Edited Gary P. Sampson and W. Bradnee Chambers

PUBLICATION DATA:

ISBN-10: 92-808-1153-3,
ISBN-13: 978-92-808-1153-7

LANGUAGE:

English

PAGES:

320

PUBLISHER:

United Nations University Press

PUBLISHED:

February 2008

It is widely accepted that a well-functioning global trading system is a prerequisite for trade promotion and the development of developing countries. However, it is equally well recognised that the trading system has not worked to the advantage of many developing countries. In this regard, the Doha Development Agenda—negotiations launched at the WTO to rectify the situation—has failed.

Compared to just ten years ago, developing countries are much better informed with respect to trade negotiations. Also, they now comprise two-thirds of the membership of the WTO—an organisation based on consensus—giving them a new power and authority in future negotiations.

For this reason, it is of critical importance for developing countries to have clear proposals for reform that are both ambitious and realistic. Only then can they constructively promote their interests in the coming years. This book addresses the critical policy choices now facing developing countries with respect to trade policy. Experienced negotiators, scholars and trade officials from very different backgrounds offer policy prescriptions to secure a world trading system that will meet the needs of developing countries.

Gary P. Sampson is the John Gough Professor of International Trade at Melbourne Business School, Melbourne University.

W. Bradnee Chambers is the Senior Programme Officer at the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) in Yokohama, Japan.

Table of contents

Introduction and overview, Gary P. Sampson and W. Bradnee Chambers

Part I. Market access

• Why developing countries need agricultural policy reform to succeed under Doha, Kym Anderson and Will Martin
• The cotton initiative, Magda Shahin
• The WTO non-agricultural market access negotiations: Opportunities and challenges for developing countries,  Sam Laird
• Trade in services and policy priorities for developing Countries, Gary P. Sampson

Part II. Legal flexibility

• Special and differential treatment: The need for a different approach, Constantine Michalopoulos
• Special and differential treatment for developing countries in the World Trade Organization, M. Supperamaniam

Part III. Facing challenges

• Making TRIPS work for developing countries, Graham Dutfield
• The development objectives of the WTO: State-centred versus human rights approaches, Ernst-Ulrich Petersmann
• A human rights approach to “sustainable development” within the World Trade Organization, Jens Pössel
• Asymmetric integration: The role of regionalism , Ken Heydon

Part IV. Process

• Developing countries and the reform of the WTO Dispute Settlement System: Expectations and realities, George Akpan
• WTO negotiations on trade facilitation – Lessons for the future? New perspectives for and from the developing world, Nora Neufeld