The World Trade Organisation: an African Perspective, more than a decade later
2009-11-25 tralac
Resources > By Topic > REGIONAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS > WTO
The World Trade Organisation: An African Perspective, more than a decade later
The current Round of trade negotiations is the first 'Development Round.' Given the challenges of addressing development issues in the context of trade negotiations in the WTO, which is not a development institution, it should not be surprising that the current negotiations are proving extremely difficult.
The WTO remains however the core of the rules-based system of international trade governance, providing also the rules for RTAs that are still growing rapidly, both in number and in scope and coverage.
The WTO was established in 1995 as the institutional anchor of the multilateral trading system. Since then significant developments have taken place, on the trade agenda as well as in the participation of developing countries in the WTO.
This collection of papers provides an African perspective on the first decade of the WTO. Substantive trade issues such as agriculture remain, despite their declining importance in terms of overall economic activity even in African countries, of key importance to Africa. Key issues on the agriculture agenda are not addressed on the Regional Trade Arrangement (RTA) agenda and so the WTO remains the only forum within which to address these. Africa is still engaging at the margins of the international economy and this collection of papers explores some of the challenges as well as prospects for Africa within the WTO.
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Download the chapters here:
Chapter 1: Introduction: The WTO and Doha Round by Taku Fundira
WTO_Book_Ch1_Fundira_Intro_MBfin_20091116.pdf
Chapter 2: Trade and Development in the WTO – what happened during the first decade? by Catherine Grant
WTO_Book_Ch2_Grant_Trade_MBfin_20091116.pdf
Chapter 3: The Multifibre Agreement – WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing by Eckart Naumann
WTO_Book_Ch3_Naumann_Multifibre_20091116_MBfin.pdf
Chapter 4: Agriculture and the World Trade Organization – what happened since 1995? by Ron Sandrey
WTO_Book_Ch4_Sandrey_Decade_MBfin_20091116.pdf
Chapter 5: African Member States and the Negotiations on Dispute Settlement Reform in the World Trade Organization by Clement Ng’ong’ola
WTO_Book_Ch5_Ngongola_African_Member_States_MBfin_20091116.pdf
Chapter 6: The General Agreement on Trade in Services Negotiations and the Southern African Customs Union – A Preliminary Exploration of Emerging Issues. by Rashad Cassim and Lyndal Keeton
WTO_Book_Ch6_Cassim_General_Agreement_MBfin_20091116.pdf
Chapter 7: The challenges facing least developed countries in the GATS negotiations: a case study of Lesotho by Calvin Manduna
WTO_Book_Ch7_Manduna_MBfin_20091116.pdf
Chapter 8: Trade facilitation and the WTO: a critical analysis of proposals on trade facilitation and their implications for African countries. by Gainmore Zanamwe
WTO_Book_Ch8_Zanamwe_Trade_Facilitation_MBfin_20091116.pdf
Chapter 9: WTO and the Singapore Issues by Ron Sandrey
WTO_Book_Ch9_Sandrey_Singapore_Issues_MBFin_20091116.pdf
Full version of the book: tralac WTO Book 20100118.pdf (2218KB)
Published in: Resources > By Topic > REGIONAL TRADE ARRANGEMENTS > WTO