We study the effect of services trade restrictiveness on manufacturing productivity for a broad cross-section of countries at different stages of economic development. Decreasing services trade restrictiveness has a positive indirect impact on the manufacturing sectors that use services as...

Many agreements to liberalize trade in services tend to be limited in scope. Concerns about possible negative regulatory consequences of services liberalization is one reason for this. In this paper we provide quantitative estimates of the impact of governance quality on the magnitude of the...

At the 9th Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Bali it was agreed to develop a work program to conclude the long-running Doha round. This report argues that any work program should recognize that goods and services are increasingly produced in international supply chains. Many of the policies...

The deadlock in the WTO Doha Round has been accompanied by an increased focus on the negotiation of preferential trade agreements, including so-called ‘mega-regionals'. This paper discusses possible implications for — and possible responses by — excluded countries that have little...

This paper reviews elements of the history of association agreements between the EU and countries that are covered by the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). It considers the rationale for negotiation of Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas with neighbouring countries based on research that...

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a mechanism through which countries can upgrade connectivity-related infrastructure, including through cross-border projects, complementing traditional sources of finance. An overarching goal of the BRI is to reduce trade costs between China and partner...

China, the EU and the U.S. are the world’s largest traders, and many of the tensions in the trading system arise in the relations among them. Our premise is that reforming WTO is a necessary condition for the organization to be a more salient forum for the three large economies to address...

In 2016, the Government of India proposed negotiations on an agreement to facilitate trade in services to complement the 2013 WTO agreement on facilitation of trade in goods. The proposal did not find much support, but plurilateral talks launched at the 2017 WTO ministerial conference in Buenos...

China, the EU and the U.S. are the world’s largest traders, and many of the tensions in the trading system arise in the relations among them. Our premise is that reforming WTO is a necessary condition for the organization to be a more salient forum for the three large economies to address...