Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 7 • Number 41 • 4th December 2003
Resources
CLIMATE PROTECTION STRATEGIES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY: KYOTO AND BEYOND. By the German Advisory Council on Global Change (December 2003). In their report, the Council’s scientists underscore that dangerous climate change can now only be prevented if climate protection targets are set at substantially higher levels than those agreed internationally until now. In particular, anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions must be cut globally by 45-60 percent by the year 2050 relative to 1990. This means that industrialised countries have to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent by 2020. Industrialised countries have committed to reducing emissions by five percent by 2012 relative to 1990. For further information see http://www.wbgu.de/wbgu_sn2003_presse_engl.html.
EU EMISSIONS TRADING: CHALLENGES AND IMPLICATIONS OF NATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION. By Fiona Mullins and Jacqueline Karas (Royal Institute of International Affairs, November 2003). The EU greenhouse gas emissions trading Directive is central to the EU’s strategy to meet its climate change commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. However, governments are struggling to implement the Directive in the tight time frame allowed and, in particular, to come up with national allocation plans for distributing allowances. This report — like the country studies and expert workshop that underpin it — is designed to inform the ongoing policy process by identifying key issues that need to be resolved and their implications. A key finding is that there are number of key issues on which enhanced coordination between countries could reduce competitiveness concerns, improve market liquidity and enhance the environmental effectiveness of the scheme. To access the document see http://www.riia.org/pdf/research/sdp/EUETSworkshopreport.pdf.
THE HIGH PRICE OF ‘FREE’ TRADE: NAFTA’S FAILURE HAS COST THE UNITED STATES JOBS ACROSS THE NATION. By Robert E. Scott (Economic Policy Institute, 17 November 2003). NAFTA is a free trade and investment agreement that provide investors with a unique set of guarantees designed to stimulate foreign direct investment and the movement of factories within the hemisphere, especially from the United States to Canada and Mexico. No protections were contained in the core of the agreement to maintain labour or environmental standards. This briefing paper argues that, as a result, NAFTA tilted the economic playing field in favour of investors, and against workers and the environment, resulting in a hemispheric "race to the bottom" in wages and environmental quality. To access the report see http://www.epinet.org/content.cfm/briefingpapers_bp147.
SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT? THE PERFORMANCE OF MEXICO’S FDI-LED INTEGRATION STRATEGY. By Kevin P. Gallagher and Lyuba Zarsky (Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University, November 2003) This report has found that Mexico’s upsurge in foreign direct investment (FDI) over the last decade has not led to sustainable industrial development. The report’s authors note that many of the "hoped-for spillovers, industrial restructuring, and environmental improvements did not materialise." Instead, large investments in Mexico’s manufacturing sector have relied "heavily on cheap labour and imports for productive inputs", while remaining "largely disconnected from the domestic Mexican economy". To access the report visit http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/rp/MEXICOFDIREPORT11-03.pdf.
GREENING THE FTAA? This is a Conference Report from an event at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, 17-18 March 2003. Beyond summarising the debates that took place in each panel, the Report critically examines the various recommendations articulated by speakers and participants. Consensus was not the objective of the conference, and the report reflects the varying levels of disagreement that characterised the discussions. To access the report see http://www.law.mcgill.ca/elmftaaconference/eng/documents/report_en.pdf or http://www.law.mcgill.ca/elmftaaconference/fr/documents/report_fr.pdf.
FOUR ARGUMENTS AGAINST A PLURILATERAL INVESTMENT AGREEMENT IN THE WTO. By Duncan Green and Claire Melamed (CAFOD, November 2003). The authors outline four arguments against a plurilateral investment agreement, as suggested by the EC: the EC proposal would poison attempts to restart negotiations in Geneva; developing countries would likely to come under serious pressure to sign up to a ‘voluntary’ plurilateral agreement, and to sign up on unfavourable terms; many of the pre-Cancún arguments against a multilateral investment agreement at the WTO are equally relevant to a plurilateral agreement; and a plurilateral agreement would become the focus of major international opposition. To access the report, visit http://www.cafod.org.uk/policy/pia200311.shtml.
THE WORLD TRADING SYSTEM AFTER CANCÚN OR HOW THE RHETORIC OF THE DEVELOPMENT ROUND REBOUNDED ON THE INDUSTRIALISED COUNTRIES. By Klaus Liebig (German Development Institute, 2003). Development scholars largely agree on what would constitute a development round. In contrast to their own rhetoric, however, trade policy makers in industrialised countries do not feel obliged by this consensus. The author argues that they therefore bear the main responsibility for the failure of Cancún. The conference’s failure does not mean a success for developing countries since they failed to achieve their trade-policy goals. What remains is the hope that the shock of Cancún will lead to a greater willingness to compromise, above all on the part of the industrialised countries, but also on the part of NICs and anchor countries, with a view to giving the WTO a more development-friendly shape. To access the briefing paper visit http://www.die- gdi.de/die_homepage.nsf/91dea6712d99617ac12569cb00547f10/115b5cd24053547 cc1256dde0028dab0?OpenDocument.
JOBS AND INCOMES IN A GLOBALISING WORLD. (International Labour Organisation, June 2003). Globalisation has been neither flawless nor universally beneficial. In so far as the process is policy-driven, the flaws and the failings can in principle be corrected. However, the deficiencies are not self-evident, and impressions can be wrong. This book seeks to identify some of these deficiencies through an empirical assessment of the nature and effects of globalisation. The author argues that the current globalisation is not just about growth of cross- border trade and capital flows; it is about a change in the international division of labour. For further information see http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/eurpro/london/news/jobs.htm.
E-COMMERCE AND DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2003. (UNCTAD, 2003). This report identifies some of the implications that the growth of the digital economy may have for developing countries. It aims to provide practitioners and policy makers with a better understanding of the options available to them in leading sectors of developing-country economies. It is also meant to contribute to the debates at the World Summit on the Information Society and efforts to create a truly inclusive information society that serves and empowers all people. Above all, if it helps developing countries to adopt and take advantage of new digital technologies, this report will have served its purpose. For further information see http://r0.unctad.org/ecommerce/ecommerce_en/edr03_en.htm.