Azevedo’s Resignation Amid Growing Irrelevance of WTO

By Biswajit Dhar | Briefing Paper # 38 | May 25, 2020

The decision of the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Roberto Azevedo, to demit office a year before the expiration of his second term, confirms the long-held view that the multilateral trading system is facing an existential crisis. This rules-based trading system was established by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)…

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It’s Time for a Solidarity Tax

By Kavaljit Singh | Briefing Paper # 37 | May 15, 2020

Last month, Peru’s President Martin Vizcarra proposed a Solidarity Tax to mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed solidarity tax would be temporarily imposed on wealthy and super-rich Peruvians earning more than US$3,000 a month. The tax authorities are expected to raise 300 million soles (US$88 million) per month in additional…

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Why India Needs to Tweak its FDI Rules

By Smitha Francis | Commentary | May 14, 2020

Reactions have come in from different quarters after the Indian Government introduced new screening rules for foreign direct investment (FDI) last month. The latest Press Note on FDI (Press Note 3, 2020) has made government approval mandatory for all foreign investments from countries with which India shares a land border. Approval has been made…

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COVID-19: A Triple Whammy for Emerging Market and Developing Economies

By Kavaljit Singh | Briefing Paper # 36 | April 23, 2020

Even though the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the US and European Union has captured the world’s attention, one should not lose sight of the pandemic and its associated health, economic and financial stability challenges in the rest of the world. As the COVID-19 pandemic advances globally, Africa and South…

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COVID-19: Challenges Before the G20 Trade Ministers

By Biswajit Dhar | Briefing Paper # 35 | April 5, 2020

Trade Ministers from G20 countries met on 30th March, days after the heads of states and governments of the major economies for an Extraordinary Summit meeting, to take a coordinated stand in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In these extraordinary times, the Trade Ministers agreed that the “international community to step up cooperation and…

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