The 76 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries are under considerable pressure by the European Union to finalise Free Trade Agreements (under the heading of Economic Partnership Agreements or EPAs) by the end of 2007. According to the EU these EPAs should include not only the liberalisation of commodity trade but also regulatory commitments on investments, competition, public procurement, services and trade related intellectual property rights. These additional agreements are either going beyond obligations assumed at the multilateral level of the World Trade Organization (WTO) or new issues already rejected by developing countries at the WTO. This paper analyses the costs and benefits of EPAs in the light of the South African free trade experiences with the EU.
This Report, South African Free Trade Experiences with the EU (WDEV Special Report, 3/2007) is reserved for subscribers with username and password. To read the Report please log in >>> here or pick your subscription >>> here. To order the Report separately by e-mail (as pdf file by e-mail) click >>> here.
The Superiority of the Financial Transaction Tax + Global Unemployment on Record Levels + New Beginning in European Development Policy? + Clean Development for the South
Global Economic Prospects for 2010 + Does Copenhagen Really Matter? + Quo Vadis, German Development Cooperation? + Mapping Social Protection in South Asia
The ITUC's Annual Survey of Trade Union Rights has documented a dramatic increase in the number of trade unionists murdered in 2009, with 101 killings - an increase of 30% over the previous year. The new Survey also reveals growing pressure on fundamental workers' rights around the world as the impact of the global economic crisis on employment deepened.
Barely in office, German development minister Dirk Niebel unambiguously mapped out the road: he wants to ensure that development cooperation once again focuses on German interests. This position provoked-probably intentionally-protest from the greater part of the German development community.
Latvia and Estonia show us what Greece may look forward to if it follows the advice it gets from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union. As noted previously, Latvia has experienced the worst two-year economic downturn on record, losing more than 25% of GDP, a recent study shows.
A group of economists has written an open letter to European policymakers criticising their collective failure to address the Greek crisis as a European crisis. It sets out the various causes of the Greek crisis, of which poor fiscal management by that country is only one, and points out the European dimension of the problems. It calls for decisive and coordinated policies by European and national actors to stem the crisis.
The evaluation of the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank's support for gender issues between 2002 and 2008 is of significant relevance in the light of the Beijing+15 review and the launching of gender mainstreaming as crucial strategy for all institutions and organizations.