World Trade Organisation

We adopt the Stigler-Peltzman model of policy-making as developed by Hillman for application to the politics of international trade, in which the government is represented by a political support function trading-off the industry rents stemming from protection against the losses accruing to the general population. As a starting point, we examine the economic impact of actual government action as revealed by the structure of protection, backing out the weights implied by the marginal welfare effects of the set of EU import tariffs across sectors. We build on Tyers' application of methods to international trade employing a numerical general equilibrium model of the EU. This captures direct marginal effects of sector-level protection on protected industries, indirect effects on upstream and downstream industries, and the effect on overall welfare. We then deconstruct the revealed weighting pattern along the lines of industry nationality and related industry characteristics.

This study explored the role of technological, organisational, environmental and attitudinal factors in facilitating the globalisation of Saudi Arabian ICT companies. In particular, the study focused on identifying the drivers of globalisation, especially knowledge management and business intelligence, and steps Saudi ICT companies should take before expanding their businesses outside of Saudi Arabia. A mixed-methods approach was adopted. A total of 81 ICT companies registered with the Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC) in Saudi Arabia participated in this study, including the three largest ICT operators in Saudi Arabia, namely STC, Mobily, and Zain. Publicly available data from the Saudi stock exchange and other sources were analysed in respect of the three large ICT companies. The CITC organisations were surveyed via questionnaires. A quantitative analysis of the survey data viewed through the lens of the Technology, Organisation, Environment (TOE) framework and the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) model was undertaken, while a qualitative analysis of the documentary data from the three large companies was viewed through the TOE lens only. It was identified that the efficiency of software used in organisations helps them to globalise at any time and that competitive intelligence tools (KM and BI) are also very important. The organisational context is important; large ICT companies can globalise their activities while smaller companies have difficulties in doing so even though they recognise the potential economic benefits of regionalisation and globalisation. Regarding the environmental context, a country's legislation helps and supports companies to globalise their activities. This is clearly noticeable in the three telecommunications operators, which have no obstacles to prevent them from operating in any country in the world. Finally, ICT and the attendant networked applications have accelerated the integration of the world's economy through the globalisation of businesses. These effects are also felt by Saudi ICT companies, which are reconsidering their roles as regional economic players. vi Table of Contents Declaration .

Efforts are made through various means of continuing education, adult education, in-service training to maintain the skill relevance of the working population in all countries, China is no exception. In addition to the remedial aspects of the education and training, more proactive activities have also been organised in order to upgrade the competence level of the working population as well as to enlarge the skill sets of the working population so that they could be redeployed for different tasks and/or be multifunctional. These training and educational investments have been made by the public sector and by the private sector alike with unstable results and great variation of quality.

HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access archive for the deposit and dissemination of scientific research documents, whether they are published or not. The documents may come from teaching and research institutions in France or abroad, or from public or private research centers. L'archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, émanant des établissements d'enseignement et de recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires publics ou privés.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) primarily focuses on promoting global economic stability and growth. Its main objectives include fostering economic development within countries and addressing poverty, which is closely linked to economic progress. Additionally, the IMF's goals align with supporting human rights by promoting equitable economic policies. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) plays a significant role in poverty reduction by promoting economic stability, fostering growth, and supporting structural reforms in member countries. Through financial assistance, policy advice, and capacity-building programs, the IMF helps nations implement sustainable development strategies aimed at reducing poverty. Its initiatives emphasize improving fiscal management, enhancing social safety nets, and creating an environment conducive to economic opportunities for marginalized populations.

PurposeThe aims of this research are to identify the opportunities and risks and develop effective business strategies for foreign design and construction management companies to penetrate into the Chinese market.Design/methodology/approachTen interviews with directors of design, construction and engineering firms who are operating in China were carried out. It also include a literature review.FindingsThe results show that the interviewees were very optimistic about the China market and believed that establishing wholly foreign‐owned enterprises was the most effective entry mode. The research also found that “differentiation strategy by providing niche or superior products or services” is the fundamental and best strategy for penetrating into China market. In addition, the research found that the foreign companies must cultivate a network of contacts (i.e. Guanxi) and be culturally adaptive to have a competitive advantage in China.Originality/valuethis paper is original in that it p...

sur la scène internationale que sur la scène nationale. Chapitre 1 er : Les bases légales du droit douanier Section 1 : Les sources du droit douanier : Le droit douanier regroupe l'ensemble des dispositions juridiques régissant les divers champs d'intervention de l'administration des Douanes et Impôts Indirects. Ces dispositions sont constituées de sources législatives, réglementaires, administratives ou conventionnelles et jurisprudentielles a) les sources législatives : -les sources douanières : Le code des douanes et Impôts Indirects approuvé par le dahir portant loi n° 1-77-339 du 25 chaula 1397 (9 octobre 1977) tel que modifié et complété par la loi n° 02-99 promulguée par le dahir n° 1-00-222 du 2 Rabie I 1421 (5 juin 2000). Ce texte détermine les obligations et les interdictions, il comporte également les dispositions répressives destinées à sanctionner les infractions à ce texte.  Le dahir portant loi n° 1-77-340 du 25 Chaoual 1379 (9 octobre 1977) déterminant les quotités applicables aux marchandises et ouvrages soumis à taxes intérieures de consommation ainsi que les dispositions spécifiques à ces marchandises et ouvrages, tel que modifié et complété par la loi n° 03-99 promulguée par le dahir n° 1-00-223 du 2 Rabie I 1421 (5 juin 2000)  Le tarif des droits de douane, institué par dahir, est un document de base en matière des droits de douane applicables aux marchandises importées. Les sources non douanières : L'action de l'Administration s'exerce pour l'application des dispositions relatives à la législation douanière. De même, elle est chargée d'appliquer d'autres législations ou réglementations dans le cadre de concours que cette administration prête aux autres services, soit en matière de perception des droits et taxes, de vérification ou de constatation et, le cas échéant, la poursuite des infractions à la législation et réglementation ou recouvrement des amendes et transaction. b) Les sources réglementaires : A côté des sources législatives, on peut citer le décret d'application du code des douanes et vingt-neuf arrêtés qui déterminent les modalités d'application des dispositions du code. c) Les sources administratives : Les circulaires et les notes constituent les instructions administratives élaborées par l 'administration des douanes pour expliquer des modalités d'application des textes douaniers et éclaircir des cas difficiles.

This discussion of Argentina CAS Progress Report is taking place at a time of dramatic deterioration of the country's financial situation as a result of an unfavorable combination of domestic and external factors. The Govemment of Argentina is making strong efforts aimed at achieving fiscal consolidation, preserving macroeconomic stability and dispelling risk of default. Under these circumstances the Bank Group's continued support to Argentina is crucial for stmctural reforms, restoration of economic growth and protecting the poor. We are pleased to see that the Bank proposes a good program of assistance. At the same time we are somewhat discouraged by the fact that despite long and reach history of the Bretton-Woods institutions' involvement in Argentina and their substantial country knowledge they have not been able to timely detect fundamental disequilibria that have led to the current negative developments.

Against the background of the failure of the World Trade Organisation's September ministerial conference, this article considers the main issues that emerged at Cancan -the Singapore issues, agricultural reform, and the credibility of the multilateral trading system. The authors present a plan of action meant to enable the Doha Development Round to be continued constructively and the credibility of the international trading system to be preserved. Special regard is paid to the role of the EU in repairing the damage. ancQn failed and the Doha Development Round is languishing. The EU blamed the developing countries for being unwilling to discuss the so-called "Singapore issues", which include better access for foreign investment. The developing countries felt however that in pressing for these rather novel issues, the EU was creating a smokescreen, so that talks about agricultural reform, a more traditional issue of long standing and of great interest to developing countries, could be avoided. 1

After joining the WTO in December 2001, China was given 5 years to completely open up its banking market for international competition. Chinese banks have been renowned for their mounting non-performing loans and low efficiency. Despite gradual reforms, the banking system is still dominated by state ownership and encapsulated monopolistic control. How to raise efficiency is a key to the survival and success of domestic banks, especially the state-owned commercial banks. Two important factors may be responsible for raising efficiency: ownership reform and hard budget constraints. This paper uses a panel data of 22 banks over the period 1995-2001, and employs a stochastic frontier production function to investigate the effects of ownership structure and hard budget constraint on efficiency. Empirical results suggest that non-state banks were 8-18% more efficient than state banks, and that banks facing a harder budget tend to perform better than those heavily capitalized by the state or regional governments. The results shed important light on banking sector reform in China to face the tough challenges after WTO accession.

The International Agricultural Trade and Policy Center (IATPC) was established in 1990 in the Food & Resource Economics Department (FRED) of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) at the University of Florida. Its mission is to provide information, education, and research directed to immediate and long-term enhancement and sustainability of international trade and natural resource use. Its scope includes not only trade and related policy issues, but also agricultural, rural, resource, environmental, food, state, national and international policies, regulations, and issues that influence trade and development. The Center's objectives are to: -Support initiatives that enable a better understanding of U.S. and international trade policy issues impacting the competitiveness of Florida agriculture and all specialty crops and livestock nationwide; -Serve as a nationwide resource base for research on international agricultural trade policy issues on all specialty crops and livestock; -Disseminate agricultural trade related research results and publications; -Interact with researchers, business and industry groups, state and federal agencies, and policymakers to examine and discuss agricultural trade policy questions. Programs in the IATPC have been organized around five key program areas.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS & TERMS. 3 2. Introduction. 4 Undemocratic processes. 5 Bargaining chips. 5 New but divisive alignments. 6 3. Why gender and trade. 6 4. Issues in social policy and trade policy. 7 5. Substantive content on gender & trade liberalisation. 9 Imports and gender 9 Market access and gender 9 6. Gender issues in Agricultural Trade Liberalisation. 10 Market access. 11 7. Critical engagement on gender and Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) 11 8. Key gender & trade recommendations. 14 Gender Equality. 14 Agriculture/AoA.. 14 Services/GATS. 15 NAMA.. 15 Investment/TRIMS. 16 Intellectual property rights/TRIPs. 16 Special and differential treatment (SDT) trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) 17 9. Solidarity between African governments, Women and NGO's. 18 10.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS & TERMS. 3 2. Introduction. 4 Undemocratic processes. 5 Bargaining chips. 5 New but divisive alignments. 6 3. Why gender and trade. 6 4. Issues in social policy and trade policy. 7 5. Substantive content on gender & trade liberalisation. 9 Imports and gender 9 Market access and gender 9 6. Gender issues in Agricultural Trade Liberalisation. 10 Market access. 11 7. Critical engagement on gender and Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) 11 8. Key gender & trade recommendations. 14 Gender Equality. 14 Agriculture/AoA.. 14 Services/GATS. 15 NAMA.. 15 Investment/TRIMS. 16 Intellectual property rights/TRIPs. 16 Special and differential treatment (SDT) trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) 17 9. Solidarity between African governments, Women and NGO's. 18 10.

questions, the sample surveyed, and present statistical analyses of their samples. In the World Economic Forum, Global Competitiveness Report 2001-2002, all survey data are from the World Economic Forum's Executive Opinion Survey of senior business leaders in 4,022 firms in different countries. Chapter 2.7 of that volume describes the survey sample set as well as presents robustness analysis of the survey data. IMD Lausanne, in World Competitiveness Yearbook 2002, uses a 115 question survey sent to executives in top and middle management of firms in 49 countries. The sample size of each country is proportional to its GDP, and firms 'normally have an international dimension'. The firms are selected to be a cross-section of manufacturing, service and primary industries. There were 3,532 responses to the survey in 2000. The chapter 'Methodology and Principles of Analysis' addresses statistical properties of the survey sample results. Finally, the database compiled for Kaufmann, Kraay and Zoido-Lobaton (2002) contains more than 300 governance indicators for 175 countries compiled from a variety of sources in 2000-2001. Six aggregate indicators are constructed corresponding to six basic governance concepts: Voice and Accountability, Political Stability, Government Effectiveness, Regulatory Quality, Rule of Law and Control of Corruption.

Public procurement refers to the buying by the public sector of the goods, services and works it needs to carry out its functions. 1 Such purchases range widely, from infrastructure projects and the acquisition of complex weapon systems, to contracting for the provision of essential public services in the health and social care sector and the purchase of common manufactured or processed goods such as stationery, furniture, uniforms, personal electronic items and foodstuffs. Government buying comprises a significant proportion of the overall global economy. Public procurement represents 15-20 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP), while amongst Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) states public procurement accounts for 12 per cent GDP, on average. 2 The value of commitments under the World Trade Organization (WTO) General Procurement Agreements alone is approximately EUR 1.3 trillion, worldwide. 3 Governments are increasingly in the spotlight for involvement in human rights abuses via their supply chains and, as the contributions to this book illustrate, central governments, subnational and local authorities, as well as

Recent developments of the World Trade Organisation and other international trade agreements have forced industries worldwide to face a new era of intense global competition. Manufacturers will have to compete effectively not only in the local context, but in wider regional and global marketplaces. Global competition has offered numerous opportunities and problems for the manufacturing industry. This paper investigates the determinants of strategy formulation (SF) in manufacturing enterprises and consolidates the empirical findings of a longitudinal study from 1994-2001 in Hong Kong. It also discusses the experiences from some leading Hong Kong manufacturers in managing the competitive pressures and gaining sustainable competitive advantages. The paper attempts to complement the literature base of SF practices with empirical evidence. The findings presented address the identification of success factors and problematic areas that provide manufacturers with guidance and references for formulating viable strategies to meet their business and operations needs.

Recent developments from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other international trade agreements have forced industries worldwide to face a new era of intense competition. The clothing industry sector, which has played a pivotal role in industrial development in Hong Kong, faces challenges from continued global economic restructuring and the accession of China to the WTO. Apparel manufacturers and trading firms need to review their competitive priorities and develop new business and manufacturing practices and strategies to compete. This paper presents the key findings of a recent study on the adoption of automation systems and strategy choices and discusses their relevance to the transformation of the apparel operations and businesses in Hong Kong. Two models namely, for integrated apparel business manufacture and for an apparel sourcing and coordination centre, are devised.

The consequences of the economic crisis and the well-being of the world economy brought renewed attention to the role of global financial institutions, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). These institutions were established to play an active role in games, as with WTO and IMF, and address economic resources concerning the World Bank.

Since its inception almost three decades ago, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) has gained some modest progress in ensuring greater cooperation among its member countries in some politically-less-sensitive areas. However, its achievement in increasing mutually beneficial crossborder trade that could have made a significant contribution in the region's economic development has not been inspiring.

We test the hypothesis that product standards harmonised to de facto international standards are less trade restrictive than ones that are not. To do this, we construct a new database of European Union (EU) product standards. We identify standards that are aligned with International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) standards (as a proxy for de facto international norms). We use a sample-selection gravity model to examine the impact of EU standards on African textiles and clothing exports, a sector of particular development interest. We find robust evidence that non-harmonised standards reduce African exports of these products. EU standards which are harmonised to ISO standards are less trade restricting. Our results suggest that efforts to promote African exports of manufactures may need to be complemented by measures to reduce the cost impacts of product standards, including international harmonisation. In addition, efforts to harmonise national standards with international norms, including those through the World Trade Organisation Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement, promise concrete benefits through trade expansion.

Structural adjustment, which has been advised by the IMF through the number of adjustment conditions for loans, has the risk of reducing the social indicators. The poor population of Developing Countries (DCs) benefit less from these structural adjustment policies (SAPs), especially since such policies usually focus on the public expenditure of the State through reviewing public expenditure, most of which are directed on education and health expenditures. Social indicators expansion in countries with many adjustment loans is better than those in countries with few adjustment loans. By the same token, this decline in social indicators will reflect on sustainable development standards. There is some evidence that some countries have managed to adopt the policies in favor of their economy by setting reasonable priorities and efficiently directing available expenditures. The experience of these countries can be adopted when countries are given greater scope for choices between reform models in the negotiation phase.

EN: This study highlights the Mauritian paradox: one of the states most vulnerable to climate change, yet lacking an effective domestic climate framework for years. The adoption of the Climate Change Act (2020) marks progress, but the challenge of achieving effective climate justice in the Indian Ocean remains.

FR: Cette étude met en lumière le paradoxe mauricien : un des États les plus vulnérables au changement climatique, mais longtemps dépourvu de cadre juridique climatique effectif. L’adoption du Climate Change Act (2020) constitue une avancée, mais pose encore la question de l’effectivité de la justice climatique dans l’océan Indien.

Descargo de responsabilidad: este trabajo representa exclusivamente la opinión del autor. No representa la opinion del European Services Forum o sus miembros. ÍNDICE INTRODUCCIÓN 1. ¿QUÉ ES EL EUROPEAN SERVICES FORUM? 2. IMPORTANCIA DE LOS SERVICIOS Y EL COMERCIO EN LOS SERVICIOS EN LA UE Y FUERA DE LA UE 2.1. Comercio intra-UE e IDE 2.2. La importancia del mercado trasatlántico 2.3. El volumen de liberalización mundial de los servicios

All OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) publications are protected by international copyright law. Extracts may be copied, reproduced, translated, adapted or published in journals, documents, books, electronic media and any other medium destined for the public, for information, educational or commercial purposes, provided prior written permission has been granted by the OIE. The designations and denominations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the OIE concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries. The views expressed herein are solely the responsibility of the authors. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by the OIE in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned."

ACP African, Caribbean and Pacific states BFA Framework Agreement on Bananas CAP Common Agricultural Policy (of the EU) DSB Dispute Settlement Body (of the WTO) EEC European Economic Community EU European Community FTA free trade area GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade GDP gross domestic product GSP Generalised System of Preferences MFN most favoured nation SEM single European market UK United Kingdom US United States WTO World Trade Organisation WTO incompatibility with Lomé, SP 98/3

The harm reduction movement formed during a period in which social movements of the working class and the excluded were weak, neo-liberalism ideologically triumphant, and potential opposition movements were viewed as offering ''tinkering'' with the system rather than a total social alternative. This climate shaped and limited the perspectives, strategies, and tactics of harm reductionists almost everywhere. In many countries, this period was also marked by a ''political economy of scapegoating'' that often targeted drug users as the cause of social woes. This scapegoating took the form of ''divide and rule'' political initiatives by business and political leaderships to prevent social unrest in a long period of worldwide economic trends toward lowered profit rates and toward increasing income inequality. However, times have changed. Mass strikes and other labor struggles, opposition to the World Trade Organisation and other agencies of neo-liberalism, community-based protests against belt-tightening, and other forms of social unrest have been increasing in many countries. This opens up the possibility of new allies for the harm reduction movement, but also poses difficult problems for which we need to develop answers. On-the-ground experience in alliance formation needs to be combined with careful discussion of and research about what approaches work to convince other movements to work for and with harm reduction, and which approaches do not. Class differences within the harm reduction movement are likely to become more salient in terms of (a) creating internal tensions, (b) increasingly, opening up new ways in which working class harm reductionists can organize within their own communities and workplaces, and (c) producing different strategic orientations that will need to be discussed and debated. As a movement, we will need to find ways to accommodate and discuss differing perspectives, needs, and assessments of opportunities and threats without paralyzing harm reduction activities.

Competition between opposing lobbies is an important factor in the endogenous determination of trade policy. This paper investigates empirically the consequences of lobbying competition between upstream and downstream producers for trade policy. The theoretical structure underlying the empirical analysis is the well-known Grossman-Helpman model of trade policy determination, modified suitably to account for the cross-sectoral use of inputs in production (itself a quantitatively significant phenomenon with around 50 percent of manufacturing output being used by other sectors rather than in final consumption). Data from more than 40 countries are used in our analysis. Our empirical results validate the predictions of the theoretical model with lobbying competition. Importantly, accounting for lobbying competition also alters substantially estimates of the"welfare-mindedness" of governments in setting trade policy.

L'Accord général sur le commerce des services (AGCS), qui est entré en vigueur le 1er janvier 1995 et est administré par l'Organisation mondiale du commerce (OMC), est le premier accord multilatéral sur le commerce des services. Il a mis en place un ensemble de règles normatives s'appliquant en principe à tous les secteurs de services. Il comporte également des régimes complémentaires et particuliers au regard des secteurs suivants : services financiers ; télécommunications ; transport aérien ; mouvement des personnes physiques. Ces régimes plus particuliers se sont avérés nécessaires en raison de la complexité et des particularités afférentes à ces secteurs. Le présent article offre une analyse approfondie et détaillée des règles particulières s'appliquant à ces secteurs. Bien que nombreuses et fort significatives, notamment en ce qui a trait au secteur des services financiers et au secteur des télécommunications, et contrairement aux règles générales de l'AGCS,...

This paper presents estimation of the Grossman-Helpman (1994) model for the EU. We try to address a number of pitfalls that surround the previous empirical literature. First, we suggest a new identification strategy that enables to single out politically organized sectors with specific regard to trade policy. Second, we utilize two alternative measures of trade protection (ad-valorem equivalent of non-tariff barriers and overall restrictiveness) and adopt industrial and trade data at a high level of disaggregation. Finally, we directly obtain the structural coefficients of the model by estimating a nonlinear simultaneous equations system that is tightly linked to theory. We find that the theoretical model is broadly consistent with data and conclusions turn out internally coherent.

The aim of this paper is to explore the role of the institutional determinants of international comparative advantage. Starting from a theoretically well-founded general-equilibrium framework, where specialization depends on relative factor endowments and technological differences, we study the possible additional effect of labor unions. Using country-year panel data, we obtain that they are an important determinant of relative economic performance for a sample of manufacturing sectors. In particular low wages-labor-intensive industries turn out to be relatively disadvantaged, while high wages-capital-intensive sectors are relatively advantaged by stronger labor unions. We also allow for different institutional scenarios, letting unionization patterns interact with different regimes of bargaining coordination and social security systems. Our main conclusions are not substantially altered.

During the 1990s, rapid growth in China was accompanied by strong growth in foreign direct investment (FDI). FDI continued to grow until 1997 when it leveled off. Overall total investment fell as direct investment leveled off and portfolio investment fell after 1997. In terms of total foreign investment, it is clear that in 1998, under the shadow of the East Asian Crisis, China fell out of favour. Attempts by China to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) have recently progressed to the final stages with the signing of agreements with the United States, Europe and Japan. It is hoped that China's accession to the WTO will accelerate changes in China towards a market economy and attract foreign investment back to China. In this paper we explore the implications of WTO accession for market rates of return and hence on investment in China using the dynamic GTAP model. The dynamic GTAP model is applied to an 11-region by 13-commodity aggregation of the GTAP database, supplemented with foreign income data. The paper also takes into account duty drawbacks and examines the effect of replacing lost tariff revenue resulting from the reduction of tariffs. Data suggest that duty drawbacks apply to approximately 60% of goods imported by China. This effectively reduces the average tariff rate applied to imported commodities and hence, if not taken into account, the effects of reducing the tariff rates under the WTO agreement may be significantly overestimated. Moreover, in countries in which the tax systems are not highly developed, tariffs are an important source of government revenue. In China accession to the WTO, and the reduction in tariffs which accompanies it, will have an important affect on the Governments tax receipts. As a result this tariff revenue may have to be replaced with other alternative taxes. The affects of this on China and on investment are investigated in this paper. It is found that the effect of accession on interest rates can play an important role in enhancing China's attractiveness as a destination for foreign investment. This increase in the attractiveness of China as a destination for foreign capital can, however, be severely curtailed if China chooses to follow a policy of replacing lost tariff revenue with additional income taxes.

The Doha Development Round (DDR) has been in the doldrums for more than 10 years. Trade negotiations are at a standstill , resulting in a revival of trade protectionism and preferential agreements in the name of 'new regionalism.' This leads to a dismantling of the multilateral trading system. The World Trade Organization (WTO) was created for the very purpose of increasing multilateral trade in 1995. It is vital to preserve gains from the world trade. The success of multilateral trading system relies in part on the completion of the DDR. The concepts and practices of free trade are at risk of being reduced in favor of trade protectionism and new regionalism. If it happens, then the future of global trade is uncertain. Such an occurrence would result in a major loss of economic potential, which no country can afford. Doha is stuck. Where do we go from here? This paper discusses the issues relating to the closure vs. success of the DDR.

Environment and climate change in the world gained importance at the end of the 20th century and the cooperation of countries in this area gradually increased. Especially the framework protocols signed under the umbrella of the United Nations (UN) made the subject a remarkable area in the international arena. The European Union (EU) became the first actor in the world to take concrete steps in this field with the European Green Deal. The Green Deal has introduced new regulations in a wide range of policy areas. The behaviors adopted by the EU, which maintains its role as a normative power in the international arena, draws paths that include behavioral patterns as implemented. The field of environment and climate change is also an area where the EU is active at the global level, and the effects of the determined rules expected to be seen at the global level. At this point, the trade relations will be a significant channel in the dissemination of the understanding and rules adopted by the EU. The fact that the EU has put provisions on the subject in the preferential trade agreements it has signed is the most substantial indicator of this situation.

Romania's accession to the EU meant a significant increase in both the volume and value of the Romanian agrifood trade, and a continuation and increase of the trade flows with the EU. On the other hand, although joining the Single Market meant the discontinuation of the free trade agreements that have been in force for the last 15 years with Republic of Moldova, Turkey, Israel, AELS etc., Romania kept its traditional extra-EU partners, under the new rules. Since the EU is the world largest agrifood products exporter, the present paper is analyzing the position of Romania among the other EU member countries in terms of values, quantities and directions. The competitiveness of the Romanian extra-community agrifood is analyzed as well, since it improved significantly for the last three years.

In a rapidly changing business environment, innovation becomes one of the most relevant factor for the development of a company, as well as the key element for market competitiveness. Organisations strive to improve their innovation performances, by improving the quality of their processes, and with knowledge management. Some studies claim that knowledge management and quality management produce positive impact on organisational innovation, others point to the, shortcomings of quality management. Such contradictions still draws attention of academic community. The purpose of this study is to evidence on the nature of relationship between quality management, knowledge management and innovation performance. The aim of this paper is to present methodology and basic concepts of making an instrument (questionnaire) for examining observed impacts.

Trade in goods between members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is slowly but steadily increasing. However, in addition to reducing tariff and non-tariff barriers, implementation of trade facilitation measures can give further impetus to intra-SAARC trade. This paper would examine the trade facilitation measures which have been agreed upon by members of the SAARC to promote intra-regional trade. Drawing upon the WTO negotiations on trade facilitation, concluded WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation as well as measures taken by members of other regional trade blocs, this paper would explore the scope for expanding trade facilitation measures within the SAARC regime in order to promote the expansion of trade between its member countries.