The international trading system can make a significant contribution to development both by offering consistent and predictable rules and by granting special concessions to developing countries. The WTO is the trade institution best placed to achieve these objectives although its mandate and expertise are in trade related rules, not all the other potential elements of development. Several analyses have focused on its role in promoting development as well as on the way WTO's rules should be modified for the benefit of developing countries.
However it is not always clear what the most effective ways to pursue these objectives are, and importantly how to modify the rules in a way that avoids unacceptable costs to other countries or to legitimate expectations about the system. Moreover to the extent that there are costs to modifying rules for the benefits of developing countries, it is worth examining whether that is it the best way of achieving the development objectives. An understanding of the systemic interests of developed and developing countries in the international trade regime is needed to address these questions.
Our research in this area aims to analyse these different questions and to provide possible options on each of these issues.
