December 20, 2010

IN THIS ALERT:

Conference Outlines Ideas for Moving Doha Round Services Negotiations Forward
At December 10-12 conference in Sydney, Australia, convened by the Cordell Hull Institute and hosted by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, trade experts from around the world examined the current challenges Doha Round services negotiations, and proposed a number of ideas for moving forward.  In particular, they recommended binding current liberal market access conditions; preparing liberalization commitments organized around clusters of services, such as logistics and supply chain management; and introducing greater freedom for the temporary movement of contractual service suppliers and independent professionals.  For a copy of the Chairman's statement from this conference, click here.

De Gucht Outlines EU Trade Policy Priorities
In a December 16 at the Peterson Institute in Washington , DC , EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht emphasized that the EU will continue to work for an early Doha deal.  "We hope to turn the political engagement of the G20 Summit into genuine momentum.... we need to build on the progress achieved in 2008, which means that all parties will now have to engage in genuine give and take.  If this happens, I think we have a really good chance to conclude a better and more ambitious deal in 2011."  De Gucht also called for more work on investment, which is playing an increasingly large role in the global economy, innovation, and job creation.  He noted that about half of world trade takes place between a parent company and its subsidiaries. For a copy of DeGucht's remarks, click here: http://www.eurunion.org/eu/images/speeches/degucht_petersoninstitutespeech.doc.

Lamy calls on trade negotiators to "move out of their comfort zones towards agreement"
In December 14 remarks before the General Council, World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Pascal Lamy called on negotiators to move out of their "comfort zones" towards a Doha agreement. "There can no longer be any a priori red lines. All Members must be in a position to engage into substance on a 'without prejudice' basis, under the single undertaking," he said. Lamy noted that negotiating group chairs are intensively preparing for the negotiating meetings that will start the week of January 10, and added that  "...although we still have important challenges ahead of us, I sense a new energy and a determination among all participants to ensure that we grasp the narrow, but real opportunity to conclude the Round next year." For a copy of Director-General Lamy's remarks, click here: http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news10_e/tnc_chair_report_14dec10_e.htm.

Study Compares Chinese, Japanese, and U.S. Free Trade Agreements
In a new study entitled "Demystifying FTAs: A Comparative Analysis of American, Japanese, and Chinese Efforts to Shape the Future of Free Trade," Arthur Lord, Adjunct Fellow at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, explains how, as the three largest economies in the world, the actions and interactions of the U.S., Japan, and China hold great consequence for global trade norms. The study compares and contrasts the three countries' approaches to FTAs, evaluates the characteristics of their FTAs, and assesses what can be expected in terms of future FTA activity.  The study also outlines a number of policy recommendations, including rebranding and regionalizing FTAs, recrafting them to allow for open accession, and reconsidering the pursuit of smaller scoped agreements.  The full report is available at: http://www.sais-jhu.edu/centers/reischauer/publications.html