The WTO ministerial meetings – known as MC12 – are postponed. The issues that drive the meetings remain. Can talks over fisheries subsidies finally conclude? Yes, proposes Inu Manak. A waiver for intellectual property rights faces heated debate – Jennifer Brant explains why. Read a new report by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs to learn how trade policy can help efforts to tackle climate change. Find more insights in What We are Reading, our curated list of articles on the latest developments in trade. ICYMI: watch our webinar on corporate subsidies, which prompt multiple disputes between trading partners.
NEW ARTICLE
A deal on fish will break the WTO’s negotiating deadlock
Inu Manak 30 November 2021
Talks on fisheries subsidies have progressed so much that the pausing of MC12 represents only a small setback for the negotiations, twenty years in the making. A successful deal would be critical, explains Research Fellow Inu Manak of the Cato Institute, both for the credibility of consensus-building at the WTO and the health of the oceans, food security, and fishers who make up 10% of the world’s population.
Unprecedented: How intellectual property rights helped the pandemic response
Jennifer Brant 30 November 2021
The world remains divided over the temporary removal of intellectual property (IP) protections on Covid-19 vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. But a waiver could slow the technology and knowledge-sharing which proved critical in producing vaccines in record time, argues a new article by Jennifer Brant of Innovation Insights. Can the international community strike a balance between safeguarding public health and fostering innovation and manufacturing?
Southeast Asia faces challenging times ahead as global warming nears. The latest report by the Singapore Institute for International Affairs (SIIA), ‘Greening the Road Ahead: Building a Collective ASEAN Climate Community’, outlines important policy options for the region. Collaboration, proposes SIIA, can advance decarbonization and development priorities, including by harmonizing policies to reduce carbon leakage from inter- and intra-regional trade. The launch event, co-hosted by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, was led by Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan and featured a panel discussion with Senior Research Fellow Stephen Olson.
What We are Reading is a collection of articles, essays, and reports that detail the latest developments in trade, investment, technology, and geopolitics. Visit our latest reading list to learn what lies ahead for global trade.
Corporate subsidies by China, the EU, and the US: Time for reforms?
Catch up on our latest webinar, which featured Simon Evenett of Global Trade Alert (GTA) and a panel of experts, who urge trading nations to renew cooperation on the issue of subsidies. The discussion was based on the latest GTA report Subsidies and Market Access, which documents the distorting impact of corporate subsidies awarded by China, the European Union, and the United States.
