Benchmarking Development For Hong Kong And Beyond

Download or read book Benchmarking Development for Hong Kong and Beyond written by Rashid S. Kaubab and published by Seatini. This book was released on 2005 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Developing countries and particularly African countries must not think that they are asking for charity by demanding development-oriented outcomes. Their demands are justified not only on the basis of the promise of Doha Ministerial Declarations and Decisions but also on any calculation of give and take in the multilateral trade negotiations. Developing countries, particularly African and least-developed countries (LDCs), are not free riders in the multilateral trading system. In fact they have offered more concessions than their developed country partners in the Uruguay Round and the WTO. Their concessions are not limited to binding themselves to stringent multilateral rules in new areas such as trade-related intellectual property rights (Agreement on TRIPS), trade-related investment measures (Agreement on TRIMS) and services (General Agreement on Trade in Services). Even in the area of market access their commitments go far beyond those of the developed countries. Hence developing countries should not be on the defensive. They have contributed and continue to contribute to the multilateral trading system, often far beyond their capacities and certainly more than their developed country partners.