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Two mul ti lateral organisations

dealing with trade:

UNCTAD and WTO

More differences than similari ties

Eva Novi Karina, S.IP

12/PSP/339011/4368

Master of International Trade Studies

University of Gadjah Mada

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THE DIFFERENCES LIE ON:

The originsof both organisations

Their mandates

The institutional functioning

Their thinkingon trade and development

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THE ORIGINS

The GATT

and the WTO

Keynes ideas on post-warinternational economic governance(avoid economic conflicts)

The Bretton Woods agreements(1944)

1947: the ITO, the Havana Charterand the GATT (light links with theUN)

GATT Rounds of trade negotiationsuntil the Uruguay Round

(1986-94)

1995: WTO is established outsidethe UN system

UNCTAD: 1964

Decolonisation

North-South and East-Westtensions

Non-Aligned Movement

Group of 77

Trade not aid: link between

trade and development(Prebisch thinking)

1st UNCTAD MinisterialConference meets in Geneva;

Permanent UNCTADsecretariat established inGeneva

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THE FUNCTIONING

WTO

No links with the UN machinery

Permanent governmental bodiesthat monitor the implementation ofthe trade rules

Negotiating governmental bodies

The Secretariat provides neutraltechnical support to thenegotiations

Accession has to be negotiated

Limited role of non-governmentalstakeholders

UNCTAD UNCTAD intergovernmental

machinery (Ministerial Conferences

and Trade and Development Board)

linked to UN General Assembly and

ECOSOC

UNCTAD secretariat part of the UN

Secretariat (part of same budget)

UNCTAD secretariat devoted to

development

No normative role, no negotiations of

binding rules, only political role UN membership (192 countries)

Strong participation of non-

governmental stakeholders

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THE MANDATE

UNCTAD:

I ntegrated treatment of trade,

investment and related issues=

wide mandate

Researchon a range of trade anddevelopment issues

Consensus-buildingthroughdebates and exchange ofexperiences among 192 memberStates on all UNCTAD issues

Technical cooperationon all thetopics of UNCTAD work

(policy and legal advice, training,institution building, support tonegotiations)

WTO

Rules-based organisation, sets

binding multilateral trade law

through negotiations

(legislative role)

Dispute settlement mechanismwith mandatory decisions, can

apply sanctions (judicial role)

Work confined to the existing

trade agreements and to the

scope of the negotiations =

nar row mandate based on

existing trade rules

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THE IDEAS ON DEVELOPMENT

WTO

Main goal is not development perse, but to avoid commercialdisputes

Same trade rules and reciprocity

apply to all, but Special and differential

treatment is introduced withvarious intensities

The Doha DevelopmentAgenda introduced in 2001

Trade liberalisation and

implementation of trade rulesleads to development

UNCTAD

Trade is oneof the maininstruments leading todevelopment

but no automatic links betweentrade liberalisation, povertyreduction, and development

The links between trade anddevelopment aremultidimensional

Special and differentialtreatment is key

No one size-fits-alldevelopment models

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UNCTADs INTEGRATED VISION OF TRADE AND

DEVELOPMENT and THE SCOPE OF ITS WORK:

I NTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT GOALS

SUPPLY-SIDE

PRODUCTIVE

CAPACITY

POLICIES

TRADE

SUPPORT

SERVICES

POLICIES

TRADEPOLICY

AND

NEGOTIATION

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SOME UNCTAD IDEAS

Special and differential treatment and recognition of different levelsof development (including trade preferences)

Identify the development content and impact of trade negotiations

Need for a development-friendly coherence between theinternational financial and trading systems

Development impact of bilateral and regional trade and investmentagreements

Enhance endogenous capacities and homegrown developmentpolicies

Links between investment, science and technology, ICTs and tradeflows

Role of commodities in international trade

Development-friendly structure of the GATS

LDCs terms of WTO accession

Need for debt reduction and debt sustainability Role of competition law and policies in development processes

Traditional work on trade facilitation and related issues

Research on non-trade barriers

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THANK YOU !

www.unctad.org