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The principal elements of the European Commission's recent Communication on its external trade policy (titled "Global Europe") are assessed in this paper. Certain shifts are discernible in the Commission's position, in particular as they relate to the prominence given to market access objectives and to bilateral and regional trade agreements. Even so, this latest Communication is probably best thought of as an evolution in the Commission's trade policy and not an abrupt break with the past. Particular attention is given here to the potential payoffs from the proposed bilateral trade negotiations with selected Asian nations and the need for further thinking on the Commission's part with respect to the multilateral trading system.
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This essay will present the views of a US observer on the politics and substance of the European Commission's proposed new policies toward bilateral and regional trade agreements. It will contrast both the rationale advanced by the Commission and the underlying politics surrounding FTAs with the situations in the United States, particularly the record of the Bush administration "Competitive Liberalisation" policy. It will also describe additional political and security considerations that form the basis for US regional trade policy. Finally, it will advance tentative predictions for the FTA policy in the future.
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The European Community represents one of the primary destinations for Indian goods, accounting for one fifth of Indian exports. Indian goods have been at the receiving end of a significant majority of anti subsidy investigations initiated by the European Commission. Such goods have been alleged to be benefiting from subsidies inconsistent with Council Regulation 2026/97 which forms the legal basis for anti subsidy investigations initiated by the Commission. The paper puts forth an analysis of India's export incentive schemes including old schemes already subjected to challenge as well as new schemes vulnerable to challenge in future investigations with regard to the Council Regulation 2026/97 and the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.
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This paper describes and analyse the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) elements in the recently announced EU new trade policy, which seeks to be more assertive in global trade. The policy's focus on IPR covers pushing for greater global harmonisation, the implementation of stronger standards in bilateral FTAs, and enhanced enforcement efforts in key developing countries. This policy is largely similar to the IPR emphasis in US global and bilateral trade policy, which has had a record of mixed success. Lessons are drawn from that record to illuminate the potential gains and problems that might arise in the new EU trade policy.
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We're not even half way through 2007 and it is already proving to be a momentous period in relations between the European Union and Switzerland.
The...
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The "new generation of Free Trade Agreements" announced by the Commission of the European Community signals an intention to substantially extend the geographic coverage of its reciprocal, preferential trade agreements. We review the development of regionalism in East Asia by listing the existing bilaterals and those under negotiation and conclude that the EC's initiative will have minimal effect in this region. However, globally, there are two super-hubs, namely the EC and the US, each with its network of spokes and associated rules. They are likely to compete to design any new multilateral rules which are WTO-plus.
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The idea of profiting from biodiversity conservation may seem strange, but this is in fact an essential condition for mobilizing private investment in conservation. Without profit, business dies and markets stagnate, notes a major new study, Building Biodiversity Business, which has been underwritten by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and Shell International. From forestry and fisheries to bioprospecting and ecotourism, biodiversity conservation can be profitable, the 164-page study suggests. It identifies business opportunities and proposals of concern to exporters, with particular emphasis on upcoming markets. The use of legally mandated biodiversity offsets is growing, and examples can be found in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Switzerland and the...
... Liability Directive passed by the European Commission in 2004 could lead to similar arrangeme...
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This paper analyses the European Commission's communication Global Europe and attempts to demonstrate that the substance behind the shift in emphasis towards bilateral trade policy is an extension of existing EU bilateral trade policy; that the shift is not convincingly justified by the analysis in the EU Commission papers; that the shift might be best thought of as an attempt to re-energise corporate sector support for trade liberalisation in the face of the suspension of the Doha Development Agenda and a weakening of political support for trade liberalisation.
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Growth and jobs, and the opportunity they create, are at the heart of the European Commission's agenda for Europe. They are essential for economic prosperity, social justice and sustainable development and to equip Europeans for globalisation. They are a core criterion by which citizens will judge whether Europe is delivering results in their daily lives. In 2005, the renewed Lisbon strategy set out the steps we must take in Europe to deliver growth and jobs. This internal agenda must be complemented with an external agenda for creating opportunity in a globalised economy, encompassing our trade and other external policies. Our external priority in this area in recent years has been to pursue an ambitious, balanced and just multilateral agreement to liberalise international trade furth...
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Sri Lanka has been exporting gems to Europe for more than 500 years. Jewellery production and trade is an important sector, employing approximately 3% to 5% of the workforce, particularly in the gem-rich region in the south-west of the island. In 1997, the Sri Lankan Government implemented policies to help the country become a regional center for cutting gems, creating jewellery and trading in gold. The Sri Lanka Export Development Board was charged with developing a marketing campaign for gems and jewellery. Together with ITC and the European Commission, it launched a two-year project to export jewellery to EU markets in October 2005. As part of the overall marketing campaign, the project consultants carried out a market survey of Germany, Spain and the UK. An attractive feature of the...