Beyond market access: Trade-related measures for the least developed countries. What strategy?

Ana Cortez

Working Papers from United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs

Abstract: This paper assesses the effectiveness of non-tariff special and differential treatment (SDT) offered exclusively to the least developed countries by WTO agreements. SDTs are inefficient in at least four aspects. First, they are not easily accessed as they require a certain level of institutional capacity. Second, when accessible they either need to be complemented by other policy interventions or are offset by measures taken elsewhere. Third, some do not respond to LDC needs. Fourth, many are too vaguely defined to provide concrete benefits. Effectiveness can be enhanced by increased LDC ownership and improved policy coherence by trading and development partners.

Keywords: special and differential treatment; least developed countries; World Trade Organization; Uruguay Round; technical assistance; accession; multilateral trade regime; institutional capacity; enhanced integrated framework (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: F13 F15 O24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2011-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cwa
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:une:wpaper:109

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