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Trade Insight: A Dialogue on Trade and Development in South Asia
Vol. 4, No. 1, 2008
 In today's world of economic globalization, South Asia is at a crossroads at all levels - national, regional and international. The changing landscape for trade in the globalized era demands South Asian countries to assess the relevance and effectiveness of their trade policies, not merely to address domestic barriers, including supply-side constraints but also to generate more options and means for their better integration into the global economy. Time is thus ripe for them to redesign their trade policies and institutionalize an inclusive trade policy-making mechanism, which is critical to help them realize the potential gains from bilateral, regional and multilateral trade. This issue of Trade Insight highlights 10 strategies for South Asia that governments, including concerned stakeholders in the region, need to take into account while formulating their trade policies. The magazine also includes news and articles on trade and climate change, issues of weaker economies, gender and trade, cross-country comparisons of investment climate, etc.
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The distribution of gains from SAFTA among South Asian countries is a matter of concern. This Issue Paper argues that regardless of whether the free trade agreement on the whole is welfare-enhancing or not, the LDC Members stand to lose out under the current framework of SAFTA. It contends that that the weaker economies suffer trade diversion and revenue loss as they open up to the region. The Paper suggests that services trade be brought under SAFTA for trade creation and welfare gains for weaker economies, and recommends regional cooperation on transit to help landlocked countries like Bhutan and Nepal. 
This Briefing Paper examines problems that have to be addressed to make the Agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) viable amid the proliferation of other bilateral and regional free trade agreements. The paper points out the slow pace of tariff liberalization programme under SAFTA, the huge size of sensitive lists maintained by members, the Agreement's failure to deal effectively with non-tariff barriers, huge transaction costs, and the exclusion of trade in services from the Agreement as impediments to making SAFTA relevant.
This Research Brief explains the concept of 'access and benefit sharing' (ABS) in biodiversity protection, identifies cases where it has been used, analyses them, recognizes their shortcomings and suggests a method for the implementation of ABS in which such gaps will no longer exist. The objective is to provide decision makers of South Asian governments with recommendations to develop and implement rules that protect the interests of all stakeholders through robust and transparent consultation processes, while also ensuring equity and social justice to specifically safeguard the rights of local, indigenous and farming communities.
