Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 8 • Number 42 • 8th December 2004
Resources
INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: BALANCING RIGHTS AND REWARDS. Edited by Lyuba Zarsky. London: Earthscan, 2004. The book critically examines the interface between sustainability, development, and the governance of international investment. It challenges the conventional view that foreign direct investment is a ‘miracle drug’ for developing countries and exposes serious shortcomings in the current international investment regime. Composed of norms, agreements, treaties and regulations, the emerging investment regime expands the rights of transnational corporations (TNCs) without commensurate rewards for the common good. Drawing on both research and engaged advocacy, the contributors ultimately map out a new way forward, towards the creation and implementation of international investment rules that will promote global sustainability and equity. The book is available here.
PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE WTO FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES. Published by 3D -> Trade - Human Rights - Equitable Economy and FORUM-ASIA.This simply-worded guide to the World Trade Organization (WTO) provides concrete examples of how trade and trade rules developed in the WTO and elsewhere can affect human rights. The Practical Guide describes human rights mechanisms that can be applied by people concerned to ensure that trade, trade rules or the domestic implementation of international trade rules are carried out in a way that does not have negative impacts on human rights. It also contains pointers for individuals and groups concerned with human rights to respond to the threats trade and trade rules can pose to the enjoyment of human rights, as well as detailed reference and contact information for those wishing to learn more about how to undertake work relating to trade. The report is available here.
THE AGREEMENT ON SAFEGUARDS: USE OF THE INSTRUMENT, PROBLEM AREAS, AND PROPOSALS FOR CHANGE. By the Swedish National Board of Trade with a contribution from Patrick A. Messerlin. The report looks at WTO Members’ dramatically increased use of safeguards since the Agreement on Safeguards entered into force in 1995, and concludes that the Agreement needs to be revised. The Agreement allows Members to unilaterally put up protection (tariffs or quotas) against sudden import surges found to injure their domestic industries. However, all the safeguard measures that have been brought before WTO dispute settlement have been found to be in breach of WTO rules. The report analyses the problems experienced with the application of the agreement to date and the risks that the safeguard instrument is used in a protectionist manner. It also suggests a number of ways in which the Agreement could be improved. The report is available here.
GSM COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IS PRACTICALLY AND FINANCIALLY FEASIBLE FOR RURAL AFRICA. By Anders Engvall, Olof Hesselmark, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), 2004. This feasibility study looks at the opportunities for micro-scale rural telephone operators who use Global System for Mobile (GSM) communication technology to provide rural, low-income areas with communications services. Although the study uses Tanzania for evaluation purposes, the authors propose that these findings are applicable to most rural, low-income areas. It concludes that voice services can be offered to poor rural communities in less developed countries at very low prices and on commercial terms; universal access without subsidies can be a reality; and that a small pilot implementation should be carried out in order to verify these findings and confirm these business model assumptions. The report is available here.
ANALYZING RESOURCE IMPACT OF FISHERIES SUBSIDIES: A MATRIX APPROACH. The United Nations Environment Programme, 2004. The aim of this publication is to improve the understanding of the resource impact of different types of fisheries subsidies, and to provide an analytical basis for the reform of environmentally harmful subsidies. This publication builds upon earlier UNEP work that developed a matrix as an analytical framework for assessing the impact of subsidies. Using this framework, the study offers a detailed assessment of the impact of eight categories of subsidies taking into account the specific characteristics of a fishery, including its level of exploitation and its management regime. The publication is available here.