Week 1 - The Commonwealth & Global Trade Date: Mar 9, 2009 10:05:25 AM PDT Author: Brooke Do you believe that the Commonwealth can make an impact on global trade practices? Do its composition and methods of action allow it to play such a role or do they in fact prevent it from being an effective operator? Brooke Prater WBI Parliamentary Strengthening Program parliamentarystrengthening@gmail.com

The Commonwealth and Global Trade Date: Mar 9, 2009 12:29:55 PM PDT Author: Mister Name: Ivo Country: Cameroon I strongly believe that the commonwealth can play a great role by intervening into meaningful forums aiming to eliminate the impact of the new global trade regime on on small holding agriculturalists in Africa, Asia, India and South America. The Commonwealth can mediate to wipe out trade rules that frustrate these poor countries of global market access. Truth pressed on earth shall rise again because truth is nothing but truth itself Last modified by Mister on Mar 9 2009 12:30PM

The Commonwealth and Global Trade Date: Mar 10, 2009 8:59:03 AM PDT Author: Moderator This is a topic that is not the easiest to handle but thinking about it will give a good idea of what the Commonwealth may do in this area. We could also consider the input that parliaments and parliamentarians may make. One way to begin may be by rehearsing what you may know about the world’s trading systems. After the Second World War, some countries banded together to create the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and that was the origin of today’s multilateral rules-based trading system. The prime objective of GATT was the removal of obstacles to trade in manufactured goods, mainly by reducing tariffs on them. GATT was succeeded in the last decade by the WTO or World Trade Organization which deals with a much wider variety of issues and concerns – its work covers intellectual property and trade in services, for instance. WTO’s membership comprises a much larger number of countries. These members have agreed to submit themselves to a rules based system for the purpose of the expansion of trade to mutual benefit. A group of countries like those in the Commonwealth where many are small and vulnerable in trade matters can create a voice for themselves which can be heard better than when they act singly. A glance at the reasons why the Commonwealth came together and the way they describe their association (see Unit 1) will also explain why this can happen. Parliamentarians have a special role to play because their countries contract to submit themselves to international trade agreements and legislators must therefore be much more aware of the background to them. Quite often in this highly-specialised field, they are unable to help shape policy and therefore agreements of great importance to their constituents, the manufacturers and farmers and smallholders who will be affected by trade deals, may proceed to become law almost by default. Here again the Commonwealth has a role in helping parliamentarians to educate themselves and exchange views about trade and trade agreements: some work has been done but there is a space for a lot more. Participants may like to think of what has been achieved in their countries and whether the Commonwealth has played a role in it.

Commonwealth and Global Trade Date: Mar 13, 2009 9:49:22 AM PDT Author: Big Ben The Commonwealth has not contributed much to benefit member countries in the area of global trade. Nigeria has not fully benefited from any support in this area. This is why the country usually enter into trade agreements with other countries solely on its own. I agree with the fact that there are avenues for assistance and as an organisation which is recognised worldwide and have the support of 52 countries, there is a need for them to better. How do Parliamentarians come in? In Nigeria, every agreement or treaty signed by the government has to be brought to the National Assembly for ratification and domestication into the laws of the Federation. There is therefore a need for the CPA and other organisations under the Commonwealth to devise ways of getting favourable trade terms for member countries. Parliamentarians can also ensure that the Commonwealth is strengthened to the extent that its decisions are binding not only on member countries but also on countries they trade with. This is perhaps the best way to get the Commonwealth to contribute meaningfully to trade relations between members countries and their trading patners

Commonwealth and Global Trade Date: Mar 14, 2009 5:54:55 AM PDT Author: srm Commonwealth comprised of 53 countries have 1/3rd of World population do approximately 1/5th of the Global Trade among them. This figure indicate that this has the potential to become a catalyst for the change in the Global Trade. Commonwealth countries are bound by a common tradition of colonial past, share common culture, tradition of democracy, same legal system, one English language. These commonalities provide ample scope and encouragement for global trade among the Commonwealth countries. Samuel P. Huntington has mentioned that Commonwealth countries share common business culture and the Member countries can take advantage of it. In the Commonwealth Business council the Indian Commerce Minister mentioned “ we were all speaking the same language.” The Commonwealth’s India Trade and Investment Forum was launched in 2005 which aimed specifically at encouraging investment in India from the other Commonwealth countries. Five Commonwealth countries have been identified as global gateway for India in terms of Foreign Direct Investment. These countries are U.K. Australia, Canada, Malaysia and South Africa. India’s business with South Africa, Canada and Australia is now sky rocketing. Millenium Development Goals targets improvement of market access, improvement of foreign direct investment and transfer of technology. As we see the financial hub are crumbling under present recession, the goals set by the MDGs should be analysed again and viable mode of global trade can be worked out. CHOGM has also asked Commonwealth countries to continue to take action in support of United Nations Millenium Development Goals (ASO Rock Declaration, 2003). The Commonwealth countries, having the wide varieties of economy from developed, developing and under developed, is in a privileged position to take a decision on the course of global trade. Commonwealth In the period of increasing disparity between the third world countries and developed countries Commonwealth is in a position to lead the global trade. Half of the Commonwealth countries are small and have a different set of problems, Commonwealth should provide a data bank of the problem and how trade can help in developing their economy. Global Trade and the emergence of international trade association are important factors of development and this will decide whether the Commonwealth will sustain as an association. The purpose of Commonwealth was to implement Commonwealth decisions and to foster the many forms of relationship between the member countries. Improving trading ties also help in strengthening the relationship and in following the core values adopted by the Commonwealth.

Week 1 - The Commonwealth & Global Trade Date: Mar 15, 2009 2:54:53 PM PDT Author: FGB The Commonwealth has tried over the past years in building capacity of Members of Parliament on trade related issues through CPA but I believe that more can be done by better placed Commonwealth economies. Most developing countries lack expertise in global trade issues and negotiation skills and this eventually leads to countries signing trade agreements which do not provide the much needed trading opportunities. An example is the struggle some developing countries have in negotiating with the EU on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). Most Parliamentarians are not conversant with trade issues and their input into negotiations of the EPAs is minimal.

Week 1 - The Commonwealth & Global Trade Date: Mar 15, 2009 10:24:55 PM PDT Author: ekky If you had asked me this question before Obama's election i would have said no but with the global slogan "yes we can" my answer will be in the Affirmative. First of all on our notes we have been informed that the commonwealth is evolving and has attempted to pay attention to areas that were not sufficiently catered for in earlier years. There is now a body devoted to business interests in the commonwealth known as the commonwealth business council. This as cited by the moderator was an attempt by the commonwealth to rebuild itself to meet challenges and demands, making it a positive initative. Befor i tackle this question I would like to look at the key trends in global trend practices. In my opinion the trend has been to marginalize Developing countries/ economies. According to Peter Lloyd et al, 1998 these economies have been unable to influence their own terms of trade such that they are price takers in the world markets. They are sources of vulnerability in that they amplity the sensitivity to external conditions in the global economic environment relative to large states. Having analyzed the above I would refer back to the question can the commonwealth make an impact on these practices. During CHOGM 2007 trade was a key area of discussion by heads of Government, they reaffirmed their committment to inter alia the goals of development equity through greater responsiveness of the international trading system to the concerns and interess of developing countries, they noted that a strongly development oriented outcome would involve: elimination of export subsidies and substantial reduction in domestic support, reduction where appropriate in tariffs and other trade distorting measures,provision of special and differential treatment for developing countries especially LDCs and strengthening of supply side capacity and trade related infrastructure through Aid for trade and other mechanisms. The above looksan ideal recipe but its implementation is very complicated. The commonwealth has very limited capacity to implement the above. It is comprised of 53 countries a good number of which have very little influence on World Affiars. Dismantling the world order is therefore an uphill task especially noting that the World Bank and IMF policies promote this inequality. In conclusion the World Global trends are totally inclined in favour of developed countires. The commonwealth has through its networks attempted to influence these trends with a collaborative/ consultative approach. It is my hope that this is create notable impact in the future.

Week 1 - The Commonwealth and Global Trade Date: Mar 17, 2009 12:48:25 AM PDT Author: MOG I strongly believe that the Commonwealth can make tremendous impact on Global Trade practices. With its position as the second largest international trade block after the EU and its pedigree as having the world's biggest and fastest emerging market - India and the busiest port in the world (Singapore) as well as member countries cut across all developmental stages of world economy, the Commonwealth, no doubt can impact positively and hugely in global trade. The organisation has enough trade policies that, if implemented, would put it on a higher pedestal in global trade, but policies on paper alone would not guarantee that it plays this great role. The Commonwealth needs the right platform like the Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce and Industry Forum Ltd as has been proposed, and which contain many laudable objectives upon which it can make major contributions to international discussions and actions on trade through valuable inputs. The composition and method adopted by Commonwealth gives member countries collective voice and international reach and it can have a deeper voice and make more impact on global trade practices if a strong platform is created.

Week 1 - The Commonwealth & Global Trade Date: Mar 19, 2009 2:11:53 AM PDT Author: Asad no doubt the Commonwealth forum cam play an active role in promoting business activities among its member states.there is still a huge potential that is unexplored and if sincere efforts were made it can turn the tables other way round.I am optimistic that it will appear as major global trade player in future.

Week 1 - The Commonwealth & Global Trade Date: Mar 20, 2009 8:36:04 AM PDT Author: NAMAYANJA Common Wealth and Global Trade Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Winston Cox in an international workshop once said that it is important to ensure that collective efforts are made to achieve the common goal of putting development back at the top of the global trade agenda this year. He was addressing ambassadors from the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) at the ACP Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium, on 11 February 2005. Mr Cox stressed that the Commonwealth Secretariat is ready to play a role in mobilising support for global integration at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong in December 2005. The Commonwealth supports three areas in agricultural trade issues under discussion in the WTO, namely, the phasing out of export subsidies, the reduction of trade-distorting domestic support in developed countries, and the increase in market access for goods from developing countries. He underlined that: "Strong emphasis must be given to special and differential treatment for developing countries including lower tariffs and longer implementation periods; expanded technical assistance; and support to countries adversely affected by loss of preferences." Therefore, for the common wealth to be relevant in global trade espcially for the poor member states, there need to identify trade-related constraints and to ensure that trade policies support the overall development goals of each country. It is important to link development plans to poverty reduction strategies, capacity gaps and development goals must also be clearly identified. The erosion of trade preferences following multilateral trade negotiations would impact on the long-standing preferential access by developing countries to major export markets. A Commonwealth Secretariat study found that total losses could be around $2 billion a year among the most vulnerable economies. The high poverty levels, small market size and vulnerability of export sectors would cause preference-dependent economies to struggle to cope with the change in the trade regime. External assistance is needed to replace the losses from preference erosion and assist countries to adjust to the challenges of exporting to liberalised global markets. Common wealth should assist in trade-related capacity-building and technical assistance issues such as trade in services, intellectual property rights and e-commerce. Capacity-building support is needed to translate potential into actual gains particularly in areas such as agriculture, market access of non-agricultural products such as textiles, temporary movement of persons and other areas where the benefits of developing countries are likely to be greatest. The Common wealth should also help in imparting skills to be used for other trade-related negotiations such as the Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union; the Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiations for the Caribbean states; as well as other regional negotiations and integration efforts. Such is the role which I think the Common wealth can play in the global trade so to help members benefit fully from globalisation