In part of T20’s mission, trade policy proposals with contributions from TEPAV’s Sait Akman and Bozkurt Aran were published.
Under the current G20 Italy presidency, policy briefs prepared by experts from academia, think-tanks and policy centers around the world were published by the Secretariat of the Think20 (T20) Italy, to help leaders of G20 countries in policy-making process.
Reports prepared by the Task Forces with the aim of providing research-based advice to policymakers of G20 countries confronting global issues covering sustainable development, climate change, sustainable energy, international migration, infrastructure investments, the international financial system, global health and COVID-19, digital transformation, global trade, and investments.
As being involved in the Task Force process in the previous years, TEPAV contributed to the preparation and presentation of two separate studies on trade and investment this year.
The first is the Policy Brief titled Confronting “Deglobalization” in the Multilateral Trading System, co-written by nine experts from seven different countries including Bozkurt Aran, Director of TEPAV’s Multilateral Trade Studies Center (MUTS), and Sait Akman, Director of TEPAV’s G20 Studies Center, includes analysis and policy proposals for the effects of deglobalization, the retreat from the multilateral trading system and the elimination of the problem that arise as a result.
This study highlights the fundamental role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) at a time where trade is being increasingly politicized. The need to update the dispute settlement system and to control the abuse of trade measures implemented by G20 countries for national security purposes are among the priorities issues to address. The study argues that issue-specific dialogue is vital based on the experiences of relevant RTAs and mega-trade agreements in areas such as digital trade, state aid, state-owned-enterprises, domestic regulations in services trade, investment facilitation and climate change-trade relationship. The paper also recommends increasing the role of the WTO Secretariat in enhancing transparency, the basis of trust in the WTO.
To access the mentioned Policy Brief, click here.
The following Policy Brief, Boosting G20 Cooperation for WTO Reform: Leveraging the Full Potential of Plurilateral Initiatives, co-authored by Sait Akman, consists of proposals for the future of "plurilateral negotiations", which have been initiated in recent years to overcome the difficulty of consensus-building in WTO negotiations and rule-making. As is known, the importance of "plurilateral initiatives" is to contribute to the stalled negotiations and for the revival of the multilateral trading system and WTO. These agreements, binging only signatory countries that are willing in the relevant field instead of all WTO member states, do not bind non-participatory countries. Yet plurilateral initiatives are largely pursued by advanced economies and developing countries often do not participate in them. However, concerns are growing in some developing countries that this method could impede the WTO's multilateral negotiation method, which is conducted through the participation and consensus of all.
The Brief recommends proposes that developing countries’ needs and capacities using the TFA model can be addressed to tackle implementation challenges; negotiations should be inclusive and transparent to avoid negative effects on outsiders to establish trust; the legal aspects of their incorporation into the WTO needs to be clarified; coordination between different plurilateral tracks should be increased; and the impact assessments of plurilaterals need to be conducted. The G20 should enhance substantive discussions on plurilaterals facilitated by a sub-committee under its Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG).
To access the mentioned Policy Brief, click here.
To access all Policy Briefs published within the scope of T20, click here.
