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    <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/107034</link>
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        <rdf:li rdf:resource="https://hdl.handle.net/10419/107046" />
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        <rdf:li rdf:resource="https://hdl.handle.net/10419/107048" />
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    <dc:date>2026-04-30T03:25:01Z</dc:date>
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  <item rdf:about="https://hdl.handle.net/10419/107046">
    <title>International production sharing: A case for a coherent policy framework</title>
    <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/107046</link>
    <description>Title: International production sharing: A case for a coherent policy framework
Authors: Nordås, Hildegunn Kyvik
Abstract: This study seeks to clarify what vertical specialization/fragmented production/production sharing is, how widespread it is, how it is organized, its driving forces, and what the policy implications are. It presents six country case studies ( USA, Japan, Germany, Brazil, China and South Africa ) where the importance and nature of production sharing or vertical specialization in the automotive and electronics sectors are studied for each country. The automotive industry has always been a leading industry in terms of organizational innovations and recent developments in the sector raise interesting questions about the limits of vertical fragmentation. Electronics is the sector with the highest extent of vertical specialization among all industries. It is characterized by a high value to weight ratio and production of parts and components can easily be separated in time and space. The driving forces discussed are: technology that allows separation of activities in the supply chain in time and space; organizational innovations that take advantage of such new technologies; the role of services - notably the increasing service content of goods following expanding product diversity and customization to consumer demand - but also the rising demand for sophisticated logistics. It is indeed argued that services links make or break a supply chain. The paper argues that the proliferation of international production sharing requires a coherent policy response, particularly in developing countries, since a chain is as strong as its weakest link. It discusses the complementarities between trade liberalization in goods and services, investment policy, protection of intellectual property and competition policy, where it suggests that there may be a case for looking at the impact of lead firms´ buying power.</description>
    <dc:date>2007-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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  <item rdf:about="https://hdl.handle.net/10419/107047">
    <title>The changing landscape of regional trade agreements: 2006 Update</title>
    <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/107047</link>
    <description>Title: The changing landscape of regional trade agreements: 2006 Update
Authors: Fiorentino, Roberto V.; Verdeja, Luis; Toqueboeuf, Christelle
Abstract: Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) are a prominent feature of the multilateral trading system (MTS) and have become an important trade policy tool for virtually all WTO Members. The number of RTAs as well as the world share of trade covered under them has been steadily increasing over the last ten years and this trend will be further strengthened by the many RTAs being proposed and those currently under negotiation; the impasse in the Doha Round exacerbates the gap between the preferential and the MFN paths to trade liberalization. The proliferation of RTAs presents WTO Members with challenges and opportunities; the promotion of free trade through preferential agreements can foster trade liberalization and benefit economic development by integrating developing countries into the world economy; yet the development of complex networks of non-MFN trade relations will increase discrimination and may well undermine transparency and predictability in international trade relations; it is therefore of systemic importance for the MTS that the WTO addresses this dichotomy and ensures that RTAs are designed and implemented so to complement and not undermine the multilateral process. This paper sets out the scene for such discussion by providing an update of recent developments, trends and future directions of the so called "Changing Landscape of RTAs". Two broad themes are explored: "RTAs' kaleidoscope" maps the global landscape of RTAs and looks at main trends and characteristics of "RTA proliferation" through quantitative and qualitative categorizations of RTAs. The second section of this paper focuses on the WTO-RTA relationship and its systemic implications for the MTS; it identifies some of the current and potential tensions arising from the coexistence of the two systems and it provides an insight into multilateral efforts being pursued to address the existing unbalances.</description>
    <dc:date>2007-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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  <item rdf:about="https://hdl.handle.net/10419/107048">
    <title>Fulfilling the Marrakesh Mandate on Coherence: Ten years of cooperation between the WTO, IMF and World Bank</title>
    <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/107048</link>
    <description>Title: Fulfilling the Marrakesh Mandate on Coherence: Ten years of cooperation between the WTO, IMF and World Bank
Authors: Auboin, Marc
Abstract: Contributing to achieving more coherent global economic policy-making is one of the five core functions of the WTO, as defined by Article III.5 of the WTO Agreement. Its ability to do so depends on it carrying out its other functions successfully - providing a forum for liberalization, ensuring a strict observance of its multilateral rules and disciplines, and contributing to policy surveillance. In 1994, WTO Members added to the WTO Agreement a Ministerial Declaration On Achieving Greater Coherence in Global Economic Policy Making, calling on the WTO to cooperate with the IMF and the World Bank to this aim. Of course, cooperation is not confined to these three institutions. The WTO works intensively with other UN institutions. However, the WTO Coherence Mandate stems from the desire to link up these three multilateral economic organizations, which share the same aim (improving living standards, achieving sustainable development, contributing to expand international trade), of policy coherence. This paper shows that in ten years of cooperation the three organizations have built much tighter links than under the GATT, allowing for a better articulation of trade, financial and debt policies. However, the experience also shows that, as indicated in the Declaration, policy coherence must be achieved at home first; inter-agency cooperation can only improve the coordination and articulation of policies, not correct basic policy inconsistencies at country level. While at the present moment the focus of the tripartite cooperation is how to mainstream development into trade (in the context of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA)), the relationship between trade and finance remains equally important, and not only at times of financial crises. The flexible implementation of the Coherence Mandate has served the WTO and its partners well, and more cooperation for better coherence can be envisaged in the context of evolving architectures of the respective institutions. Examples of future, possible border-line issues to be treated as a matter of common interest are provided in the second part of this paper.</description>
    <dc:date>2007-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
  </item>
  <item rdf:about="https://hdl.handle.net/10419/107043">
    <title>The changing landscape of regional trade agreements</title>
    <link>https://hdl.handle.net/10419/107043</link>
    <description>Title: The changing landscape of regional trade agreements
Authors: Crawford, Jo-Ann; Fiorentino, Roberto V.</description>
    <dc:date>2005-01-01T00:00:00Z</dc:date>
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