International Trade Law and Policy

Dates: 7-11 December 2009

Venue: United Nations Headquarters, New York, Conference Room A

Coordinator: Ms. Tamar Kherlopian

Objective:

The potential of international trade and the multilateral trading system to contribute to economic growth, development and employment is widely recognized. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the principal international organization governing world trade and providing a multilateral forum for trade negotiations. The WTO counts 153 member states today. WTO committed to a development agenda at its 4th Ministerial Conference held in Doha in November 2001.The Doha Round was supposed to have been concluded by 1 January 2005, but due to persistent differences in the positions of countries, the negotiations were suspended in July 2006, and collapsted again in in July 2008.

The question today is what the necessary next steps are to work towards a successful conclusion of the Doha Round. This seminar will take place shortly after the Seventh Meeting of the Ministerial Conference of the WTO (30 Nov – 2 Dec), and will shed light on the outcomes of the Meeting and prospects for finalization of the Doha Round in 2010. 

Working Language: English

Related Downloads:

Programme

Information Note

Seminar Presentations and reference material

Monday, 7 December 2009

1 Basic Principles of the WTO: Presentation and Exercises
Mr. Edwini Kessie, Counsellor, Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation, WTO

2 Introduction to the International Trading System: Bargaining in the shadow of the law
Mr. Marc Busch, Professor, Georgetown University

3 Anti-Dumping, Subsidies, Countervailing Measures, Safeguards
Mr. Marc Busch, Professor, Georgetown University; Krzysztof Pelc, Post-Doctoral Fellow, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University

4 WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism
Mr. Edwini Kessie, WTO

5 Overview of Doha Negotiations
Mr. Edwini Kessie, WTO

6 Agriculture
Mr. Edwini Kessie, WTO

7 Non-Agricultural Marktet Access (NAMA)
Mr. Edwini Kessie, WTO

8 General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS)
Mr. Edwini Kessie, WTO

9 Cross-Cutting Issue I: International Intellectual Property
Mr. Rama Rao, Director, WIPO Office New York

10 Cross-Cutting Issue II: Trade and Climate Change
Mr. Friedrich Soltau, UN-DESA

11 Cross-Cutting Issue III: Trade and Sustainable Development
Ms. Chantal-Line Carpentier, UN-DESA

Wednesyday, 9 December 2009

12 Special and Differential Treatment (S&D)
Mr. Edwini Kessie, WTO

13 Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMS)
Mr. Edwini Kessie, WTO

14 Cross-Cutting Issue IV: Trade and Employment
Ms. Jane Stewart, Director, ILO New York Office

15 Accession to the WTO
Mr. Matthew Thomas, UNCTAD

16 The Impact of the Economic Crisis on Trade
Mr. Alex Izurieta, UN-DESA

17 Accessing Trade Information: Databases - The WITS Platform
Mr. Aki Kuwahara, UNCTAD

Friday, 11 December 2009

18 Trade and Development
Mr. Santiago Fernandez de Cordoba, UNCTAD New York Office

19 Regional Trade Integration
Ms. Mona Haddad, World Bank

20 Aid for Trade
Ms. Mona Haddad, World Bank

Related Links:

• International Trade and the Doha Round, July 2008
• International Trade and the Doha Round, December 2007
• International Economics and Finance, August 2006