques).
International cooperation on innovation policies in the digital age
National innovation policies, like other government policies, serve domestic policy objectives. As discussed in Section C, they can generate both positive and negative international spill-over effects, and some of the mechanisms through which they generate spillovers involve trade. This section focuses on cooperation aimed at addressing the trade-related international spill-overs from innovation policies. Such cooperation could help to ensure that governments have the policy space to pursue innovation policies, and could help to maximize the positive international spill-overs of such policies, while minimizing their negative effects on trading partners.
Comment se préparer à la transformation du commerce induite par la technologie?
La présente section examine comment la coopération commerciale internationale peut aider les gouvernements du monde entier à exploiter les technologies numériques et à saisir les nouvelles possibilités commerciales qu’elles créeront pour les entreprises, grandes et petites. La section D.1 résume les principales possibilités et les principaux défis qui découlent de l’expansion du commerce numérique. La section D.2 donne des exemples des politiques mises en place par les gouvernements pour tirer parti de ces possibilités et relever ces défis. La section D.3 examine ensuite la question de savoir si et comment la coopération internationale peut aider les gouvernements à bénéficier des gains du commerce numérique, à faire face aux défis et, en même temps, à atteindre leurs objectifs de politique publique aujourd’hui et dans l’avenir.
Prólogo
El Informe sobre el Comercio Mundial es una nueva publicación anual de la Secretaría de la OMC. En este Informe se examinarán cada año las tendencias del comercio en el mundo y se abordarán cuestiones importantes relacionadas con el sistema de comercio internacional. Además de seguir de cerca e interpretar la evolución del comercio, se tratará de proporcionar al público la información necesaria para comprender mejor los problemas normativos que se plantean en la actualidad. No se pretende analizar de manera exhaustiva cuestiones complejas y multifacéticas que se siguen debatiendo a nivel de los gobiernos y de la sociedad. Se trata más bien de explicar el origen de los problemas y ofrecer un marco analítico para abordarlos, a fin de contribuir a un examen más razonado y a una mejor apreciación de distintas opciones para resolverlos.
Los recursos naturales, la cooperación internacional y la reglamentación del comercio
En la presente sección se examina la reglamentación internacional del comercio de recursos naturales. Primero, se hace una exposición general del marco jurídico de la OMC y un breve examen del encaje de los recursos naturales en ese marco. En esta sección no se pretende hacer un estudio exhaustivo de todas las normas de la OMC que puedan estar relacionadas con el comercio de recursos naturales, sino sólo de aquellas que sean especialmente pertinentes para este tipo de comercio, considerando si responden a las características más destacadas de los sectores de recursos naturales, y en qué medida. En esta sección también figura una selección de acuerdos internacionales que reglamentan el comercio de recursos naturales y un examen de su relación con las disciplinas de la OMC. Por último se tratan en particular cierto número de cuestiones planteadas en este sector que son o podrían ser pertinentes para la cooperación internacional y el sistema multilateral de comercio.
Preface
Global value chains (GVCs) have brought about revolutionary changes in international trade, industrialization, and economic development. The GVC story is still rapidly unfolding, as vividly demonstrated by the supply chain crisis, particularly for semiconductors and other components, that broke out during the COVID-19 pandemic, causing further anxiety. But beyond what is hoped will be a short-term tremor, a radical shift in these chains is underway as more of them move beyond traditional production processes to encompass services and other intangible assets. In recognition of this, Beyond Production is the theme of the Global Value Chain Development Report 2021, the third report in this biennial series. The most significant feature of this “second unbundling” associated with the proliferation of GVCs in the world economy is the separation between production and nonproduction tasks. So, looking at GVCs not just in terms of manufacturing production but also from the perspective of their beyondproduction components, such as intangible assets, digital platforms, and intellectual property, can deepen our understanding of the critical role of GVCs in the global economy.
Governments, Non-State Actors and Trade Policy-Making
One of the most pressing issues confronting the multilateral trade system is the challenge posed by the rapid proliferation of preferential trade agreements. Much has been written about why governments might choose to negotiate preferentially or multilaterally, but until now it has been written almost exclusively from the perspective of governments. We know very little about how non-state actors view this issue of ‘forum choice’, or how they position themselves to influence choices by governments about whether to emphasize PTAs or the WTO.
Foreword
This volume is a joint project of the International Labour Office and the Secretariat of the World Trade Organization. The International Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation provided funding, for which we would like to express our appreciation. This work follows up on two prior joint publications by the ILO and the WTO Secretariats – a review of the literature on trade and employment in 2007 and a report on the linkages between trade and informal employment in 2009.
Executive summary
This publication explains how international food safety standards are set through the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) Food Standards Programme – the Codex Alimentarius Commission – and how these standards are applied in the context of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) and on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement).
Domestic regulations and India’s trade in health services: A study of hospital and telemedicine services
Estimated at US$36 billion and employing over four million people, the Indian health care sector is one of the largest service sectors in the economy today. With a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent, the Indian health care sector is expected to reach US$280 billion by 2020. A 2003 report titled India’s New Opportunity: 2020, prepared jointly by the All India Management Association, Boston Consulting Group and the Confederation of Indian Industries, predicts that over 40 million new jobs and US$200 billion increased revenues are expected to be generated by the Indian services sector by 2020, and the health care sector will play an important role in generating these jobs and revenues (AIMA/BCG 2003). Hence, this sector is predicted to grow rapidly and is seen to have considerable potential due to the growing demand for health care services in India. The reasons are many, including rising incomes, a growing propensity to spend on health care, an emergence of lifestyle-related diseases, and demographics.
Executive summary
Natural resources represent a significant and growing share of world trade, and properly managed, can provide a variety of products that contribute greatly to the quality of human life. They also present particular challenges for policy makers.
Introduction
The annual value of trade in agricultural products has grown almost three-fold over the past decade, largely in emerging economies and developing countries, reaching USD 1.7 trillion. Over the past two decades, the reduction in tariffs through global and regional trade agreements has provided greater opportunities for the expansion of global food trade. However, in order to trade internationally and access markets for high-value products, producers must be able to meet food standards. Governments apply food standards to ensure that food is safe, and meets quality and labelling requirements. The use of international food standards worldwide helps reduce trade costs by making trade more transparent and efficient, allowing food to move more smoothly between markets.
Aid for Trade and international cooperation for middle-income countries: the case of Chile
For many developing states which have experienced a substantial decline in their share of world trade and global value added, Aid for Trade (AFT) initiatives have become a critical source of support in a context where these countries suffer from both market and government failure. As such, the key issue is whether AFT programmes, as currently configured, are the right policy instrument or set of instruments to address the weak participation of developing countries in global trade and global value chains. In many regards, the problem relates to an overdependence on a narrow range of exports (e.g. agricultural and resource-based commodities and low value-added manufacturing goods and services) that are faced with declining terms of trade, tariff progressivity and diminishing economic returns (Reinert, 2007). One of the key criticisms that has emerged is that the focus of AFT donors and relevant implementing agencies has been heavily weighted on the architecture of trade support programmes and not sufficiently on industrial upgrading and enterprise development (Cirera, 2009).
The Institutional Framework
Trade can be more complicated than we think. What happens when two countries define the same product differently or if they set out different criteria to check that a product is safe? Let us think, for example, of the inconvenience as a traveller in havin 15 different types of electrical outlet plugs in the world, or the enormous infrastructure investment required for train cargo and passengers to travel across the border between two countries that have different track gauge. Then consider the benefits of being able to plug in and use a USB key with any computer worldwide or the advantages of standard cables, standard operating systems or the standard size of a credit card.
Reasonableness, impartiality and objectivity
Similar to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) imposes requirements of reasonableness and impartiality on World Trade Organization (WTO) members with respect to their administration of certain measures. This general obligation of procedural fairness offers a potentially powerful mechanism for ensuring equitable treatment for traded services and service suppliers beyond the substantive disciplines of WTO law, such as those related to discrimination. Yet, the provision has been subject to relatively little extended commentary or jurisprudence, perhaps because of an underlying concern about the sovereignty implications of WTO dispute settlement organs assessing the reasonableness of WTO members’ administration.
Trade and trade policy developments
The expansion of global output and trade gained considerable momentum in the second half of 2003 resulting in an annual average increase of world GDP and world merchandise exports of 2.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively. These changes represent stronger than expected improvements when compared with the preceding year although trade growth remained below the average rate recorded in the 1990s. These annual results were negatively affected by a combination of unusual, temporary factors and longer-term structural weaknesses in a number of major economies (in particular the state of the banking system in Japan and the labour markets in Western Europe). One of the influencing temporary factors was the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in East Asia. Although SARS remained a limited epidemic relative to malaria and the acquired immunity deficiency syndrome (AIDS), it had a dramatic short-term impact on the movement of people and on the tourism industry in the region. The build up of tensions resulting in the military conflict in Iraq weakened consumer and business confidence in many regions in the first quarter of the year. In OECD countries the composite leading (business) indicator hit its lowest level in March 2003 then displayed a trend increase from May 2003 onwards. The major stock markets showed a similar development, dropping sharply until March but recovering thereafter and then expanding sharply until the end of the year.
Preface
In the last three to four decades, government and business have been part of a far-reaching economic transformation, made possible by remarkable advances in information, communication and transport technologies. The proliferation of internationally joined-up production arrangements – that is, global supply chains – has changed our economic and political landscape in fundamental ways.
Eurasian Economic Union integration: Timetable, priorities and challenges
This chapter focuses on the objectives of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation within the multilateral trading system. The EAEU has become one of the largest trading blocs in the world, with a land area of more than 20 million square kilometres and a population of more than 176 million people. This chapter analyses the history of Eurasian integration and presents its current status, as well as the prospects of the Eurasian Economic Union for 2015.
Conclusiones
El progreso tecnológico ha moldeado siempre la estructura del sistema de comercio mundial. La tecnología no es solo un factor determinante de los costos del comercio, sino que también define qué productos se pueden comercializar a través de las fronteras e influye en las tendencias de la ventaja comparativa.
The 2012 WTO accession of Russia: Negotiating experience – challenges, opportunities and post-accession approaches
The working party on the accession of Russia was the biggest and longest in WTO accession history. A big power that decides to join an international organisation, even if this is the WTO, cannot avoid political burdens. No big country can stay apart from world politics. The WTO accession process is tough, demanding and complex, with no clear rules. This raises questions about length, fairness and lack of procedural clarity. Yet it is risky to stay outside the rules-based multilateral trading system. To navigate the WTO accession process, upfront, it is critical to define a negotiating strategy and plan the end-game well in advance – a process that requires mobilisation of all negotiating resources, concentration and focus. Domestically, the challenge for the acceding government is to state a clear rationale for accession, demonstrate that there will be real benefits from accession or at a minimum, that there will be no negative consequences, and define red lines to be defended. Negotiating positions should be aligned with requirements for domestic reform. Strong and consistent political will and leadership with support from the parliamentary majority are necessary to conclude any accession negotiations. WTO accession may, in itself, play neither a negative nor a positive role for domestic economic developments, but by becoming a member, a country will obtain benefits in the medium and long term, through the creation of better terms for its trade within the WTO itself. In this chapter, Russia’s practical experience of its accession negotiation, the obstacles encountered, its assessment of the benefits of accession, including lessons learned during the process, are described.
Résumé analytique
Le Rapport sur le commerce mondial 2009 porte essentiellement sur certaines mesures contingentes auxquelles les Membres de l’OMC peuvent recourir lors de l’ importation et de l’exportation de marchandises. Le cadre juridique de ces mesures est beaucoup moins développé dans le domaine du commerce des services, mais il est également examiné.