President-elect Obama has pledged to move ahead with the WTO Doha Round with the aim of concluding an agreement that would increase US exports, support job creation in the US, and help to advance the development of the world’s most vulnerable and poorest populations. Obama has also argued that the US needs to be more aggressive, however, in pursuing cases in the WTO where countries violate trade rules that negatively impact US goods.

The President-elect has also vowed to strengthen the rules-based multilateral trade system and to revamp “fast track” trade negotiating authority so that the now Democratic-led Congress has a greater role in free trade agreements. As for the North American Free Trade Agreement—an often hot topic during the Democratic primary campaign and into the general election—President-elect Obama has committed to working with Canada and Mexico to strengthen enforcement of environmental and labour protections in the pact.

Specifically where labour and the environment are concerned, Obama believes that all trade agreements, including in the WTO, must commit to binding obligations that recognise core labour standards set out by the International Labour Organization (ILO). He also wants to add provisions in agreements that prohibit countries from gaining a competitive advantage with practices that are environmentally destructive.

Concerning pending free trade agreements between the US and countries such as Columbia and South Korea, the President-elect has expressed concern and noted a number of areas in which adjustments are needed before Congress can vote on a final agreement.

Between now and 20 January, when Obama is inaugurated, he and his staff will focus on building their cabinet and working together with the newly elected Congress and Senate to outline the road ahead. But it is only in the coming weeks, months, and years that a greater understanding of the potential impact that an Obama administration will have on world trade, the environment, and other urgent global issues, will emerge.

To view President-elect Obama’s acceptance speech, click here.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, EU Commissioner for Development Louis Michel stated: “This is a groundbreaking step forward for regional integration and development for the Caribbean. This deal creates new opportunities for the region in terms of stronger growth and exports, and more jobs.”

The Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the African, Caribbean, and Pacific states (ACP) has been in negotiations since 2004 after previous trade agreements were deemed non-WTO compatible. The deadline for concluding a final EPA expired December 31 2007, leaving many regions rushing to negotiate “interim” Agreements while tumultuous negotiations remain underway. The CARIFORUM signing represents the first full Agreement to be initialled and finalized among the ACP states.

The CARIFORUM regional bloc includes Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Guyana and Haiti abstained from signing the Agreement on October 15. But, just five days later, the Head of the Mission of Guyana to the European Community added his signature to the Agreement on behalf of the Guyanese government. The delayed signing came following intense discussions over Guyana’s request to sign a ‘goods only’ Agreement, as opposed to a comprehensive EPA. Critics of the EPA in both Europe and the Caribbean praised the Guyanese resistance.

The Haitian government, on the other hand, has yet to sign the Agreement, citing specific domestic difficulties and the need for more time to review provisions contained in the text. This comes despite Haiti having initialled the Agreement at the end of last year.

While the EU insists that the CARIFORUM EPA will serve to “stimulate trade, investment and innovation, and to promote sustainable development, build a regional market among Caribbean countries and help eliminate poverty,” many critics have expressed concern over the fairness—or lack thereof—of the negotiations and the final Agreement set in place.

For more information on the signing, view the European Commission press release, by clicking here.

For further information on the Guyanese and Haitian reservations, see the October 2008 issue of Trade Negotiations Insights (TNI) and its sister French-language publication, Eclairage sur les Négociations (ECL).

In depth coverage of the signing will also be available in the November issue of TNI and ECL due out the week of 27 October 2008.

While WTO Members may be granted permission to cross-retaliate when it is not “practicable” or “effective” for them to impose penalties under the violated agreement, the unbalanced nature of trade relations and the asymmetry of economic power means that, for many developing countries, relying on standard retaliation is not always an option. In these cases, suspension of concessions in TRIPS or GATS may represent a valuable alternative.

However, this option has rarely been used by developing countries. Thus, the complex legal and technical problems, as well as the economic consequences, of resorting to cross-retaliation under the TRIPS Agreement and the GATS demands a comprehensive examination in order for developing countries to make effective use of this option to redress violations of WTO obligations against them.

It is in this vein that ICTSD commissioned Professor Frederick M. Abbott and Dr Arthur E. Appleton to investigate the legal, technical, and economic issues raised in the use of cross-retaliation under TRIPS and GATS, and present possible solutions to these problems. Both experts will present their findings during an ICTSD-organized roundtable, which will examine the options and challenges in the use of cross-retaliation in TRIPS and GATS with a view to enable developing countries to make effective use of it under the WTO Dispute Settlement system.

The forthcoming roundtable, scheduled for 17 October in Geneva, will provide an opportunity to exchange in active dialogue with experts, delegates, and researchers on the challenges and solutions that cross-retaliation poses for developing countries.

Attendance to the event is open, however, given limited seating, all interested parties should contact Sheila Sabune (ssabune@ictsd.ch, or by fax at 41 22 917 80 93) to secure a space in advance.

Mandelson resigned as EU trade chief late last week after being named to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s Cabinet as business secretary. Mandelson was requested to return to Britain’s cabinet to help manage the global financial crisis.

Ashton, who until her most recent appointment served as a Labour member in Britain’s House of Lords, will serve out the remaining five months of Mandelson’s term. Taking over the coordination of the sometimes tumultuous EPA negotiations between the African, Caribbean, and Pacific states and the European Union will be among Ashton’s main responsibilities in the coming weeks and months ahead. This swift change has raised questions over whether she will be able to sign the first full Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the Caribbean by 15 October as scheduled.

In a recent statement, Ashton said: “I am delighted and very proud to have been asked to serve as commissioner, to be a part of the European response to the global challenges we face.”

For more information on Ashton’s appointment, please visit the European Commission’s press release by clicking here.

WTO Director General Pascal Lamy opened the session by welcoming participants and calling on them to continue to put forward new ideas for the organisation. “It is only with your active participation that the WTO can come to reflect the type of institution you seek for the future,” he said.

As in years past, ICTSD was an active participant in this year’s forum. The organisation sponsored sessions on two of the main themes at the forum: the global food crisis and the interaction between trade and climate change. ICTSD staff also played important roles in sessions on negotiating capacity, government transparency, and Russian trade policy.

Other major subjects of discussion at the forum’s more than 40 sessions included the role of regional agreements in lowering trade barriers around the world, the importance of viewing trade policies from a human rights perspective, and whether the Doha agenda on agriculture should be revised.

For more information on this year’s forum, please visit the official forum site by clicking here.

To read Pascal Lamy’s opening address, please click here.

The EU first brought a complaint against India’s tariffs on alcohol and spirits, which were running from 150 to as much as 550 percent, in December 2006. Last summer, the challenge was dropped after India agreed to lessen duties.

But, the EU says, taxes remain exorbitant in some of India’s highest markets for alcohol such as Goa and Maharashtra, where Mumbia is located. According to the European Spirits Organization, Maharashtra and Goa together represent half of India’s wine and spirits consumption.

“In both cases internal taxes are applied only to imported wines and spirits, or at a much higher rate for imports than domestic goods,” the EU said. “This is a breach of the WTO’s national treatment principle, which requires that WTO members treat imports and domestic goods the same.”

Both parties have 60 days to negotiate before a formal probe will be launched by the WTO.

For more information on the India-EU spirits challenge, see this week’s upcoming Bridges Weekly to be published 24 September.

ICTSD reporting; “EU Complains at WTO Over Indian Wine, Spirits Duties,” BLOOMBERG, 22 September 2008. “EU renews India WTO drinks case,” BBC, 22 September 2008.

For the 2008 WTO Public Forum, ICTSD has co-organized two timely and notable sessions: “Climate Change, Competitiveness and Trade Policy: Opportunities and Challenges for the Future of the
Multilateral Trading System;” and “World Food Crisis: Are Trade Rules a Problem or a Way Forward?” Both events will bring together high-level government representatives, NGO participants, civil society, and other key stakeholders for active and engaged dialogues on these urgent issues. More information on these sessions is available on the ICTSD website, by clicking on the titles above, or by downloading the PDF featured here.

The WTO Public Forum is scheduled for 24—25 September at the institution’s headquarters in Geneva. For more information, programmes, or to register, click here.

This high-level conference will bring together various stakeholders active in trade and development, including personalities from governments, international organizations, civil society, academia and the private sector from some 45 developing countries, key OECD members, and emerging economies. Together, these participants will interact freely, exchange their experiences and debate concrete and innovative solutions to address specific challenges and opportunities developing countries face in the process of integrating into the world economy.

The Forum is expected to deliver country-specific action plans (AP)/ recommendations, policy principles on trade governance, new ideas and approaches to promote trade as a development tool, a follow-up mechanism, and guidelines for further cooperation among participants. A selected group of key stakeholders will form a constituency for change and together they will work with the results of the conference to advance the Forum’s agenda.

To register, click here for the 1st Conference of the Geneva Trade & Development Forum at the Regent Conference Center in Crans-Montana from 17-20 September 2008.

The Forum is supported by Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.

This most recent probable dispute comes just months after the WTO ruled in favour of Brazil in their case against the US and the subsidies it pays to its cotton farmers. The WTO’s ruling allows Brazil to seek USD 4 billion in retaliation.

In this latest case, Brazil claims that the US’s 54 cents per gallon tax on ethanol entering the United States is an obstacle to exportation. Brazil’s Sugar Cane Industry Association has hired attorneys to study the compatibility between the US tariff’s and WTO rules. According to the Foreign Minister, the case is likely to be brought to the WTO within the next one to two months, depending on the final consultations with the government’s attorneys. The recent collapse of the Doha Round talks in Geneva in late July have increased the possibility of more immediate litigation.

“My reading is that we have a very strong case and so there is a good chance we will challenge,” Amorim told reporters in Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil is the world’s largest ethanol exporter and the US, its largest importer. US President Bush signalled in early June that the US will increase its consumption of ethanol from 5 to 35 billion gallons by 2017, using both imports from Brazil and the United States’ own domestic corn-based ethanol. The US is currently developing ethanol derived from corn, though some critics claim it is far more expensive than its sugar-cane counterpart.

Criticism, however, has not been reserved for the United States: environmental advocates have alleged that Brazil’s ethanol production has contributed to tropical deforestation and threatened ecosystems. Environmentalists also argue that the energy needed to produce ethanol emits more greenhouse gases than the fossil fuels it aims to replace.

For a more in-depth analysis of the ethanol and cotton cases, please visit this week’s Bridges Weekly.

To learn more about Brazil’s sugar-cane based ethanol and some of the issues surrounding the industry, click here.

ICTSD Reporting; “Brazil sees WTO ethanol case against U.S. soon,” REUTERS, 2 September 2008; “Brazil may press WTO on US ethanol tariffs,” INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE, 3 September 2008.

Sugar-cane photo: REUTERS/Rickey Rogers.

It is in this vein that ICTSD is proud to co-organize the upcoming Third Access to Knowledge Conference (A2K3) in conjunction with several leading institutions, including the Information Society at Yale Law School. Scheduled for 8-10 September in Geneva, this international, high-level conference will bring together scholars, policymakers, industry, and civil society to discuss key issues in global knowledge policy.

Conference topics will range from the history, impact, and future of the global A2K movement, to the relationship between A2K and human rights, and A2K and the WIPO Development Agenda. The agenda also includes panel discussions on the impact of international trade rules on A2K; copyright exceptions and limitations in the information society; open business models; research and capacity building for A2K; prizes as alternatives to intellectual property monopolies; promoting open access to science and research; technologies of access such as community wireless, open source, and open standards; and public mobilization in the networked and digital global public sphere.

ICTSD’s participation in the conference, as not only organizers but also moderators, reflects the institution’s renowned expertise, particularly in the fields of trade and development. Senior ICTSD Fellow, Miguel Rodriguez Mendoza, will serve as moderator for the conference’s panel on A2K and international trade. This panel will seek to systematically examine and identify positive and negative linkages between A2K and international trade and other trade disciplines, such as tariffs, trade in services, investment, and government procurement.

Ahmed Abed Latif, ICTSD’s Intellectual Property Programme Manager, will act as moderator on a panel that will examine the Access to Knowledge aspects of the WIPO Development Agenda. This session will consider both the antecedents of the various recommendations, as well as the implementation opportunities and challenges.

To view Mr Latif’s presentation on the Genesis of A2K as a Concept during the 2007 Access to Knowledge conference, click here.

The upcoming conference is free and open to the public, though advanced registration is required. For more information click here, or visit http://isp.law.yale.edu