South Asian Yearbook of Trade & Development 2005

The first South Asian Yearbook of Trade & Development, a Centad publication, was released in New Delhi on October 27, 2005. The yearbook is a comprehensive collection of research papers on trade-related topics pertinent to the development concerns of South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka).

Click here to download the summary of the yearbook

Click here to see list of contributors

The chapters in the South Asian Yearbook of Trade & Development 2005 focus on the following issues:

• WTO and South Asian countries
• Agricultural subsidies
• Non-agricultural market access
• Trade in services
• Trade facilitation
• TRIPS and public health
• TRIPS and bio-diversity
• Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures
• Trade in textiles and apparel
• Dispute settlement in the WTO
• Regional trade agreements
• Generalised system of preferences

Muchkund Dubey, former External Affairs Secretary, Government of India, puts the yearbook in perspective with his paper ‘WTO and South Asian Countries: Developing Unison’. The paper gives an overview of the debate surrounding trade and development, analyses the importance of a rules-based trading regime and evaluates whether trade under the WTO regime has fostered development in the South Asian region. It also discusses the need for South Asian countries to pursue issues of common interest and to find ways of accommodating conflicting interests. It advocates that Developed Countries (DCs) campaign vigorously for measures that will benefit Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Click here to download this chapter.

Given the huge agricultural population in South Asian countries, WTO rules on agriculture will have an enormous impact. ‘Tackling Agricultural Subsidies in WTO Negotiations’, by Gopal Naik (Professor of Economics and Social Sciences, IIM, Bangalore), examines the impact of large farm subsidies provided by rich countries. Ongoing negotiations need to clearly define aggregate measure of support, cap Blue Box subsidies and define Blue and Green Boxes. The paper cautions against ‘carry-over’ and ‘front-loading’ provisions in export subsidies. Click here to download this chapter.

The chapter ‘Non-Agricultural Market Access: A Balancing Act for South Asia’, by Rajesh Mehta (Senior Fellow, Research and Information System for Developing Countries) and Pooja Agarwal (Research Assistant, Research and Information System for Non-Aligned and Other Developing Countries), discusses how DCs and LDCs should approach the tariff reductions required of them. It explains why the Swiss formula should be rejected. It discusses the issue of tariff binding and suggests how countries with differing views on the sectoral initiative can reach common ground. Click here to download this chapter.

The chapter ‘Trade in Services and South Asia’, by Rupa Chanda (Professor of Economics and Social Sciences, IIM Bangalore), analyses the importance of services for South Asian countries and their relationship with the development process. It shows how the emergence of multilateral rules in trade in services has impacted the services sector in South Asian countries. It also identifies specific sectors where South Asian countries have a comparative advantage that they need to push further. Barriers by developed countries need to be countered, but developing countries must also meet their own liberalising commitments in certain sectors and modes. Click here to download this chapter.

‘Trade Facilitation: The Flip Side’, by economist Nitya Nanda, suggests that the benefits of trade facilitation have been exaggerated. These will involve huge costs to DCs and LDCs that should be cautious about the commitments they make. The chapter examines the proposals that have been made by different countries on trade facilitation in the WTO and their implications for South Asian countries in the context of the July framework. Click here to download this chapter.

In ‘TRIPS Implementation and Public Health Safeguards’ K M Gopakumar (Research Officer, Centad) looks at whether the imposition of product patenting of medicines restricts the ability of the poor to access medicines at affordable prices. It also examines the legal regimes in different South Asian countries from a public health perspective, and identifies those countries where the impact of TRIPS on public health will be felt the most. It suggests concrete changes that need to be made in the TRIPS Agreement to ensure that there is no negative fallout. Click here to download this chapter.

WTO rules on intellectual property do not recognise and appreciate bio-diversity concerns. This is already having a huge negative impact on farmers and traditional tribal communities in the region. The chapter ‘Emerging Issues Relating to Conflicts between TRIPS and Bio-diversity: Development Implications for South Asia’, by Ratnakar Adhikari (Programme Specialist, UNDP Asia-Pacific Centre, Colombo), explores linkages between bio-diversity concerns like access to genetic resources and development indicators like livelihood and food security for South Asia. It evaluates the impact of TRIPS on national policy space available to South Asian countries on bio-diversity issues, by examining specific rules in the TRIPS Agreement. Click here to download this chapter.

'Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and South Asia’, by Mohammed Saqib (Fellow, Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Studies, New Delhi), evaluates the importance and impact of these measures on South Asia. It identifies rules in the SPS Agreement that are important to South Asian countries, and assesses trends behind the imposition of SPS measures by developed countries on South Asian exports. Click here to download this chapter.

The chapter ‘Trade and Apparel in South Asia’ by Saman Kelegama (Executive Director, Institute of Policy Studies and Bilesha Weeraratne, explores linkages between trade in textiles and clothing and development indicators in South Asia by analysing its labour-intensive character. It identifies the trade pattern in textiles and clothing in South Asian countries, and illustrates the changes, if any, before and after the elimination of quotas. It also identifies non-quota barriers in specific countries and analyses their impact on restricting South Asian textile and clothing exports. Click here to download this chapter.

‘Dispute Settlement in the WTO’, by Ravindra Pratap (Assistant Professor, School of Law, Indraprastha University, New Delhi), discusses the issues that different South Asian countries have referred to the WTO dispute settlement system. It evaluates the response and also looks at the three formal submissions South Asia has made at the ongoing post-Doha DSU review negotiations. It also offers some suggestions to make the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) more workable for South Asia. Click here to download this chapter.

‘Regional Trade Agreements in South Asia’, by Indra Nath Mukherji (Professor of South Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University), analyses how a Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) within South Asia could foster development, and whether an RTA comprising all South Asian countries would be economically feasible. It examines the existing attempts at regional integration in South Asia (SAARC, SAFTA) and investigates the possibilities of widening the scope of RTAs. Click here to download this chapter.