• TRADE AND INVESTMENT PUBLICATIONS
• SELECTED WORLDWIDE WEBSITES

Central Asia’s Comparative Advantage in International Trade. March 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 42 pages, 840 KB). The Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
This paper outlines a strategy for identifying the pattern of Central Asia’s comparative advantage in international trade, based on factor prices and transport costs, historical production patterns and recent trends in the geographical and product composition of Central Asian trade. The paper focuses on Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The authors of the paper argue that as Central Asian countries are geographically remote, it is very difficult for them to expand exports by integrating into production networks operated by European firms, a strategy employed with much success in Central and Eastern Europe. Instead, they propose enhanced processing of local raw materials that are already exported (such as cotton) as a more viable option.
Accessed on 30 October < http://www.uni-kiel.de/IfW/pub/kepp/2006/kepp06.pdf >

Completing the Doha Round. October 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 8 pages, 177 KB). Policy Briefs in International Economics, Institute for International Economics.
The Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) was suspended indefinitely in late July 2006 after a succession of failed attempts to reach agreement on the modalities for cutting farm subsidies and tariffs. Trade ministers are now consulting on how to put the WTO talks back on track. Without a rapid return to active negotiations, United States officials may be relegated to the sidelines in Geneva due to the expiration of United States trade promotion authority - leaving the Doha Round adrift possibly until the next administration takes office in 2009 or even longer. Reviving and completing the Doha Round will pose significant challenges for all the major trading nations in the WTO. Breaking the impasse on agriculture is critical, but success will be possible only if negotiations in other important areas of the WTO agenda - particularly services and nonagricultural market access - yield big results. This policy brief examines the causes of the ongoing negotiating problems and what needs to be done to restart the WTO talks.
Accessed on 2 November < http://www.iie.com/publications/pb/pb06-7.pdf >

Distributional Effects of WTO Agricultural Reforms and Poor Countries. September 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 41 pages, 1.16 MB). GTAP Working Paper No. 33. Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP).
This paper proposes that rich countries’ agricultural trade policies are the battleground on which the future of the WTO’s troubled Doha Round will be determined. The authors argue that rich countries appear to be almost immune to serious reform and that one of their most common defenses is that they protect poor farmers. The authors analyze this claim and present findings that reject it. The analysis conducted uses detailed data on farm incomes to show that major commodity programmes are highly regressive in the United States and that the only serious losses under trade reform are among large, wealthy, farmers in a few heavily protected subsectors. In contrast, analysis using household data from fifteen developing countries indicates that reforming rich countries’ agricultural trade policies would lift large numbers of developing country farm households out of poverty. In the majority of cases these gains are not outweighed by the poverty-increasing effects of higher food prices among other households. Agricultural reforms that appear feasible, even under an ambitious Doha Round, achieve only a fraction of the benefits for developing countries that full liberalization promises, but protects United States large farms from most of the rigors of adjustment. Finally, the analysis conducted in the paper indicates that maximal trade-led poverty reductions occur when developing countries participate more fully in agricultural trade liberalization.
Accessed on 8 November < https://www.gtap.agecon.purdue.edu/resources/download/2851.pdf >

East Asian Visions: Perspectives on Economic Development. September 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 249 pages, 1.22 MB). The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank and the Institute of Policy Studies.
This volume brings together the diverse views of 17 prominent East Asian policymakers, scholars and personalities who reflect on the impacts of the recent transformation of their region in a collection of essays. The authors have either had to deal with or think through some of the most critical financial and developmental issues confronting their countries and the region, and their essays reflect individual experiences at critical economic junctures. The editors of this collection suggest that four questions permeate the essays: 1) Can all countries in the region benefit from China’s success or will some be crowded out? 2) Will regional integration increase efficiency or become a source of vulnerability? 3) Can East Asian countries avoid domestic disintegration given growing intolerance of rising inequity, pollution and corruption? 4) From where will East Asia find its next generation of leaders? None of these questions draws a ready answer, according to the editors. But by writing reflective essays, rather than technical papers, the authors have the freedom to move between politics, economics, culture and ethics.
Accessed on 8 November < http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEASTASIAPACIFIC/Resources/226262-1158262834989/EA_Visions_full.pdf >

Overcoming Supply-Side Constraints in South Asia. 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 37 pages, 441 KB). South Asia Watch on Trade, Economic and Environment (SAWTEE).
This paper states, that despite trade liberalization, South Asia still shows slow progress in achieving sustained export growth. The study argues that policy makers hold the external policy environment responsible for this while tending to ignore the domestic policy framework and supply-side capacities. This discussion paper argues that successful integration in the international market depends on two factors: the ability of firms to produce goods and services required by the importing countries in the quality and quantity at competitive prices and the availability of efficient mechanisms to ensure that these products and services reach markets on time. In this regard, the domestic policy environment should be conducive for undertaking business activities. There are several critical factors that determine the supply-side capacity of firms in developing countries including an enabling policy and regulatory framework, efficient institutions and good governance. In addition, this discussion paper recognizes the centrality of business firms in managing supply capacity. It identifies critical factors that constrain South Asia’s exports, namely political instability, inability to enforce the rule of law, poor state of education, gender bias, poor management of human resources and poor quality of public infrastructure.
Accessed on 8 November < http://www.sawtee.org/pdf/discussion%20paper_upali.pdf >

Pacific Island Countries - Possible Common Currency Arrangement. October 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 20 pages, 337 KB). Working Paper No. 06/234, IMF.
This paper examines the potential advantages and disadvantages of adopting a common currency arrangement among the six IMF member Pacific island countries that have their own national currency, namely Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. The study explains that the present exchange rate regimes - comprising pegging to a basket of currencies for five countries and the floating arrangement for Papua New Guinea - have generally succeeded in avoiding inflationary, balance of payments, external debt and financial system problems. The study concludes that adopting a common currency in the Pacific would require greater convergence of domestic policies and substantial strengthening of regional policies, which would take time to achieve.
Accessed on 2 November < http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2006/wp06234.pdf >

Preferential Trade Agreements in Asia: Alternative Scenarios of “Hub and Spoke”. October 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 41 pages, 698 KB). ERD Working Paper No. 83, Asian Development Bank (ADB).
This working paper proposes that the proliferation of preferential trade agreements in Asia may result in a number of hub-and-spoke configurations, with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China and Japan competing as regional hubs of bilateral free trade areas. Using a newly developed global computable general equilibrium model with imperfect competition, increasing returns to scale, and heterogeneous firms, the paper explores the potential economic effects of alternative hub-and-spoke configurations in Asia. Simulation results suggest that the regionalism approach to integration in the Asian context can hardly act as a building block of global trade liberalization, if it is confined to shallow integration only. However, regional trade agreements involving deep integration measures provide a promising path toward global free trade.
Accessed on 8 November < http://www.adb.org/Documents/ERD/Working_Papers/WP083.pdf >

Report by the Office of the United States Trade Representative on Trade-Related Barriers to the Export of Greenhouse Gas Intensity Reducing Technologies. October 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 36 pages, 454 KB). Office of the United States Trade Representative.
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 calls on the United States Administration to integrate into foreign policy the goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in developing countries. This report, prepared by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), identifies trade barriers that United States exporters of greenhouse gas intensity reducing technologies (GHGIRTs) face in the top 25 GHG emitting developing countries. The following Asian countries are included in the survey (in order of GHG emission): India, Indonesia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Philippines, Viet Nam, Turkmenistan, Bangladesh and Azerbaijan. The report also describes the steps the United States is taking to reduce these and other barriers to trade in GHGIRT products and services. The report starts with a general overview on global trade and the greenhouse gas intensity, then it identifies trade barriers by country and concludes with an outline of the negotiations underway to address these trade barriers.
Accessed on 30 October
< http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2006/ >

Trade in Environmental Services: Assessing the Implications for Developing Countries in the GATS. September 2006. Available online (PDF-Format, 43 pages, 1.21 MB). Issue Paper No. 3, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD).
The aim of this paper is to assist in the identification of options for developing countries who are looking for guidance on how to undertake, inscribe or prepare commitments in environmental services as part of the ongoing General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) negotiations at the WTO, particularly in the context of paragraph 31 (iii) of the Doha Ministerial Declaration. It does so on the basis of an analysis of existing market structures and modes of supply in environmental services, the classification of environmental services from a sustainable development perspective and an analysis of relevant issues pertinent to two major issues of interest to developing countries in environmental services, namely issues relevant to developing country imports of environmental infrastructure services and developing country exports of commercial environmental services. The paper highlights the case for conducting a sustainable development impact assessment of the potential benefits and costs to developing countries of making environmental services commitments within the GATS framework, with the aim of ensuring that trade in environmental services contributes to poverty-reducing economic growth, while at the same time protecting the environmental resources on which sustainable development depends.
Accessed on 8 November < http://www.ictsd.org/pubs/ictsd_series/env/EGSKirkpatrick.pdf >

EXPORT 911
http://www.export911.com/
EXPORT 911 is a business and educational website focusing on international business. It provides in-depth information on export-import marketing, management, letters of credit, export cargo insurance, shipping, logistics, manufacturing, purchasing, bar codes, and more. The website is intended to serve the needs of worldwide export-manufacturers; export-traders; service-exporters including ocean shipping companies, airlines, freight forwarders or consolidators, customs brokers and trade show organizers; importers; students and the general public. It also provides access to a large number of useful tools, such as conversion factors for length, area, volume, mass, pressure, power, temperature, etc.; online shipping schedules and cargo tracking; world clock in real time; world time zone converter; mortgage calculator; due date calculator; world distance calculator using latitudes and longitudes; and much more.

http://www.gci-net.org
Global Commerce Initiative (GCI)
E-mail: gci-info@gci-net.org
The Global Commerce Initiative brings manufacturers and retailers together on a worldwide parity basis to simplify and enhance global commerce and improve consumer value in the overall retail supply chain. It is a global user group that operates through various global working groups. Its backbone is the GCI Executive Board which comprises approximately 40 of the largest manufacturers and retailers. GCI identifies opportunities for improvement, develops best practices, endorses global standards and drives adoption throughout the industry. The website offers information on various projects and topics, including electronic product code, global data synchronization, global network, global scorecard, marketing and communications, and more.

http://www.globalknowledge.org/
Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP)
E-mail: gkp@gkps.org.my
The Global Knowledge Partnership is a multi-stakeholder network promoting innovation and advancement in knowledge for development (K4D) and information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D). GKP brings together public sector, private sector and civil society organizations with the goal of sharing knowledge and building partnerships in K4D and ICT4D. It comprises over 100 members spanning 40 countries and is supported by a Secretariat based in Malaysia. GKP activities and programmes foster the innovative application of knowledge and technology to address and solve development issues in four strategic themes - access to knowledge, education, poverty reduction and resource mobilization. The website offers access to a large number of publications, case studies, newsletters, etc.

http://www.uitp.com
International Association of Public Transport (UITP)
The International Association of Public Transport is the worldwide network of public transport professionals. It represents over 2700 urban, local, regional and national mobility actors from more than 90 countries on all continents. UITP unites the entire supply chain of public transport players, such as operating companies; local, regional and national authorities; the service and supply industry; as well as research institutes, academics and consultants. UITP covers all modes of public transport: metro, bus, light rail, regional and suburban railways and waterborne transport.

http://www.mpeda.com/
Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA)
The Marine Products Export Development Authority functions under the Ministry of Commerce of India and acts as a coordinating agency with different Central and State Government establishments engaged in fishery production and allied activities. MPEDA’s work includes registration of infrastructure facilities for seafood export trade; collection and dissemination of trade information; projection of Indian marine products in overseas markets by participation in overseas fairs and organizing international seafood fairs in India; implementation of development measures vital to the industry like distribution of insulated fish boxes, putting up fish landing platforms, improvement of peeling sheds, etc.; promotion of brackish water aquaculture for production of prawn for export; and promotion of deep sea fishing projects through test fishing, joint venture and equity participation.

http://www.same.org.ws
Samoa Association of Manufacturers and Exporters (SAME)
E-mail: info@same.org.ws
The Samoa Association of Manufacturers and Exporters is a trade association that was established to assist the development of an efficient, profitable, competitive and quality based expanding manufacturing sector. It works to represent members’ interests before Government, disseminate information, organize trade fairs, develop skills and enhance marketing for Samoa's manufacturers and exporters.

http://www.undprcc.lk/
United Nations Development Programme Regional Centre in Colombo (RCC)
E-mail: rcc@undp.org
The United Nations Development Programme Regional Centre in Colombo mainly focuses on poverty reduction with an overarching effort on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It provides advisory support to UNDP country offices in a number of cross-cutting areas, ranging from pro-poor macroeconomic and human development policies to international trade, the trans-border challenges of HIV/AIDS, gender equality and supporting Governments in the implementation of MDG-based national development strategies. The website offers a newsroom with a large number of articles, opinion editorials and resources for journalists; country-specific information; information on MDGs; publications and much more.

http://www.vnep.org.vn
Vietnam Economic Portal (VNEP)
E-mail: vnep@ciem.org.vn
The Vietnam Economic Portal collects news and information from reports, legal documents, official economic reports announced by the Government as well as statistic data, articles and research products. VNEP is structured along the following main themes: market development; international economic development; industrialization and modernization; sustainable development; development of enterprises; administrative development; legal documents; official Governmental reports; and research products on Viet Nam’s economy conducted by institutes, research organizations and experts in Viet Nam and abroad.

http://www.wssn.net
World Standards Services Network (WSSN)
The World Standards Services Network is a network of publicly accessible world wide web servers of standards organizations around the world. The objective of WSSN is to simplify access to international, regional and national standards information available through the Internet. It aims to link the websites of members and beyond, into a comprehensive global network through which users may navigate to identify and obtain the information they need about standards and related activities; and to provide a harmonized environment for users to navigate through. Members of WSSN include the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as well as other international standardizing bodies, regional standardizing bodies, national members of ISO and IEC, and international/regional organizations with activities related to standardization.

Information is taken mainly from secondary sources and UNESCAP accepts no responsibility for its accuracy. Mention of any companies and their products does not imply endorsement by the United Nations.

The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.