| International trade
|
From The World Bank Group
World Trade Indicators 2008
Benchmarking Policy and Performance
By R. Islam and G. Zanini
Tariff protection, both with and without the inclusion of preferences, has fallen
consistently in all regions and income groups from the mid-1990s to 2007, and
especially in low-income countries, where average MFN applied tariffs fell 46 percent
(10 percentage points). High-income countries, which were earlier reformers,
still have the lowest average tariffs at 6 percent compared to a developing country
average of 11 percent. Other measures, such as the World Bank’s Trade (MFN)
Tariff Restrictiveness Index (MFN TTRI), confi rm this pattern.
...But average tariffs do not reveal the whole pattern of protection. High-income countries
have higher nontariff barriers, greater tariff escalation and dispersion, and
much higher maximum tariffs than low-income countries; that is, they protect certain
sectors much more than others. Many of these protected sectors and goods are
of special interest to developing-country exporters.
...Developing country exporters face higher export hurdles at the upper
end of production than at the lower end. Most countries protect finished
goods more than unfinished goods, but tariff escalation is higher in the
high-income OECD countries than in developing countries. This pattern
is amplified in the agriculture sector...
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Notes by Róbinson Rojas - 1998
The poverty of international trade theory
Since David Ricardo's "Economic Principles" were published in 1817,
international trade theory has been based on his main tenets, even
when "fine tuned" by Heckschen, Ohlin and Samuelson (trying to build
a neo-classical framework for the theory), Leontieff and Vernon
(attempting the introduction of the concept of technology), and
Krugman (oligopoly theory). By and large, with fine tuning and all,
still the three basic assumptions of the classical trade theory are
the main conceptual structure of the model. That is, capital flows,
technology transfer and labour migration are excluded from the model.
|
Balance
of Payments Accounts: a definition
Róbinson Rojas - 1997
Structural
deficit on Balance on Payments (notes)
"Neo-classical trade theory will argue that "international prices
and costs of production determine how much a country should
trade", and, therefore, outward-looking strategies of production
are neccesary. Of course, if international prices and costs of
production are mainly the business of transnational corporations
and not domestic economies, then the neo-classical argument will
be valid only for the welfare of transnational corporations and
not the host countries".
|
From The World Bank
Global
Agricultural Trade and Developing Countries- 2005
Editors:
M. Ataman Aksoy and John C. Beghin
Agricultural
Trade Reforms Key To Reducing Poverty
WASHINGTON,
January 10, 2005 — With almost 70 percent of the poor people in
developing countries living in rural areas, agricultural sector
reforms - in particular global trade liberalization - will be
crucial in giving them opportunities for better lives, according to
a new World Bank report released today.
The report, Global Agricultural Trade and Developing
Countries, edited by M. Ataman Aksoy and John C. Beghin,
notes that despite the recent framework agreement in Geneva,
agricultural protection continues to be among the most contentious
issues in global trade negotiations. High protection of agriculture
in industrial countries was the main cause of the breakdown of the
Cancún Ministerial Meetings in 2003, and remains among the key
outstanding issues in the Doha Round of global trade negotiations.
|
The neoliberal
point of view
Freer Trade?
Special Edition, December 2005 Web Exclusive
Sixty years of multilateral trade negotiations have resulted in ever-lower barriers and
ever-higher economic growth worldwide. There is still a chance that the Doha Round —
the current series of trade talks — could continue this pattern, but on the verge of
the WTO's Hong Kong ministerial meeting, the prospects do not look good. In this special
edition of Foreign Affairs, some of the world's top experts on international trade
consider what will be necessary for the Doha Round to succeed — and what might happen
if it does not.
-------------------- |
UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics:
2002
2003
2004
2005
Trade and Development Reports (TADR):
2006:
Global partnership and national policies for development
"The rules and commitments of the international trading regime restrict the
de jure ability of developing nations to adopt national development policy".
"Rules and commitments, which in legal terms are equally binding for all countries,
in economic terms might impose more binding constraints on developing countries"(p. 167)
2005:
New Features of Global Interdependence
"Natural-resource
endowments determine the degree to which selfsufficiency
in food and raw materials is compatible with rapid industrial
development and growth ... but the balance-of-payments constraint limits import growth." (p. 52)
2004:
Policy coherence, development strategies and integration into the world economy
"The search for economic
stability is not between
autarky and surrendering
national sovereignty to the
expansive logic of markets." (p. 97)
2003:
Capital Accumulation, Growth and Structural Change
2002:
Developing Countries in World Trade
2001:
Global Trends and Prospects - Financial Architecture
2000
- Global Economic Growth and Imbalances
1999
- Fragile Recovery and Risks - Trade Finance and Growth
1998
- Financial Instability, Growth in Africa
1997
- Globalization, Distribution and Growth
1996
- Globalisation and the poor
|
From the Center for Economic and Policy Research
The Scorecard on Globalization 1980-2000
Twenty Years of Diminished Progress
M. Weisbrot, D. Baker, E. Kraev and J. Chen - July 11,
2001
--
Poor Numbers: The Impact of Trade Liberalization on World Poverty
M. Weisbrot, D. Rosnik, and D. Baker - November 18,
2004
--
Going Down with the Dollar: The Cost to Developing Countries of a
Declining Dollar
M. Weisbrot, D. Rosnick, adn D. Baker - September 20,
2004
--
Dangerous Trends: The Growth of Debt in the U.S. Economy
D. Baker - September 7, 2004
--
Double Bubble: The Implications of the Over-Valuation of the
Stock Market and the Dollar
D. Baker - June 2000
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| |
World Trade Organisation
---
Trade Justice Movement |
U.S.
Government:
Country Reports on Economic Policy and Trade
---
Foreign Trade
Statistics |
UNCTAD:
United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development |
UNCTAD:
Trade and development report 2001
Overview: English
Aperçu Général: Francais
Panorama General: Castellano
Part Two: Reform
of the international financial architecture |
UNCTAD:
World
Investment Reports
( the complete series ) |
UNCTAD:
Trade, external financing and economic
growth in developing countries. 1999 |
| |
UNCTAD:
World Investment Report 1998: Trends and Determinants (press) |
| |
UNCTAD:
Trade and development report 1999
(overview) |
UNCTAD:
Trade and development report 1998
(overview) |
UNCTAD:
Trade and Development Report, 1997 (press release 1) |
UNCTAD:
Trade and Development Report, 1997 (press release 2) |
| World
merchandise exports/imports by region and selected economies.1980/1998 |
UNCTAD:
Value of exports and imports
by region and country, 2000 |
OECD.-Imports of tropical woods, 1995
Selected countries: plywood production, 1970-1995
International trade: exports. Data for 1990
International trade: imports. Data for 1990
Exports early 1990s. All economies. In US$.
Exports early 1990s. Free-market economies. As % of total.
Non-fuel commodities: international prices 1980-1996
World Trade 1988-1998 (in volume) |
Chicago Board of Trade
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT® ), established
in 1848, is a leading futures and futures-options exchange. More than 3,600 CBOT
member/stockholders trade 50 different futures and options products at the CBOT
by open auction and electronically. Volume at the Exchange in 2005 surpassed 674
million contracts, the highest yearly total recorded in its history. |
Institute for International Economics:
Working papers
In 1994 the Institute launched a series of working papers. The series is
intended to convey the preliminary results of our ongoing research. The research
described in these papers is preliminary and has not gone through the usual
review process for Institute publications. The views expressed in these papers
are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
individual members of the Institute's Board or Advisory Committee. We welcome
feedback from readers and encourage you to convey your comments and criticisms
directly to the authors.
|
ELDIS:
Trade |
ELDIS:
Technology transfer |
| Foreign Policy IN FOCUS |
G.J. Bannister and
K. Thugge,
International
Trade and Poverty Alleviation, 2001 |
UNCTAD X:
documents and papers |
|
Corporate Europe
Observer (1999)
TNC control over Global Trade
Politics
The subject of this special issue of
the Corporate Europe Observer is the World Trade Organisation, which in
the first four years of its existence has built up a dark environmental and
social record. Large corporations have been the satisfied beneficiaries of its
treaties, while communities and small farmers around the world have suffered
from WTO-promoted ‘free trade’. This outcome is hardly surprising, as corporate
lobby groups have been closely involved in the shaping of many of the WTO
agreements. The WTO's model of economic development is increasingly identified
as being incompatible with ecological sustainability. In its rulings in trade
disputes on bananas, beef hormones and numerous other products, the WTO has put
trade above all else, overruling environmental, social, consumer and health
considerations.
More Newsletters
|
Papers and
reports from Oxfam
2008 -
2007 -
2006 -
2005 -
2004 -
2003 -
2002 -
2001
All
costs, no benefits: How TRIPS-plus intellectual property rules in
the US-Jordan FTA affect access to medicines.
March 2007
The USA continues to impose TRIPS-plus rules on developing countries, thus preventing poor people
from accessing inexpensive, generic medicines. Jordan was required under the terms of its
WTO accession package and its free trade agreement (FTA) with the USA to introduce TRIPS-plus rules.
Medicine prices have increased drastically, and TRIPS-plus rules were partly responsible for
this increase. Furthermore, stricter levels of intellectual property protection have
conferred few benefits with respect to foreign direct investment, domestic research and development,
or accelerating introduction of new, effective medicines. Medicine prices will continue to rise in Jordan,
but the country will be unable to use TRIPS safeguards to reduce their cost.
Other developing countries implementing or considering FTAs with TRIPS-plus rules should consider the consequences for public health.
Signing
Away The Future: How trade and investment agreements between rich
and poor countries undermine development.
March 2007
The quiet advance of trade and investment agreements between rich and poor countries
threatens to deny developing countries a favourable foothold in the global economy.
Driven by the USA and the European Union, these agreements impose far-reaching rules
that place severe restrictions on the very policies developing countries need in order to fight poverty.
Pricing
Farmers out of Cotton: The costs of World Bank reforms in Mali
March 2007
With global trade talks stalled at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), rich-country cotton subsidies
remain unabated, hurting poor cotton farmers. World Bank led reforms to privatise the Malian
cotton sector, including the adoption of a new price- setting mechanism, are further exacerbating
the dire conditions in cotton-producing communities. A minimum level of price stability is
vital for income security in the cotton sector and to prevent further slides into poverty.
The wider donor community should provide adequate funds to finance a cotton-sector support
fund, as well as invest in rural extension services and sustain capacity building of farmers
to enable them to maximise their returns from new market opportunities.
Robbing
the Poor to Pay the Rich? How the United States keeps medicines from
the world’s poorest
December 2003
Impressive advances in medicine and technology have boosted
health and extended life expectancy – but not for everyone.
Vital new medicines for diseases such as HIV/AIDS are priced
out of reach of the millions of sick people in the developing
world, in part due to global patent rules which restrict the
availability of affordable generic versions of patented
medicines. In 2001, all members of the World Trade Organization
adopted the ‘Doha Declaration’, promising to prioritize public
health over private patent rights and to promote ‘access to
medicines for all’. This paper examines how the government of
the United States is contravening this commitment by using
technical assistance, bilateral and regional trade agreements,
and the threat of trade sanctions to ratchet up patent protection
in developing countries. This policy benefits the influential U.S.
pharmaceutical industry while pushing medicines further out of
the reach of poor people.
The
Euro-Mediterranean Agreements: Partnership or Penury?
November 2003
Impressive advances in medicine and technology have boosted
health and extended life expectancy – but not for everyone.
Vital new medicines for diseases such as HIV/AIDS are priced
out of reach of the millions of sick people in the developing
world, in part due to global patent rules which restrict the
availability of affordable generic versions of patented
medicines. In 2001, all members of the World Trade Organization
adopted the ‘Doha Declaration’, promising to prioritize public
health over private patent rights and to promote ‘access to
medicines for all’. This paper examines how the government of
the United States is contravening this commitment by using
technical assistance, bilateral and regional trade agreements,
and the threat of trade sanctions to ratchet up patent protection
in developing countries. This policy benefits the influential U.S.
pharmaceutical industry while pushing medicines further out of
the reach of poor people.
Running
into the Sand: Why failure at the Cancun trade talks threatens the
world’s poorest people
September 2003
In September 2003 world trade ministers meet in Cancun Mexico to start a new phase in the Doha ‘development round’.
The meeting provides an opportunity to reform the unfair trade rules that systematically disadvantage
the world’s poorest countries. Urgent action is needed to stop agricultural dumping, protect access
to affordable medicines, improve market access, and prevent damaging new rules on foreign investment.
Failure to deliver will undermine efforts to tackle global poverty and further damage
the credibility of the World Trade Organisation.
The
Emperor’s New Clothes: Why rich countries want a WTO investment
agreement
May 2003
Despite an overcrowded agenda and the lack of progress on matters crucial to development,
rich countries, especially members of the European Union, are pushing for the launch of
investment negotiations at the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation in
Cancun in September 2003. When properly regulated, foreign investment can contribute
to sustainable development. However, the proposed WTO agreement on investment will
establish rules that developing countries do not need and cannot afford, enhancing
investors’ ‘rights’ while undermining governments’ capacity to pursue pro-development policies.
This is why Oxfam calls on WTO members to reject the launch of investment negotiations in Cancun.
Make
Trade Fair in the Americas: Three Reasons to Say No to the FTAA
February 2003
Europe
and the Coffee Crisis: A Plan for Action
February 2004
Liberia:
critical time to end the violence - a briefing note
November 2003
|
Resources selected from CAFOD's archive:
CAFOD is the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, the official
overseas development and relief agency of the Catholic Church in England and
Wales. CAFOD believes that all human beings have a right to dignity and respect, and
that the world's resources are a gift to be shared equally by all men and women,
whatever their race, nationality or religion.
Underpinning CAFOD's work is a deeply held set of values that are central to
its ethos and identity. We act based on principles of compassion, solidarity,
stewardship and hope. Confronted by immense poverty and suffering, CAFOD's most fundamental
response is compassion - standing alongside excluded communities, sharing
resources, uniting in prayer, defending rights and challenging the systems that
keep people poor.
CAFOD draws its inspiration from Scripture, the Church's social teaching, and
the experiences and hopes of the poor. Our mission is to promote human development and social justice in witness to
Christian faith and Gospel values.
Clean
Up Your Computer
A series of policy
reports and updates on the working conditions in the
electronics industry, as part of CAFOD's Clean Up Your
Computer campaign
Climate
Viewing climate change
through a poverty-reduction lens, the lion's share of
responsibility for tackling the problem should lie with rich
nations
Governance
Working towards a
world where citizens keep an active eye on governments’
progress, check if policies make a difference, and regularly
give feedback to their governments which is taken seriously
Poverty
Includes papers
supporting the 2005 Make Poverty History campaign
|
Post-Cancun
Reflections on Agriculture: Joint NGO Submission to the
European Commission
October 2003
|
| The
Cancun WTO Ministerial Meeting, September 2003. What
happened? What does it mean for development? (PDF
version, 18 pages, 200 KB) September 2003 |
Civil
society and the WTO: Participation in national trade policy
design in Uganda and Kenya [PDF version, 29
pages, 706 KB)
Analysis by Davis Ddamilura and Halima Noor
Abdi, two experienced East African trade lobbyists
August 2003 |
WTO
Agriculture Negotiations and Developing Countries [PDF
version, 34 pages, 778KB)
Paper by Luisa Bernal, a leading developing
country expert on agriculture negotiations focusing
on the defensive measures (strategic products and special
safeguards) required to protect vulnerable farmers from
subsidised (dumped) imports.
August 2003 |
CAFOD
position on Cancun WTO Ministerial Conference
August 2003 |
6
ways to make a new Agreement on Agriculture work for
development
[PDF version, 19 pages, MS Word
(202KB)]
(Aftab Alam Khan,
Stuart Clarke, Duncan Green & Tim Rice, 19 pages, August
2003)
Overview of key issues for developing countries by 4 NGO
agriculture specialists.
August 2003 |
Global
Trade at the service of human development [PDF
version]
CIDSE/CI policy
recommendations in preparation for the Cancun Minsterial
conference in September 2003
August 2003 |
Singapore
issues in The WTO: What do developing countries say?
August 2003 |
Can-do
at Cancun is actually can't
The Guardian, Duncan Green.
23 June 2003 |
| The
Northern WTO Agenda on Investment: Do as we say, Not as we did
(PDF, 187KB, 76 pages) CAFOD
and the South Centre argue that the British government's
policy on investment at the World Trade Organisation risks
harming the Third World. June 20033 |
| Rough
guide to the World Trade Organisation 06/20033 |
‘Trade
and Solidarity’ A
statement of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and
Wales and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Scotland
[RTF
download] 1
June 2003 |
The
WTO and Foreign Investment: Don't do as we did, do as we say.
Ha Joon
Chang and Duncan Green, Bridges piece on investment
May 2003 |
| Unwanted,
Unproductive And Unbalanced: Six Arguments Against An
Investment Agreement At The WTO. [PDF
version] May
2003 |
| Developing
Country Proposals on Modalities for Further Reform in
Agriculture - A
summary by a Geneva-based expert of the various proposals on
development and food security made by developing countries in
the WTO Agriculture negotiations. |
| Development
and Agriculture in the WTO: A Comparison between the
Development Box, the EU's Food Security Box and the Harbinson
Draft Modalities - A
comparison of the treatment of food security and development
issues by the EU, a group of developing countries and Stuart
Harbinson, chair of the WTO agriculture committee, in his
draft text of February 2003. |
--- The damage caused by EU subsidies
in the Developing World.
Submission to International
Development Committee Inquiry from CAFOD partners the Jamaican Dairy Farmers Federation
January 20, 2003 |
--- Trade and Development:
Aspects of the Doha Round
CAFOD's Submission to International
Development Committee Inquiry |
| --- The Road to Cancún: CAFOD's
workplan on the WTO [Español] 01/2003 |
| --- CAFOD, ActionAid, Oxfam and
Christian Aid Joint Submission to the House of Lords Select Committee Inquiry on the
Mid-Term Review of the Common Agricultural Policy 12/2002 |
| --- CIDSE Submission to the European
Commission on the Mid-Term Review of Agenda 2000 of the Common Agricultural Policy
[Français] PDF 12/2002 |
| --- Importation of milk solids
into Jamaica from the EU CAFOD case study, 11/2002 |
| --- Dumping
on the Poor - the Common Agricultural Policy, the WTO and International Development
(PDF, 764KB) 25/09/02 |
| --- The Rough Guide to
the CAP |
--- CAFOD and ActionAid Joint
Submission to the DEFRA Consultation on
the Mid-Term Review of Agenda 2000
10/09/02 |
| --- Briefing for on areas of
agreement and difference between the Trade Justice Movement and the British Government |
--- Trade
Justice Lobby Briefing
A joint paper by members of the
Trade Justice Movement - focusing on food, water, jobs and corporate regulation, Spring
2002 |
--- An Introduction to the Development
Box
A joint paper by CAFOD, Action Aid,
Oxfam and IATP, January 2002 |
--- 'A Genuine Development Agenda for the
WTO, January 2002'.
A joint paper by CAFOD, Save the Children, Action Aid, Oxfam, Christian Aid, World
Development Movement, Traidcraft, World Vision, ITDG and the Fairtrade Foundation |
--- The Development Box made easy [Español]
January 2002, CAFOD briefing plus Qs and As |
--- CAFOD Analysis of WTO Doha
Declarations
Duncan Green, 19/11/01 |
--- Hungry hippos, labour standards and Kenyan vegetable production
Guardian article, 11/2001 |
--- Proposal for a
'Development Box' in the WTO Agreement on Agriculture
October 2001, Paper by Duncan Green of CAFOD and Shishir Priyadarshi of
South Centre |
--- After Sept 11, the need
for trade
October 2001, CAFOD Policy Briefing |
--- CAFOD position on a New
Round of global trade negotiations at the WTO
October 2001, CAFOD Policy Briefing |
--- Campaigning for Change -
ensuring that trade works for the world's poor
October 2001, Paper by George Gelber of CAFOD, first published in Developments Magazine,
third quarter 2001 |
--- Food Security and the WTO
September 2001, CAFOD Policy Briefing |
--- Rough guide to the World Trade
Organisation
September 2001, CAFOD Policy Briefing |
--- Be fair to
the poor: box off free trade
Monday September 3, 2001, The Guardian |
--- Intellectual
Property Rights and Development
May 2001, CAFOD Submisssion to the Intellectual Property Commission |
--- A new round of
global trade negotiations at the WTO?
April 2001, CAFOD Policy Briefing |
--- Summary of E-consultation
with partners on globalisation and the WTO
February 2001 ESPAÑOL PORTUGUÊS |
| |
--- Going to Qatar? How
to get an NGO Representative on your Government Delegation
March 2001 An Interagency paper prepared on behalf of the UK Trade Network |
--- For Whose Benefit?
Making trade work for people and the planet
November 2000 Interagency Policy Briefing |
--- Recommendations for
ways forward on institutional reform of the World Trade Organisation
October 2000 A discussion paper compiled by ActionAid, CAFOD,
Christian Aid, Consumers International, FIELD, Oxfam, RSPB, WDM |
--- The World Trade Organisation:
The EU Mandate Post-Seattle
February 2000 CAFOD Submission to the House of Lords European Union Committee |
--- Seattle's Hidden Blessings
December 1999 As published in The Tablet |
--- The Battle in Seattle
December 1999 CAFOD Policy Briefing |
--- The World Trade Organisation and
the Seattle Ministerial
November 1999 CAFOD Policy Briefing |
--- UNCTAD, the NGOs and the Global
Trading System
October 1999 CAFOD Presentation to UNCTAD
(United Nations Commission on Trade and Development) Board |
--- Multilateral Agreement on Investment
October 1998 CAFOD Submission to the UK Trade and Industry Select Committee |
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