Global Trade Governance Project

Making global trade governance work for development.

The Global Trade Governance Project was established in 2007 to foster research and debate on how to make global trade governance work for development. The three core objectives of the project are:

to conduct and foster research into global trade governance, with a special focus on WTO reform from the perspective of developing countries and the goal of sustainable development;
to create and maintain a network of scholars and policy-makers working on these issues;
to strengthen and influence debate among scholars, policymakers and NGOs regarding global trade governance through a series of lectures, policy dialogues and seminars in Geneva, Oxford and developing country capitals.

The Project will draw on researchers with expertise in international relations, political science, development studies, economics, and international law – and will seek to draw on the experience and input of policy practitioners, particularly those from developing countries.

The work of the Project includes partnerships with the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies at the University of Geneva, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the South Centre – an intergovernmental organization of developing countries. At Oxford, the Project is directly linked to Oxford University's Department of Politics and International Relations and Centre for International Studies – and participates in a project on the roles of the EU and US in the reform of the WTO at the European Studies Centre.

Events:

24 October, 2008 at 2.00pm:
The Integration of Developing Countries in the WTO Legal Regime: Observations on Dispute Settlement and Access Constraints
Hunter Nottage (Legal Counsel, Advisory Centre on WTO Law)
Location: Swire Seminar Room, 12 Merton Street, University College, Oxford

29 April, 2008 at 8.30am:
South Asia Research-Policy Dialogue on Global Economic Governance & Trade, New Delhi
GEG’s Global Trade Governance Project cohosted a research–policy dialogue with the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, the Graduate Institute for International Studies in Geneva and the Emerging Dynamic Global Economies Network. The conference was one of several dialogues among research and policy officials in key developing countries to aid in the identification of their strategic interests in current and upcoming debates on governance in the multilateral trading system.

Information about and outputs from the meeting are available here.

6 February, 2008 at 6.30pm:
60 Years of the Multilateral Trading System: A Few Lessons
Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the WTO, delivered a Special Address as part of the Geneva Lectures on Global Economic Governance, jointly sponsored by GEG and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.

To view a webcast of the event, please click here To read a transcript of Pascal Lamy's address, please click here. To see WTO News coverage of the event, please click here. For the agenda, click here. For information on the Geneva Lectures on Global Economic Governance, click here.

1 February, 2008 at 2.00pm:
New Faces in the Green Room: Developing Country Coalitions and Decision-Making in the WTO
Mayur Patel (Project Associate, Global Trade Governance Project, GEG)
Location: Swire Seminar Room, 12 Merton Street, University College, Oxford
Note: This paper is available here.

29 January, 2008 at 6.30pm:
Bangladesh Ambassador to WTO delivered a Geneva Lecture on Global Economic Governance
On Tuesday, January 29 2008, 6.30pm, H. E. Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya, Ambassador & Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Offices, WTO and Other International Organizations in Geneva and Vienna, delivered a Geneva Lecture on Global Economic Governance on 'Creeping Trade and Phantom Aid: LDCs in the Global Context and Priorities for Reform of Global Governance'.

The following literature and media related to the event is now available:

Agenda

An audio recording of the speech

A biography of the speaker

25 January, 2008 at 2.00pm:
Europe's New Conditionality: The Politics of EPAs with Africa
Emily Jones (Policy Adviser – Economic Justice, Oxfam GB)
Location: Swire Seminar Room, 12 Merton Street, University College, Oxford

30 November, 2007 at 2.00pm:
The Implementation Game: Developing Country Implementation of the TRIPS Agreement
Carolyn Deere (Senior Researcher and Director, Global Trade Governance Project, GEG)
Location: Swire Seminar Room, 12 Merton Street, University College, Oxford

23 November, 2007 at 2.00pm:
The G20 and NAMA 11: The Role of Developing Countries in the WTO Doha Round
Faizel Ismail (Head of the South African delegation to the WTO)
Location: Swire Seminar Room, 12 Merton Street, University College, Oxford
Note: A copy of Mr. Ismail's paper is available here.

2 November, 2007 at 2.00pm:
Governance Adaptation in the WTO: Developing Countries and Their Coalitions
Vicente Yu (Program Coordinator of the Global Governance for Development Programme, South Centre)
Location: Swire Seminar Room, 12 Merton Street, University College, Oxford
Note: A copy of Vicente Yu's presentation is available here.

1 November, 2007 at 2.00pm:
China Research - Policy Dialogue on Global Economic Governance and Trade
In November 2007, GEG collaborated with the Development Research Centre of the State Council and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) to organize a policy dialogue on global economic governance and trade. For the agenda of that meeting, click here. For a summary of the meeting and list of participants, click here. To see the Meeting Report in Chinese, click here.
Location: Beijing

Activities:

Constraints Facing Small Developing Countries in International Trade Negotiations
31/07/2008

In June, GEG launched a study of the constraints facing small developing countries in international trade negotiations, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The project seeks to enhance understanding of where the salient constraints on small states lie and how, in some cases, they have been overcome. The research methodology employed includes extensive interviews in home capitals, Geneva, and Brussels; an online questionnaire for trade officials; and four in-depth country case studies.

The final report is due to be released in October. To visit the Commonwealth Secretariat's Small States project, click here.

Governing the Global Economy: Strengthening Multilateral institutions
29/07/2008
The International Peace Institute (IPI) has published Governing the Global Economy: Strengthening Multilateral Institutions, a Policy Paper by Professor Ngaire Woods. Click here to read the paper or here to visit the IPI's website.

The latest report from IPI's Coping with Crisis program, this paper takes a focused look at the multilateral mechanisms geared toward managing international finance, trade, and development. Author Ngaire Woods spells out the key policy shifts needed within three of the world's most important economic bodies - the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank - in order to foster the development of an international system better suited to the current turbulent economic climate.

Brazilian Foreign Minister to give Special Address as part of Geneva Lectures on Global Economic Governance
28/07/2008
The Brazilian Foreign Minister, Celso Amorim, will give a Special Address on the future and governance of the multilateral trading system in Geneva as part of the Geneva Lectures on Global Economic Governance, jointly hosted by GEG and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, University of Geneva. The lecture will be held at the Graduate Institute in Geneva at 6.30pm at a date in October (to be confirmed). Further information will be posted when available.

Global Trade Governance Project Director Participates in 'WTO Forum', the WTO's Online Video Debate Series
26/03/2008
On October 5, Carolyn Deere, Director of the Global Trade Governance Project at GEG, and Rosalea Hamilton, Founder of Jamaica's Institute of Law & Economics, discussed the theme 'Making Trade Work for Development: What Can WTO Members do to Ensure the Global Trading System Delivers More for Developing Countries?'. The moderator was WTO spokesperson Keith Rockwell. Click here to access the video.

GEG Participation at WTO Public Forum 2007
26/03/2008
On October 4, the Global Trade Governance Project co-hosted a roundtable with the Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI) at the WTO's Public Forum 2007 ('How Can the WTO Help Harness Globalization?') in Geneva. The roundtable opened the 'Governance' theme of the Public Forum in the WTO's main Conference Room. The topic of the session was: 'A Governance Audit of the WTO: Roundtable Discussion on Making Global Trade work for Development'. The following literature and media related to the event is now available:

The GEG session was one of several events on developing countries and the governance of trade. Dr. Deere and Mayur Patel each also presented in a two-part panel event co-organized by the South Centre and the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS). The South Centre's event reporting service, the South FACE, covered the events. The South Centre reports can be found here Dr. Deere also presented a talk on fisheries, trade and sustainable development at a session entitled 'Natural Resources, Sustainable Development and Trade: New Instruments to Promote Sustainable Development Through Trade Agreements', hosted by the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law.

Kamal Nath Launches Trade Governance Project at Oxford; Calls for a Balanced, Just, Development-oriented WTO
26/03/2008
On May 3, 2007, Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry of India, launched the new Global Trade Governance Project at the University of Oxford. The following literature and media related to the event is now available:

Press Release.
Text of Minister Nath's Special Address.
Video of Minister Nath’s Special Address. Please note that the video may take a few minutes to load, depending on connection speed.
Photos of Minister Nath's Visit.

Launch of the Geneva Lectures on Global Economic Governance
26/03/2008
On October 3 the Geneva Lectures on Global Economic Governance were launched. Dr Diana Tussie (Director, Latin American Trade Network and Director, Department of International Relations, Latin American School of Social Sciences (FLACSO), Argentina) presented on 'The WTO and Development: The Challenges of Trust and Empowerment in Governing Global Trade'. Opening remarks were made by Mrs. Lakshmi Puri, Acting Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD. The series is a joint initiative of the Graduate Institute of International Studies and Oxford's Global Economic Governance Programme on 'Governance and the World Trading System'. The following literature and media related to the event is now available:

Building Coalitions and Consensus in the WTO
06/02/2008
Mayur Patel, Project Associate with the Global Trade Governance Project published the following article on 'Building Coalitions and Consensus in the WTO' in the August 2007 edition of Bridges Monthly Review (ICTSD), 21-22. Forthcoming translations of this article will be available in Russian, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Development Implications of Economic Partnership Agreements for Africa
06/02/2008
Mayur Patel, Project Associate with the Global Trade Governance Project recently published the following policy brief on 'Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and African Countries: The Development Implications for Ghana'. It is published by Realizing Rights: the Ethical Globalisation Initiative, an NGO founded by Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland).

The University of Oxford & University College, Oxford

Menu:

Global Trade Governance Project

Events:

Activities: