Rethinking special and differential treatment in the World Trade Organization

The Doha Round, which was launched  in 2001 and set forth a development agenda, has stalled since 2008. There is currently no immediate prospect of finding a breakthrough in the current negotiations.

The favourable provisions related to the implementation and the level of commitments accorded by the Agreements to Developing Country Members tend to lead to disagreements between the Parties, more specifically in relation to the perceived benefits that  are accrued by the more advanced Developing Countries.  

The general feeling amongst Developed Country Members has been that the benefits afforded by SDT should be targeted to the less advanced economies in the global trading system. This view has been expressed in the European Union (EU) Concept Paper (2018), which argues for ‘case by case’ SDT, and in the Canadian Paper which proposes the provision of SDT be based on ‘evidence of need’ and ‘subject to negotiations’.

Peter Draper, Executive Director of the Institute for International Trade at the University of Adelaide

Lisa Hunt, Business Manager of the Institute for International Trade and a Doctoral Candidate at The University of Adelaide. 

Ziyaad Ebrahim, Doctoral Candidate at The University of Adelaide.

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