Trade Policy And Market Access Issues For Developing Countries

An analysis of developing countries' current trade policies and market access problems is used as a basis for recommending positions for these countries in the new round of multilateral negotiations under the World Trade Organization.

An analysis of developing countries' current trade policies and market access problems is used as a basis for recommending positions for these countries in the new round of multilateral negotiations under the World Trade Organization.Michalopoulos analyzes 61 trade policy reviews prepared for the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its predecessor, GATT - reviews that document the progress developing countries have made in integration with the world trading system over the past decade. Based on an analysis of post-Uruguay Round tariff and nontariff barriers worldwide, he then recommends developing country positions on major issues in the new round of WTO trade negotiations.His key conclusions and recommendations:middot; Agriculture. Developing countries should support the Cairns Group in its push for greater liberalization of industrial countries' agricultural trade policies; the revised Food Aid Convention is not a substitute for but a complement to worldwide liberalization of agriculture.middot; Manufactures. The existence of tariff peaks and escalation in industrial country markets and the limited bindings at relatively high levels of developing country tariffs on manufactures present opportunities for negotiations with good prospects for shared and balanced benefits.The remaining nontariff barriers in industrial countries that affect manufactures are concentrated in textiles and clothing. Developing countries should ensure that industrial countries implement their commitments to liberalize this sector and impose no new nontariff barriers in this or other sectors under the guise of other rules or arrangements.The remaining nontariff barriers in developing countries should be converted into tariffs and reduced over time as part of the negotiations.middot; Antidumping. The increased use of antidumping measures by high- and middle-income developing countries in recent periods offers an opportunity for balanced negotiations to restrict their use. Reduced use of antidumping measures would increase efficiency and benefit consumers in all countries. But it is unclear whether a supportive climate for such negotiations exists in either industrial or developing countries.This paper - a product of Trade, Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to identify opportunities for developing countries in the WTO 2000 negotiations. The author may be contacted at [email protected].

In this paper, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have drawn together available research findings on the benefits of trade liberalization as well as on the obstacles to trade-oriented development.

This volume provides a state of the art review of current thinking on the full range of trade policy issues, addressing the economic and political dimensions of international trade policy. The volume contains a systematic examination of: - specific trade policy instruments (such as tariffs, non-tariff barriers and trade rules) - sectoral concerns (in agriculture, manufacturing and services) - trade linkages (to issues such as the environment and labour standards) - systemic considerations (what role for the WTO?) The organising theme of the volume is that open markets for trade and investment yield large potential gains in human welfare as long as trade policy is conducted as an integral part of broader domestic economic management and regulatory reform, and as long as the particular challenges facing developing countries are effectively addressed. This 'case' is presented on the basis of rigorous analysis of first principles and of empirical experience among key trading nations. An integrated set of original and comprehensive perspectives from a diverse group of experts, linked by a common organisational thread. The contributing authors create an ideal mix of internationally recognised experts together with younger specialists making their mark in trade policy analysis; academics as well as trade policy practitioners; and representatives of both developed and developing countries.

Investigating over twenty cases, this OECD report examines how environmental requirements can become trade barriers for developing countries.

This book brings together a collection of papers that Robert M Stern and his co-authors have written in recent years. The collection addresses a variety of issues pertinent to the global trading system. One group of papers deals with globalization in terms of what the public needs to know about this phenomenon and the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO), whether some countries may be hurt by globalization, how global market integration relates to national sovereignty, and how and whether considerations of fairness are and should be dealt with in the global trading system and WTO negotiations. A second group of papers consists of analytical and computational modeling studies of multilateral, regional, and bilateral trading arrangements and negotiations from a global and national perspective for the United States and other major trading countries. The remaining papers include an empirical analysis of barriers to international services transactions and the consequences of liberalization, and issues of international trade and labor standards.

Publisher's description: Developing countries are increasingly confronted with the need to address trade policy related issues in international agreements, most prominently the World Trade Organization (WTO). New WTO negotiations on a broad range of subjects were launched in November 2001. Determining whether and how international trade agreements can support economic development is a major challenge. Stakeholders in developing countries must be informed on the issues and understand how their interests can be pursued through international cooperation. This handbook offers guidance on the design of trade policy reform, surveys key disciplines and the functioning of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and discusses numerous issues and options that confront developing countries in using international cooperation to improve domestic policy and obtain access to export markets. Many of the issues discussed are also relevant in the context of regional integration agreements. Separate sections of the handbook summarize what constitutes sound trade policy; the major aspects of the WTO from a development perspective; policy issues in the area of merchandise trade and the liberalization of international transactions in services; protection of intellectual property rights and economic development; new regulatory subjects that are emerging in the agenda of trade talks; and enhancing participation of developing countries in the global trading system.

This paper focuses on market access issues in merchandise trade that developing countries might address in the next negotiations of the World Trade Organization. It covers the following issues: an analysis of the patterns of trade and protection in agriculture and manufacturing, a review of the main results of the Doha WTO Ministerial Conference, and an evaluation of the likely impact of several liberalization scenarios. Based on its analysis, a conclusion is drawn on the size of potential gains that developing countries could derive from improved market access in merchandise trade.--Publisher's description.