WTO reform and the crisis of multilateralism: A Developing Country Perspective

By Faizel Ismail

The WTO has not been able to recover since the collapse of the Doha Round in July 2008. Several ministerial conferences including the Buenos Aires meeting in December 2017 failed to reach agreement. The US Trump Administration launched a campaign to reform the WTO in 2018 and 2019. This book argues that the Trump Administration reform proposals have been much more aggressive and far-reaching than the Obama Administration before it, threatening to erode hard-won special and differential treatment rights of developing countries. By blocking the appointment of new Appellate Body members, the US has effectively paralysed the Appellate Body and deepened the crisis of the multilateral trading system. Developing countries have responded to the proposals and called for the WTO to be development-oriented and inclusive. This book provides a critical analysis of the US-led reform proposals and seeks to build a discourse around an alternative set of concepts or principles to guide the multilateral trading system based on fairness, solidarity, social justice, inclusiveness and sustainability.

Professor Faizel Ismail is the Director of the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town. He has a PhD in Politics from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom (2015); an MPhil in Development Studies from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Sussex (1992); and BA and LLB Degrees from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg) in South Africa (1981 and 1985). He has served as the Ambassador Permanent Representative of South Africa to the WTO (2010-2014). As South Africa’s Chief Trade Negotiator, since 1994, he led the new democratic South Africa’s trade negotiations with the European Union (EU), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Southern African Customs Union (SACU), and several other bilateral trading partners including the US, India, and Brazil. He was also South Africa’s Special Envoy on the South Africa-USA AGOA negotiations between January 2015 and June 2016. Professor Ismail is a TIPS Research Fellow. He is the author of two books on the WTO: Mainstreaming Development in the WTO. Developing Countries in the Doha Round (2007) and Reforming the World Trade Organization. Developing Countries in the Doha Round (2009). He is an associate editor of the Journal of World Trade.

This book is published by the South Centre with support from Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies

https://www.southcentre.int/

Find other South Centre publications at: https://www.southcentre.int/publications-catalogues/

Concrete is the most manufactured product on the planet. It is the second most consumed product after water.  Unfortunately, the manufacturing of Original Portland Cement (OPC), which accounts for 98% of global cement production, is highly energy intensive and involves a chemical process of converting limestone into clinker which releases massive quantities of CO2, and currently accounts for 8% of all global greenhouse gas emissions. If cement demand increases as expected, and the industry does not embark on a low-carbon pathway, it is possible that by 2050 cement production alone could account for almost one quarter of all global greenhouse gas emissions. This research report looks at the universe of possible solutions along the cement value chain to make the industry more climate compatible.

Business Day - 31 August 2020 by Gaylor Montmasson-Clair

Read online at Business Day.

Engineering News -  28 July 2020 

Read online at Engineering News.

Business Day - 25 August 2020 by Gray Maguire 

Read online at Business Day.

Or read as a PDF.

Engineering News -  20 August 2020 by  Irma Venter

Read online at Engineering News.

APORDE virtual seminars cover a range of topics on economic development in Africa. The seminars brought together a range of speakers who have been researching and working on economic development. The seminars include discussion on the impact of COVID-19 and responses to the pandemic, which will have a long-term impact on Africa’s growth trajectory. See APORDE seminars for presentations and recordings of Sessions 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

APORDE is a annual seminar that brings together academics, policymakers and civil society representatives to investigate economic development options. It is aimed at building capacity in the South, particularly in Africa and founded on the need to broaden perspectives on development thinking and policymaking.

This year, APORDE is hosting five virtual seminars covering a range of topics on economic development in Africa. These public seminars bring together a range of African and international speakers who have been researching and working on economic development. The seminars include discussion on the impact of COVID-19 and responses to the pandemic, which will have a long term impact on Africa’s growth trajectory.

The seminars will be held on Zoom.  Click on the meeting link to RSVP or email Rozale@tips.org.za to get meeting details.

Download: Aporde 2020 Public Seminar Series speaker and facilitator bios

PRESS RELEASE: Thinking differently about Africa’s economic recovery post COVID-19

1 Alice Amsden Memorial Lecture
Speaker: Carlos Lopes
Topic: The Latest of the Late: Industrialization in Africa
Date: Monday 31 August 2020

Download Annual Alice Amsden Memorial Lecture brochure or read more online

2. Book Launch Event: African EconomicDevelopment - Evidence, Theory, Policy
Speakers: Chris Cramer, John Sender and Arkebe Oqubay
Discussant: Lumkile Mondi
Date: Tuesday 1 September 2020

Dowload Book Launch brochure or read more online

3. Africa's economic responses to the Covid-19 pandemic
Speakers: Busi Sibeko, Léonce Ndikumana and Duma Gqubule
Date: Wednesday 2 September 2020                                  

Africa's economic responses to the Covid-19 pandemic: Presentations

Busi Sibeko, Researcher, Institute for Economic Justice and Dr Gilad Isaacs, Co-Director, Institute for Economic Justice: South Africa’s economic response to COVID-19:
Léonce Ndikumana, University of Massachusetts Amherst Department of Economics and Political Economy Research Institute: Africa’s Economic Responses to the Covid-19 Pandemic 
Duma Gqubule. Centre for Economic Development and Transformation: National vision for growth and development 

Download brochure or read more online

4. Social policy responses to the Covid-19 pandemic
Speakers: Ruth Castel-Branco, Kate Philip and Jayati Ghosh
Date: Monday 7 September 2020  

Social policy responses to the Covid-19 pandemic:

Presentations

Ruth Castel-Branco, Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, Wits University: Social policy responses to the covid-19 pandemic: The case of the PASD-PE in Mozambique Ruth Castel-Branco

Kate Philip, Development strategist currently supporting the Project Management Office in the Presidency: The story of the special Covid grant

Download brochure or read more online

5 Income Inequality: A binding constraint 
Speakers: Gabriel Palma, Basani Baloyi, and Neva Makgetla
Date: Tuesday 8 September 2020  

Income Inequality - A binding constraint: Presentations

Further reading

Gabriel Palma: Working papers

TIPS Working Paper by Neva Makgetla. September 2020: Inequality in South Africa: An Overview. 

For more information about the topic and speakers download invitation or read more online

Presentation:

Neva Makgetla, Senior Economist: Trade and Industrial Policy at TIPS: Economic inequality A binding constraint 

Press Release: Income inequality: a binding constraint

This TIPS tracker highlights important trends in the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, and how they affect the economy. It analyses publically available data, research and media reports to identify current developments and reflect on the prognosis for the contagion, the economy, and policy responses.

KEY FINDINGS FOR THE WEEK

On the pandemic

• The number of reported new cases fell to an average of 3 350 a day in the week to 23 August, from a peak of over 12 000 in mid-July. In response, government relaxed restrictions to Level 2 from Tuesday, 18 August.
• The government was clearly concerned that removing legal restrictions could lead the public and businesses to weaken their efforts to limit transmission, especially physical distancing and masking. Despite the progress from mid-July, the number of reported new cases in the week to 23 August was still three times as high as when Level 3 started on 31 May. If people engage in more risky behaviour, cases will start to surge again in two to three weeks.
• The move to Level 2 underscored that, as long as the pandemic is not fully under control, some industries cannot be both profitable and safe unless they transform their business models. This applies above all to public in-doors entertainment, restaurants and bars; large malls; most personal services such as gyms and hair salons; public transport; and tourism, especially from overseas.

On the economy

• The available evidence indicates that the economic recovery remains slow.
• Big companies have begun to announce their financial results for the period to June, and most are not pretty. There are, however, big differences depending on the industry and the state of the business before the lockdown. State-owned companies that have relied on government bailouts over the past decade now face the real risk of liquidation.
• Following the public outcry over corruption around the pandemic response, the government has introduced measures to capacitate state institutions to initiate investigations and prosecutions. In light of the open pushback from some politicians, the success of the new initiatives will depend on support from civil society, and especially the media and advocacy groups, as well as on the ability of the legal system to move far more quickly and decisively.

Download the Tracker or read online