Aid for Trade: Cool Aid or Kool-Aid?

Aid for Trade may alleviate some fears by developing countries about the social cost of trade reforms and hence help de-block the WTO negotiations. It may also help address critical supply-side issues and contribute to the achievement of the MDGs. However, there is wide divergence in views what is covered, what should be supported and how. There are concerns among developing countries that, despite promises, aid for trade may simply be a redistribution of existing funds, that it may not address development priorities, and that arduous, new conditions will be attached. For these reasons, developing countries that might be expected to have welcomed the possibility of aid for trade, have looked with some suspicion at the proposals, regarding aid for trade more as Kool-Aid, rather than cool aid!

Trade policies and the debt crisis

In the early 1980's, faced with a mounting debt crisis, most highly indebted developing countries increased trade barriers to generate more foreign exchange; but in the last three to four years, they have reversed course. Almost all highly indebted countries have undergone real devaluations and many have undertaken significant liberalizations. But industrial countries have imposed new non-tariff barriers against imports from highly indebted countries. Industrial countries'export subsidies have contributed to lower prices for beef, sugar and grains, which are important exports for some highly indebted countries. In general, highly indebted countries remain more protectionist than industrial nations. But growing protectionism in the industrial nations makes it more difficult for highly indebted countries to pay off their debts, and ultimately rebounds on creditor governments and banks.TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Trade Policy,Trade and Regional Integration

Whither Hungary and the European communities?

Recent political changes in Eastern Europe will help to cement improving economic relations with the European Communities (EC). Hungary has little alternative but to seek to continue strengthing these ties. It faces important supply constraints and needs injections of fresh capital to help it gear up to seize market opportunities. In the past, Hungary has been somewhere near the bottom of the EC's pyramid of privileges as far as tariff and non-tariff barrier (NTB) treatment are concerned. Hungary has been examining the options of applying for EC membership, European Free Trade Association (EFTA) membership, and examining other forms of association such as those the EC has with a number of Mediterranean countries. From a simulation exercise, the authors conclude that membership of the EC could lead to an expansion of Hungarian exports to the Communities of some 48 percent, with meats, iron and steel, fruit and vegetables, textiles, and clothing being the main sectors to gain. This results from setting tariffs to zero and eliminating non-tariff barriers. If EC or EFTA membership is ruled out, Hungary must seek a closer relationship with the EC, encompassing agriculture as well as manufactures, and covering tariffs and non-tariff barriers.Trade Policy,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Agribusiness&Markets,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT

Trends in nontariff barriers of developed countries : 1966-1986

While major concerns have been expressed about the spread of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) in developing countries, the lack of empirical information on the dimensions of the increase has affected the related policy debates. Using inventories of NTBs in developed countries compiled for 1966 and 1986, this study develops quantitative information on the major expansions of NTBs that occurred over this 20 year period. The paper finds that in 1966 NTBs affected 25 percent of developed countries imports, while in 1986 this share has increased to 48 percent. A second major point documented in the study is that the spread of NTBs has been uneven across countries and industrial sectors. Third, this study shows that the increased resort to discriminatory NTBs like"voluntary"export restraints (particularly in the U.S.) caused a significantly higher share of trade to be"affected"by NTBs than suggested by commonly used trade coverage ratios. The findings concerning the extent that NTBs have proliferated in some sectors (and countries) also increases the importance of establishing effective procedures for liberalization of these measures in multilateral trade negotiations like the Uruguay Round.Environmental Economics&Policies,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Economic Theory&Research,Trade Policy,Transport and Trade Logistics

How Important are Market Access Issues for Developing Countries in the Doha Agenda?

The aim of this paper is that of going “back to basics”, focusing on the importance of market access issues for developing countries in the WTO negotiations begun in Doha in 2001. Data on protection patterns in agriculture and manufacturing are analysed, with a special focus on the issues of tariff peaks and escalation. The likely impact of several liberalisation scenarios is evaluated using GTAP. The broad conclusion is that developing countries still have sizable potential gains from improved market access in merchandise trade, but the size and the distribution of these gains depend much on the extent to which developing countries will be active in the liberalization process and on the agreed negotiation targets and modalities.multilateral trade liberalization, CGE modeling, tariff peaks, tariff escalation

Trade Policy Regimes and Development Strategies: A Comparative Study

Over the past two decades, nearly all developing countries and transition economies have undertaken important changes in their trade regimes, often as part of World Bank-International Monetary Fund programs. Recently, further changes in trade regimes have been driven by participation in regional trade agreements and in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade/World Trade Organization. However, while greater openness appears to have produced useful gains, not all countries have benefited equally from the reforms. This study attempts to distinguish between important elements of the reform programs, taking account of the linkages with other economic policies, and to derive some indicators of trade policy performance that might be used in developing more precise guidelines for future reforms. The paper looks at the relative importance of reforms in different regions and corresponding trade performance. It starts by describing the overall economic performance of a number of countries in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Then, it reviews Latin American trade policies over the past 20 years, and provides an international comparison, developing indicators that could serve as guidelines for monitoring progress. It concludes with a discussion of the links between trade and other economic policies

The EU's Everything But Arms Initiative and the Least-developed Countries

EBA, LDCs, GTAP, SMART, trade preferences, sugar sector

Tools and methods for providing assurance of clonality for legacy cell lines

Over the last several years demonstration of cell line clonality has been a topic of many industry and regulatory presentations and papers. Guidance has been provided by the regulatory authorities, especially the FDA, on a path forward for providing evidence of clonality with high probability. It has been recommended that two-rounds of limiting dilution cloning (LDC) at sufficiently low seeding densities (≤0.5 cells/well) provides sufficient evidence that a cell line is clonal. Furthermore, one-round of LDC may also suffice if supplemental data from a characterized FACS or plate-imaging workflow are also included in the package. Cell lines generated by methods that do not demonstrate high probability of clonal derivation, including legacy cell lines, may require additional studies to provide assurance and/or process control strategies to satisfy regulatory expectations. Within the Biologics function of the IQ Consortium the “Clonality” Working Group is focusing on methods and tools which could be utilized to provide a high assurance of clonality for legacy cell lines. The presentation will outline a three tier approach to address legacy cell line clonality assurance: standard practices already used in industry to support limit of in vitro cell age studies, enhanced control strategies to ensure process consistency, and emerging technologies that could be used to further support cell line clonality