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South Asia Research Focus: Present ResearchGiven TKN’s focus on research, South Asian partners were tasked to conduct trade and sustainable development relevant research under the current phase. The partners were to consultatively identify thematic research topics, which would pertain to trade and sustainable development and, preferably, be WTO related.
Research studies selected by TKN partners are listed below: Potential Impact on Southern Farmers of Reducing Northern Subsides: Reflections From Pakistan The premise for reducing northern agricultural subsidies is that they hurt developing countries' rural poor in two ways. First they undermine producers, especially small farmers. Dumping subsidized agricultural goods at prices below production costs, muscles out small farmers, peasant families and sharecroppers, who rely on the advantage of low-cost labor to sell their crops. Second, subsidies reduce the ability of developing countries to export to the north, with adverse impacts on their foreign exchange earnings. This study explores another dimension, that of intra-South equity, which is often ignored in the debate on agricultural subsidies. We contend that due to the anti-small farmer bias in domestic agricultural policies, large farmers are likely to get all the benefits from liberalization of the northern agricultural markets. Furthermore, such liberalization will also have an adverse impact on sustainable development concerns. The impact on the environment and rural women is likely to be significant. The study explores the above stated dimension, looking at Wheat, Rice, and Cotton production in Pakistan in order to highlight the need for changes in domestic policy if small-scale farmers are to gain from liberalization of agricultural trade. Compliance with International Standards in the Marine Fisheries Sector: A Supply Chain Analysis from Pakistan The study focuses on Pakistan’s marine fisheries, which span a 700 mile coastline and include the territorial waters of two provinces, Sindh and Balochistan. The analysis addresses the scope for compliance with international food safety (SPS) and sustainable harvesting (MSC) standards. Food safety standards cover both pre-processing and processing activities. Compliance with such standards is key to Pakistan’s fish exports and foreign exchange earnings and to ensuring livelihoods for the coastal fishing communities. A gap analysis illustrates that processing plants tend to comply with food safety standards, primarily due to the threat of loss of market share. However, exporters/processors have less control over pre-processing and harvesting activities further up the supply chain, even though these activities, ultimately, affect their ability to export. Pre-processing is the responsibility of the harbor authorities and entails food safety interventions at three stages: on board the fishing vessels; at the fishing docks and in transit to the processing plants. Compliance lapses at the pre-processing stage are frequent. Moving further back in the supply chain to fish harvesting highlights even more complex issues. The policy, social, economic and ecological dynamics are difficult and the perverse interplay of these variables has led to a sustained degradation of Pakistan’s coastal fisheries, extending well beyond its territorial waters with adverse consequences for the livelihoods of coastal fishing communities. Degradation, here, refers to stock reduction due to both over fishing and to habitat destruction. The problems at this stage underscore the need for sustained remediation. A first attempt would entail harmonizing federal and provincial fishing policies through a consultative process involving all the important stakeholders; in particular, the representatives of the fishing communities who have first hand knowledge of the problems and issues which affect their livelihoods. Market Access Barriers To Select Nepalese Agricultural Exports Nepal is predominantly an agricultural economy, with almost 80 percent of its population dependent on farming for eking out their living. While high dependence on the agricultural sector is a characteristic feature of most under-developed economies, due to heavy dependence of its population on agriculture, it should make utmost use of opportunity made available by WTO membership (Nepal became a WTO member in 2004) to enhance competitiveness as well as exportability of agricultural products. While in theory Nepal has received increased access to the developed countries' market after WTO membership, it still faces several barriers, both tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers, when it comes to converting market access opportunity into commercial meaningful market entry. However, before jumping to conclusion, it is necessary to conduct an in-depth study on the nature of the barriers. It is equally necessary to identify the problems and probe deeper and investigative further, to bring out in open the real state of problem. Finally, it is necessary to propose some measures – both at the national as well as international level – so as to minimize, if not eliminate these barriers. The Marine Seafood Export Supply Chain in India: Current State and Influence of Import Requirements Abstract This paper studies the current state of the seafood supply chain in India. The first section discusses seafood sustainability and continues with a brief description of the Indian seafood industry. The second section studies the stakeholders in the supply chain, their roles, income and social conditions. The third section examines the bottom of the supply chain, i.e., the state of the landing centres and the fishermen. Section four investigates whether the adoption of the Marine Stewardship Council label would be viable in the Indian environment. The fifth section explains EU and U.S. seafood product and process regulations and their affect on the Indian supply chain. In the final section, the paper recommends improvements to the fisheries supply chain to make it more sustainable. Recommendations include ensuring hygienic ice and water facilities for fish preservation and cleaning; basic hygiene training to fishermen; promotion of fishermen cooperatives and an integrated approach to food safety. This paper does not venture into the domestic government initiatives to promote sustainability. * The author works with CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment, Jaipur, India. Comments can be sent at citee@cuts-international.org . The paper is prepared as part of the IISD-led Trade Knowledge Network Programme. The author is thankful to Aaron Cosbey of IISD, Canada, Bipul Chatterjee of CUTS International, India, and Moeed Yusuf of SDPI, Pakistan, for useful comments, which have been suitably incorporated. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organisation. Market Access Issues: EU-Bangladesh Trade Regimes A Case Study on Market Access - Myths and Realities Market access is a key concern of developing countries within the WTO and this has been discussed extensively during WTO negotiations. Key concerns related to market access emanate from the fact that a majority of the developing countries are vulnerable in terms of dealing with the growing demand from developed countries to match health, environment and social 'standards' during production, processing and management of industrial and agricultural operations. In the case of Bangladesh, its major export items are Ready Made Garments, Jute products, Fish, Hides and Skins, Fertilizer, and Tea. In this study, we focus on the 5 major exporters in readymade garments, knit ware, jute products, fish, hides and skins and tea industries to understand the market access issue at length. The objective of the study is to use micro or firm level information to determine the practical barriers to trade for producers in Bangladesh. NTBs for the purpose of this study is divided into four broad categories:
This study would ultimately rank the market access issues for SME exporters from Bangladesh to suggest policy changes in future rounds of negotiation to provide better prospects for expanding trade from least developed to developed countries.
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