India in the WTO

The new Annual Supplement to India’s foreign trade policy was released by commerce minister Kamal Nath on 26 February.

His speech on the occasion can be accessed here. It provides an interesting insight into the trade policy priorities of the Indian government. Incidentally there is no mention of the stalled Doha round and the WTO  finds mention only in passing (the Minister quotes the WTO to warn about how the growth rate in global trade in goods and services is expected to decline from 7.2% in 2007 to 4.6% in 2008 and further to 2.1% in 2009).

On Indian FTAs the Minister had this to say:

We concluded a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with Singapore in 2004. It is India’s first CECA with any country covering goods, services, investment and other areas of cooperation. We are in an advanced stage of negotiations with ASEAN, Korea and Japan and are engaging significantly with SAARC, EU, EFTA and Thailand. These efforts have increased our confidence for a deeper engagement with other trading partners and also to understand their markets for promotion of trade in both goods and services.

The annual supplement with the trade facilitation measures can be accessed here while the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-2009 can be accessed here.

A new full year policy for 2009-2010 will be issued by the new government constituted after elections this year.

Announcement

ICRIER’s WTO seminar for the month of October will be delivered by Dr. Harsha Vardhana Singh, Deputy Director-General, WTO on 23 October 2008 (Thursday) at 3.30 PM on ‘Relevance of the Multilateral Trading System and Doha Negotiations in today’s world’.

The monthly WTO seminar series has been launched as part of ICRIER’s ongoing research and dissemination on WTO related issues. The objective of the seminar series is to identify and discuss critical WTO issues relevant for India in the ongoing Doha round and for future. This would include deliberations on the current impasse and also on the possible changing contours of the WTO in future.

This seminar series aims at providing a platform for facilitating dialogue and interaction between policy makers, academicians, industry and other stakeholders with a view to develop a shared understanding on India’s interests in the WTO. The seminar would be held at ICRIER on the third week of every month from 3.30 to 5.30 pm.

Please find below the details of the October Seminar;

Speaker: Dr Harsha Vardhana Singh, Deputy Director-General, WTO

Discussants:  Professor Manoj Pant, CITD/SIS, JNU

                        Professor Arpita Mukherjee, ICRIER

Chair:           Mr. Anwarul Hoda, Member, Planning Commission

Title: Relevance of the Multilateral Trading System and Doha Negotiations in today’s world.

Date: 3.30 PM, October 23, 2008

Venue: ICRIER Conference Room, Core 6A, 4th Floor, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi – 110003

Speaker’s Profile:

Dr. Harsha Vardhana Singh is Deputy Director-General, WTO, since October 2005.  His responsibilities include, inter alia, areas of Agriculture, Services, Trade and Environment, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, and Technical Barriers to Trade.  Earlier, from June 1985 to June 1997, Dr. Singh had worked in the GATT/WTO Secretariat in different parts of the Organization. Prior to joining the WTO Secretariat in October 2005, Dr. Singh was Secretary, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).  Dr. Singh has also been a consultant with the Bureau of Industrial Costs and Prices, ILO, UNCTAD, and the World Bank.  He has been a member of several High Level Committees, and served as Chair of dispute settlement panels of the WTO. Dr Singh has been an Honorary Professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), and visiting faculty at The Energy and Resources Institute School of Advanced Studies for their Masters Programme on Regulation. Dr. Singh completed his Masters in Economics from Delhi in 1979 and went to the University of Oxford (U.K.) as a Rhodes Scholar from India to obtain his M.Phil. and D.Phil. in Economics.

For more details, see here

See below:

Subject: Request for submission of articles for the Second edition of the Indian Journal of International Economic Law.

We are aware of your interest in areas pertinent to international economic law, and we would be honoured if you would consider submitting an article for the Second edition of the Indian Journal of International Economic Law (IJIEL), brought out by the students of National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore. In recognition of the staggering impact of WTO and international trade and commerce in India, and keeping in mind the conspicuous absence of any scholarly journal focusing on this fast growing evolution of international trade and economic laws, the NLSIU student community initiated the publication of an international legal journal, last year. The first issue of IJIEL is now ready and has been a mark of success in terms of the breadth and quality of contributions it has attracted. Our circulation policy has targeted law firms, legal practitioners, universities, academic research centers and government bodies in India and abroad.

Our objective is to encourage scholarship and make a modest contribution towards improving analysis and normative evaluation of the global economic governance framework across countries. This would include multidisciplinary research concerning the WTO; financial institutions; regulatory subjects such as taxation, competition and anti trust policy; various services sectors such as banking and brokerage; linkages to human rights and cultural problems, etc.

We have received enthusiastic support from Prof. Jagdish N. Bhagwati and other distinguished academicians. Stalwarts like Prof. Andrew T. Guzman and Prof. Yuji Iwasawa, are also in the journal’s editorial board. Recently, we have also received the patronage of the WTO Chair established in NLSIU by the Ministry of Commerce, India and the Chair Professor, Dr. Jayagovind (Vice Chancellor, NLSIU), is also our current faculty advisor.

We would like to request you to consider submitting for publication any article that you feel may be appropriate for furthering the mandate of the IJIEL. All submissions are to be made via e-mail in Microsoft Word Document (.doc) format or similar compatible software. We follow the Harvard Blue Book (18^th edn.), style of referencing and request authors to comply with the same. Word limits for authors writing full length pieces is 10000-12000, though we appreciate brevity. Word limits for graduate and doctoral thesis by students currently enrolled in their respective courses, is 7000-8000 words.

It may be noted that the Journal is not proposed to be limited to India-centric issues. We wish to minimize usage of paper and therefore accept only electronic submissions. All submissions may be e-mailed to the following address: ijiel@nls.ac.in

Regards

Kushal Bhimjiani

Chief Editor,
IJIEL.

Here is the vacancy announcement:

ELP is a young firm of lawyers, accountants and economists that provides legal, and economic advice to major corporations, governmental organizations, and international organizations; and services a fast expanding list of blue-chip clientele. With offices in four major India cities-Mumbai, New Delhi, Ahmadabad and Pune, we offer legal advice on international trade/WTO, competition law, indirect taxation, corporate and commercial law and litigation and regulatory support. We also assist our clients in business strategy for entry international markets, trade policy analysis, and risk management consulting.

The International Trade/WTO & Competition law Team based in New Delhi has been consistently ranked at the highest level by leading professional journals, including the Asia Legal 500 which places ELP as the top firm for international trade/WTO in India; and by Chambers & Partners which ranks ELP as a “Band 1” Firm for the whole of Asia. ELP is counsel to the Government of India on trade policy/WTO issues and represents the Government of India in disputes at the World Trade Organization. ELP’s international trade practice uses the rules of global trade at every level, national, bilateral and multilateral, to solve market access issues and resolve trade disputes between governments and private industry.

The International Trade/WTO & Competition law Team is now looking for a Trade Economist with an interest in, and 1-3 years of experience or suitable exposure to the interplay between international trade and economics. Knowledge of competition laws will be an added asset. Suitable candidates with significant experience are also invited to apply and will be considered for more senior positions.

What does a Trade Economist at ELP do?

Trade Economists at ELP work closely with lawyers on project teams. You will be part of a team who will rely on your analysis and advice on economic and trade policy instruments. You will need a solid working knowledge of economic concepts and a broad range of research and quantitative skills. Responsibilities include:

1. Conducting industry, market structure, and trade flow studies
2. Analyzing and understanding free trade agreements (FTAs)-including tariff concessions, rules of origin and removal of non-tariff barriers.
3. Interacting with clients, government representatives, and industry associations
4. Analyzing and interpreting results from economic and trade data using spreadsheets, programming, model building, and regression analysis
5. Assisting in the production and development of research summaries, expert reports, and the presentation of findings.
6. Ensuring the integrity and accuracy of analyses.
7. Assist in drafting and editing ELPs Trade Newsletter and ensuring that the publication reflects recent developments in trade law and policy.

Qualifications

We’re looking for energetic, highly-motivated individual with a post-graduate degree in economics/trade/international relations with a focus on trade, or those who have an interest in trade policy and economics. We place high value on language skills and a strong writing/drafting ability, research experience, computer skills, knowledge of statistics and familiarity with trade databases, presentation and communication skills. Economists are expected to liaise with Government officials, executives and personnel from industry chambers and NGOs in the course of their work and good people-skills are highly desirable. We also expect trade economists to work independently with minimal supervision, be solution oriented, focused on client requirements; to learn quickly; apply prior knowledge to current situations; solve problems; manage time; prioritize tasks; and communicate well with peers, senior staff, and clients.

Compensation

ELP pays its professional staff on par with the best in the profession. Remuneration will not be an issue for the right candidate.

CUTS and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry are organizing a 2 day conference in New Delhi on 12-13 August 2008.

Kamal Nath, Pascal Lamy, Supachai Panitchpakdi and perhaps Dr. Manmohan Singh are expected to be there.

The conference theme is ‘Global Partnership for Development – Where do we stand and where to go?’

The sessions will cover the following themes:

• Global Partnership for Development: Where do we stand?
• LDCs and SVEs in the International Trading System: What future for them?
• Operationalising Aid for Trade: Who is (should) doing (do) what?
• UK’s Aid for Trade Strategy: Lessons for future effective international trade and development architecture
• Services Liberalisation and Domestic Regulation: Why it is so important?
• Mainstreaming Development in the WTO
• Trilateral Development Cooperation: How to make it more effective?
• The Future of the Global Trading System
• Global Partnership for Development: Where to go?

The  detailed program is available here