Trade Policy Note Final-rev08 - Development

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Subsidies Developing countries are permitted to apply production subsidies unless these are shown to cause serious prejudice to the interests of other countries. Any subsidy that is not specific , in that it is generally available to all enterprises is “non actionable” under the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. For example, the provision of energy at costs lower than those prevailing on the world market (dual price system) is not considered to constitute an actionable subsidy, so long as the cheaper access is generally available throughout the economy. 29 Export subsidies , i.e. subsidies contingent upon export performance are prohibited to all WTO members, except LDCs and a group of lower income countries which will enjoy this freedom until they reach $1000 per capita GNP. 30 29 See UNCTAD, Energy and Environmental Services, Negotiating Objectives and <strong>Development</strong> Priorities, (ed. Simonetta Zarrilli) UNCTAD/DITC/TNCD/2003/3, Geneva, July 2005. 30 WTO Agreement on Subsides and Countervailing Measures Annex VII. 26
IV. EXPORTS AND POVERTY Can developing countries “export their way out of poverty”, can they export their way to achievement of the MDGs? How can the poor in developing countries achieve productivity and the means to compete in the world market? How can governments ensure that the benefits of exports are w idely shared and that they reduce inequalities? How can it be assured that export industries are sustainable, that adequate working conditions are maintained, that environmental impacts do not undermine the livelihoods of people in other sectors. What are the constraints faced by governments in promoting exports? What contribution can “aid for trade” programmes make to addressing “supply side” constraints which inhibit a country’s ability to export? Export Growth and the MDGs Increased exports of goods and services can provide increased incomes for poor people, government revenue, new opportunities for employment, including high paid jobs abroad, particularly for women and young jobseekers. Exports can contribute to the achievement of MDGs by lifting people out of poverty (MDG1) and empowering women (MDG3), and by contributing to the achievement of MDG8. MDG8 aims at a trading system in which developing countries can extract greater benefits from the international trading system. <strong>Trade</strong> policies should be aime d at enabling poorer people to compete in the world market and derive benefits from globalization. The simple orthodoxy would suggest that trade liberalization will allow resources to be redeployed from low productivity to high productivity export sectors. However, it ignores the basic fact that there are already high levels of unemployment in developing countries. Human resources are available for the export sector, they do not have to be “liberated” by creating unemployment in other sectors. 31 Import and e xport policy should be twin elements of an overall industrialization strategy, targeting the import of essential food, fuels, raw materials, inputs, capital equipment, machinery, spare parts and intermediate inputs goods, supporting export growth and earning the foreign exchange necessary to finance such imports. Priority should be given to the expansion of those export sectors that will provide opportunities for achieving the MDGs and other development goals. One problem is that many poorer developing countries have suffered a decline in their share in world exports, even when benefiting from tariff preferences which they now find eroding. Other countries have been able to rapidly increase exports in response to certain trade policy measures which have wor ked in their favour, but are finding themselves unable to compete when faced with a more open, competitive situation. One example is textiles and clothing, where many poorer countries have developed a successful export industry within the framework of the discriminatory structure of the Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) and are now faced with the challenge of a more competitive environment as described in Annex A to this Section. Another example is the sugar sector where the erosion of EU preferences will cause inevitable adjustment costs to poor producers. 31 See Stiglitz, Joseph and Andrew Charlton, op. cit., p. 25-26. 27
Page 1 and 2: NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES POL
Page 3 and 4: Preface The outcome document of the
Page 5 and 6: A “New Generation” of Bilateral
Page 7 and 8: TNCs TRIMs TRIPS TRQ UNCTAD UNESCO
Page 9 and 10: The case and options for widening t
Page 11 and 12: outcomes are less clear. Moreover,
Page 13 and 14: countries struggle to ensure that t
Page 15 and 16: Goal B : to empower people to becom
Page 17 and 18: Tigers), has not followed the Brett
Page 19 and 20: III. TARIFFS AND INDUSTRIAL POLICY
Page 21 and 22: across the board tariff bindings. F
Page 23 and 24: Such tariff policy should ensure th
Page 25: Export duties can also be an elemen
Page 29 and 30: Increase Productivity Exports shoul
Page 31 and 32: Box 14: Export Policies and WTO and
Page 33 and 34: percent of domestic consumption) wa
Page 35 and 36: developing countries with a few not
Page 37 and 38: Different products emerge at the to
Page 39 and 40: safeguard measures on agricultural
Page 41 and 42: suppliers in the domestic market fo
Page 43 and 44: Investment Policy is Central to Tra
Page 45 and 46: water and sanitation. Sustainabilit
Page 47 and 48: traditionally done in trade in good
Page 49 and 50: Mode 1 service exports, often terme
Page 51 and 52: It is now incumbent on developing c
Page 53 and 54: commercial value to their tradition
Page 55 and 56: The Proliferation of FTAs Over rece
Page 57 and 58: services liberalization in these ag
Page 59 and 60: copyright protection may be extende
Page 61 and 62: (q) SPS and TBT. Within the framewo
Page 63 and 64: Market Access Even after the abolit
Page 65 and 66: were established almost exclusively
Page 67 and 68: Annex 3B: Fisheries, Putting the pr
Page 69 and 70: also enshrined in the Code of Condu
Page 71 and 72: poorest people. 140 Governments in
Page 73 and 74: Annex 5B: Energy services Attainmen
Page 75 and 76: Box 25: Strategies for Strengthenin
Page 77 and 78:
On the contrary, a sharp decline ha
Page 79 and 80:
small farmers find themselves left
Page 81 and 82:
A number of developing countries ar
Page 83 and 84:
Commission on Intellectual Property
Page 85 and 86:
Mathew, Sebastian (2003). Trade in
Page 87 and 88:
UNDP (2005). Human Development Repo
show all

Trade Policy Note Final-rev08 - Development

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?