Textiles and Clothing (T&C) is a critically important sector of international trade for developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs). The T&C sector engages abundant labour resources and requires low investment threshold. The T&C sector has been a contentious area in multilateral...

Definition of what constitutes the national interest test has been deliberately kept vague. The foreign investment test acts as a filtering mechanism where the burden of proof regarding incoming foreign investments being against national interests rests with the Government, not with the...

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (collectively referred to as the ‘BRICS countries') are some of the world's fastest emerging economies. They occupy a central position in their respective regions and often act as a trade and investment hub for other less developed satellite...

Textiles and clothing (T&C) trade after lapse of quotas in 2005 has revealed China's overwhelming comparative advantage in the manufacture and export of T&C products. China's advantage in this sector attracted the use of trade remedies by WTO members under WTO laws, often in a manner contrary to...

Investment in renewable energy sectors in many developing countries has grown significantly in the last decade. Developing countries now seek to attract investment in the renewable energy sector. Foreign investment in developing countries hinges on factors such as security of investment, entry...

Export controls are gradually emerging as a source of contention within the World Trade Organisation (‘WTO') law. Resource-exporting developing countries are increasingly finding it difficult to reserve the use of commodities and mineral resources for domestic purposes and downstream...

Recent years have witnessed a rise in conflict between WTO Members over the use of state subsidies designed to promote the renewable energy sector. Government subsidies are seen by domestic policymakers as a key catalyst in attracting foreign investment, building capacity and meeting other...

China’s export restraints on rare earths were the subject of a trade dispute with the European Union, Japan and the United States in the World Trade Organization. The decision of the WTO Appellate Body in the China — Measures related to the Exportation of Rare Earths, Tungsten and Molybdenum...

The Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism (‘ADGSM’) provides the Australian Government with an expedient regulatory tool over gas exporters. Australia is the largest exporter of Liquified Natural Gas (‘LNG’) in the world but has suffered from very high domestic gas prices. If the...

Textiles and clothing is a sector of critical importance to developing and least developed countries in terms of employment and export earnings. Majority of these countries are forced to be over-reliant on this sector for lack of better alternatives. With the end of quotas in 2005 and the...