The evidence demonstrating that nations gain from trade is overwhelming. However, trade liberalization can cause disruption to firms and workers, and its gains and losses are spread unevenly. While many gain from trade, import surges have sometimes und …

Economic globalisation is coming under increasing scrutiny in many parts of the world. In particular, its trade aspect is increasingly, and critically, being questioned, by populist politicians in the West and developing worlds alike. In the process im …

Participation in global value chains (GVCs)2 by developing countries is limited but holds substantial growth prospects. South Africa and Kenya have the potential to steer regional integration opportunities and act as gateways to favourable investment g …

This discussion paper examines the roles of South Africa and Kenya as regional gateways for global value chains (GVCs) coordinated by multinational corporations (MNCs), and the obstacles small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face in entering those value …

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) can shift profits away from jurisdictions with comparatively high tax rates to jurisdictions with lower to no tax rates, and so avoid paying their fair share of taxes without breaking any single jurisdiction’s laws. Thi …

“For many years the Doha Round of negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) had been in the doldrums, with little apparent prospect of success in its primary aim. In the wake of the ninth WTO ministerial conference in Bali in December 2013 the …

“The paper argues that South Africa’s role as an economic gateway primarily depends upon geography, ie upon naturally given and man-made structures in geographical space. Based upon these structures, politicians and businessmen have to pursue the right …

” A rapidly changing world needs a navigational system if it is not to founder on the rocks of high finance. The G20 ‘ship’ currently lacks such direction and risks becoming irrelevant at the time of greatest need for it. One option, albeit one that wo …

“In November 2011, the Doha Round will be in its tenth year. Efforts continue in Geneva to conclude the negotiations but with no sign of agreement anytime soon. The talks have essentially been stuck since the last draft modalities of 2008, and no agree …

“South Africa’s trade, industrial and exchange rate policies have been the subject of substantial public debate in recent months, not least owing to the impact of the 2008–10 global financial crisis. On the trade and industrial policy fronts a substant …

“So far the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has acted as a constraint on the worst protectionist pressures building in the global trading system following the 2008–10 global financial crisis, which is a testament to the system’s constraining power. But …

“A group of Southern African Customs Union (SACU) experts and interested parties recently participated in a scenario-planning exercise on the future of SACU. This paper gives an account of the scenarios developed, which range from SACU collapsing to a …

“This discussion has been among a group of like-minded people who generally see the benefits of free trade. But that view is not necessarily widely held in the broader society, where protectionism attracts a lot of support. That’s why we need to have m …

“The challenges that Africa faces in trade and regional integration are legion, and well documented. In this brief we attempt to summarise them against the backdrop of Africa’s broad development priorities. We then explore the ‘demand’ and ‘supply’ sid …

To the apparent surprise of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank governors meeting in Washington during the annual October gathering in 2008, George Bush, outgoing President of the United States of America (US), proposed that a formal summit of G20 h …

“This volume is part of a larger effort to raise awareness among members of the South African business community of the importance to their own interests of the issues at stake in an FTA negotiation, and of the possibilities inherent in compromise. It …

“The central theme of this book is the assertion that despite potential risks agricultural biotechnology can be effectively harnessed to ensure food security and general economic prosperity in Southern Africa. Rautenbach’s chapter exposes the gravity o …

“This paper examines the regional integration initiatives underpinning the various southern African RECs, and SACU’s relationship to the rationalization of RECs in southern and eastern Africa. Part 2 sketches the institutional frameworks associated wit …

“This paper focuses on coalition building by developing countries, which is a key indicator of their overall capacity and effectiveness in the WTO. The issue is examined in the context of national trade policies and trade negotiations on other tracks, …

On 11 October 1999 South Africa and the EU signed the TDCA. The agreement was only ratified in May 2004 but some aspects were provisionally implemented with immediate effect. This paper deals with the European Union and its structure and what South Afr …

This briefing offers insight into the strategic implications of European Union enlargement for South Africa’s trade strategy. This briefing focuses on the dynamics most likely to impact on EU trade strategy particularly in the sphere of agricultural po …

“The purpose of this report is to highlight the contours of US trade strategy, as well as its prospects and implications for the SACU-US FTA negotiations. It deals with six issues. First, the report traces the historical origins of US trade policy. Sec …

“Various questions are beginning to be asked about the progress and potential of the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Forum, which was created more than a year ago. Following two ministerial meetings a broad agenda has been laid down. At present, howev …

“This trade policy report sets out to understand and demystify the failed September 2003 World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in Cancun, Mexico. The collection begins with President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda arguing that what Africans rea …

“Current negotiations over special and differential treatment (SDT) in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are rather complex, and fraught with all manner of difficulties. Arguably only those involved in these negotiations really understand the state of …