Issue
No. 628, 1-15 November 2016
E-commerce
gets push at WTO, development issues sidelined
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WTO
GC chair ignores core development issues, pushes e-commerce
The chair
of the WTO General Council is seeking to press forward the contentious agenda
on electronic commerce at the trade body in the face of developing-country opposition.
by D. Ravi Kanth
US,
allies try another NAMA pluri, cloaked as ICT-NTBs
Developed-country WTO
members are spearheading a move – outside the multilateral framework of the Doha
work programme – to lower non-tariff barriers to trade in information and communication
technology products.
by D. Ravi Kanth
DG
selection (reappointment) process off to preemptive start
The selection
of the next Director-General of the WTO will officially get underway on 1 December
with the nomination process, and incumbent Roberto Azevedo has announced his decision
to seek reappointment.
by D. Ravi Kanth
Strong
support for UN panel’s recommendations on access to medicines
Developing-country
WTO members have welcomed a recent report by a UN panel which called on governments
to make full use of flexibilities allowed by the WTO’s intellectual property rules
to promote access to medicines.
by Kanaga Raja
CETA
a corporate-driven, “flawed” treaty, charges UN expert
The newly signed
free trade accord between the EU and Canada gives undue power to corporations
at the expense of national governments and human rights, says a UN rights expert.
by Kanaga Raja
Options
lacking to help developing countries tackle debt crises
Participants at
a recent seminar at the UN lamented the absence of a sovereign debt restructuring
mechanism amid the growing threat of debt crisis facing many developing countries.
by Tharanga Yakupitiyage and Lyndal Rowlands
Opinion:
Privatization the problem, rarely the solution
In the next two articles,
Jomo Kwame Sundaram takes issue with unqualified advocacy of privatization
of public enterprises. The first article points to adverse effects of privatization,
while the article which follows contends that state-owned enterprises can be run
efficiently.
Opinion:
Are public enterprises necessarily inefficient?
by Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Analysis:
People-powered cities: From the UN climate talks to energy democracy
A just
and sustainable approach to tackling the climate change crisis demands democratization
of energy production, distribution and supply, Lavinia Steinfort stresses
in this article written as the annual UN climate conference was taking place in
Marrakesh.
