Developing Countries and the WTO (LAWS70169)

This subject will examine the economic and legal issues facing developing countries in their engagement within the World Trade Organization (WTO). A central organising theme will be the evolving theory and practice relating to the role of economic liberalisation in the developmental processes of these countries. The lecturer has extensive experience in the area in research and teaching and has also acted as a consultant to a variety of governmental and intergovernmental agencies.

Principal topics will include:

• History of developing country engagement in the GATT–WTO
• Evolving theory on trade and development
• GATT legal framework: pre-Uruguay Round
• Overview of Uruguay Round and WTO legal framework
• Agriculture
• Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
• Trade remedies: anti-dumping, countervailing duties and safeguards
• The ‘fair trade’ debate: environmental and labour standards
• The ‘non-WTO’ Singapore issue of foreign investment
• The developmental implications of bilateralism and regionalism
• The future: the Doha Ministerial Declaration.