The Role of the WTO in the 21st Century - Launching of the WTO Chair in Brazil

The Center on Global Trade and Investment at the FGV School of Economics presented the International Conference on THE ROLE OF THE WTO IN THE 21ST CENTURY. On this occasion, the WTO Chair Programme in Brazil was launched. The Conference brought together practitioners, policymakers and academics engaged in trade discussions. The Conference was held in São Paulo, Friday December 5th, 2014, at School of Economics of Getulio Vargas Foundation, Auditório Itau-FGV.

Plurilateral trade agreements and the impact on LDCs: To participate or not to participate?

In the wake of the impasse in the Doha Development Round (DDR) of multilateral trade talks, a number of countries have been looking at alternative ways to advance their trade agendas – one of which involves the negotiation of plurilateral trade agreements (PTAs). PTAs are voluntary, sector-based agreements concluded between two or more WTO member countries. Although these agreements are negotiated outside of the WTO system they have the potential to ultimately be ‘multilateralised’ and applied to the full WTO membership.