Recent restoration of democracy in Myanmar is one of the most important developments in the country's history and potentially of large significance for the region. Owing to its strategic position, Myanmar connects Asia's three big markets - Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China,...

Recent restoration of democracy in Myanmar is one of the most important developments in the country's history and potentially of large significance for the region. Owing to its strategic position, Myanmar connects Asia's three big markets - Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China,...

Looking back at the history of the World Trade Organization (WTO), major accords that have been reached under the multilateral framework to date are in substance issue-based “plurilateral†agreements. This paper looks at some specific examples of issue-based plurilateral...

This paper argues that preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are not substitutes, and while PTAs are without doubt here to stay, dispensing with a multilateral venue for doing business in trade matters is not a serious option. It is therefore necessary to...

This paper argues that preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) are not substitutes, and while PTAs are without doubt here to stay, dispensing with a multilateral venue for doing business in trade matters is not a serious option. It is therefore necessary to...

Since the early 1990s, regional trade agreements (RTAs) covering trade in services have proliferated, with 95 RTAs on services notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO) under Article V of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), as of June 2011. This paper discusses how RTAs...

Since the early 1990s, regional trade agreements (RTAs) covering trade in services have proliferated, with 95 RTAs on services notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO) under Article V of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), as of June 2011. This paper discusses how RTAs...

The lure of big benefits from successful conclusion of the multilateral negotiations and the risks of bilateral and regional routes if these negotiations fail should not be taken by the developing countries as determining factors in their moves in the current WTO Doha negotiations. Working...

Developing countries have been characterized as having played an essentially defensive role in the GATT, unwilling to make tariff concessions, and have focused almost exclusively on securing Special and Differential Treatment concessions. These three perspectives have become part of the...

The World Trade Organisations 2004 Trade Policy Review of Singapore (WTO-TPR Singapore 2004) depicts the small and outward-oriented economy as one of the most open country to international trade and investment. The review highlights the benefits of the outward-oriented strategy that has enabled...