Thematic Papers

• Agri-Environment and Rural Development in the Doha Round - Full Report - Summary
  Agri-Environment and Rural Development in the Doha Round: Aimed at shedding light on the possible options for developing countries to make use of agri-environmental and rural development measures within the framework of the WTO, this paper surveys those programs used in the Quad that are considered non- or, at most, minimally trade distorting, non-discriminatory and otherwise consistent with current WTO rules. Furthermore, it tries to illustrate the possible outcomes in the ongoing negotiations in the WTO on the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) from a developing country viewpoint, related to the types of mechanisms surveyed above.

• Domestic Import Regulations for Genetically Modified Organisms and their Compatibility with WTO Rules - Full Report - Summary
  This paper surveys the regulatory regimes in key importing countries for imports of genetically modified agricultural products. It is updated to August 2003.

• Economic and Environmental Impacts of First Generation Generation Genetically Modified Crops - Full Report - Summary
  Economic and Environmental Impacts of First Generation Genetically Modified Crops: Lessons from the United States: This paper surveys the recent scientific literature in the U.S. to try to find lessons for policy-makers in Argentina, where GM soy, maize and cotton are in use. It finds that if the efficiency of GM crops and glyphosate (Roundup) are to be preserved, there must be changes to cropping techniques used in Argentina.

• Implementing Environmental, Health and Safety (EH&S) Standards, and Technical Regulations: The Developing Country Experience
  As tariff levels have dropped, non-tariff or technical barriers to trade have become relatively more important for developing-country market access. Although the WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) addresses these issues, experience suggests that, without certain basic institutional infrastructure, developing countries cannot benefit from the provisions in the TBT Agreement. This paper reviews developing countries' experiences implementing Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) standards and technical regulations. The paper highlights the kinds of problems that exist, discusses examples of initiatives to address these problems and suggests priorities for future work. It argues that EH&S requirements are no different from other product quality requirements: both are required for market access and both are developed and implemented within a complex institutional and legal framework.

• Labelling for Environmental Purposes: A review of the state of the debate in the World Trade A review of the state of the debate in the World Trade Organization
  Environmental labelling has long been the subject of discussions in the World Trade Organization (WTO). On November 14, 2001, WTO Members adopted the Doha Declaration and initiated a new round of global trade talks. Paragraph 32 of the Doha Declaration mandates the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) to give particular attention to labelling requirements for environmental purposes. This paper reviews the state of the debate in the WTO on eco-labelling. It reviews the history of the debate, outlines the political challengesand substantive obstacles to resolving it and looks ahead to what can be expected at the Cancun Ministerial in September 2003, where the CTE may make a recommendation on whether to engage in formal negotiations on eco-labelling.

• Lessons Learned on Trade and Sustainable Development
  This book distills the lessons from six years of research undertaken by and for the Trade Knowledge Network (1998 - 2004). It draws on in-country research, thematic research and workshop papers to identify the key issues, and explores in depth what the TKN research has to say about them. The result is an excellent primer on the issues faced by the South in the area of trade and sustainable development.

• New Views of Trade and Sustainable Development: Using Sen's Conception of Development to Re-Examine the Debates - Full Report
  This paper argues that the current trade and sustainable development debates use a concept of sustainable development that in effect assumes economic growth equals development. By using the definition of development propounded by Nobel-laureate Amartya Sen, the paper re-examines the debates, and calls for a new direction in research and policy focused on trade liberalization's impacts on human freedoms, and the institutions that foster those freedoms.

• Preserving Policy Space for Sustainable Development: The Subsidies Agreement at the WTO - Full Report - Commentary
  This paper addresses the need to preserve the ability of nations to use subsidies in order to correct distortions in the global economy and spur innovation for sustainable development. It shows that the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) created significant policy space for nations to address technological, poverty and environmental problems—all seminal issues for sustainable development—but that such space no longer exists.

• Sober Reflection: Considering the Rush to Regionalism
  This paper, prepared as a contribution to the Sustainable Development Policy Institute's seventh annual Sustainable Development Conference, Troubled Times: Sustainable Development and Governance in the Age of Extremes, asks whether the rush to regionalism in international trade and investment benefits developing countries.

• Sustainable Tourism in St. Lucia: A Sustainability Assessment of Trade and Liberalization in Tourism-services - Full Report
  This paper examines the role played by trade and liberalization in tourism services in fostering or constraining sustainable development. In short, it explores the question: what are the opportunities and barriers to achieving sustainable development through trade in tourism services? The paper draws on relevant current literature, as well as existing data on tourism services in St. Lucia, a popular tourism destination in the Eastern Caribbean.