World Trade Organisation
latest news & developments
The new trade playbook: Africa’s response to US bilateralism
Donald Trump’s punitive tariffs will be felt across Africa
G20 finance track calls for IMF reform, revitalising the World Trade Organisation, inclusive global growth
The need to ensure the independence of central banks was also one of the key recommendations from South Africa’s G20 finance track
Democracy on the line in global economic trade stand-off
Donald Trump’s executive orders are of dubious constitutionality, having violated civil rights of federal workers, weaponised immigration laws and limited Congress’s powers over…
Citrus clash: South Africa takes on the EU’s tough new export rules
The European Union has set out new regulations for citrus exports that will hurt South African citrus growers
Trade agreements: The little known agent of global inequality
In the name of free trade, countries went to war in the 1700s and 1800s. Today, trade is the continuation of the politics of war by other means
When free trade is not free
Free trade limits the policy space available to states worldwide, locking them into market-based trade and industrial policies.
JSC lets politics trump conscience and excellence
The sense that the commissioners who nominated five candidates for appointment to the Constitutional Court voted for their constituencies, rather than with their conscience, is…
Sharing the secrets of making a Covid-19 vaccine isn’t enough. Here’s why
For all the excitement generated by the news of an mRNA vaccine hub being established in South Africa, the country is still going to need help making Covid-19 jabs
France to join South Africa’s bid to increase support for Trips waivers at G7 meeting
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that South Africa could count on him to fix the inequalities associated with combating the virus
No vaccine superheroes or supervillains: Fix the system
Is Gates a superhero or a supervillain? That’s the wrong question. The right question is: How it is that one person can have so much influence over world health?
Khaya Sithole: Biden’s pledge boosts Covid waiver drive
But Big Pharma and the world trade body haven’t shifted on sharing vaccine intellectual property
Covid resources: Developing countries at the mercy of their wealthier counterparts
Last week, WTO members had another chance to level the playing field by sponsoring the Trips waiver for Covid-19 medical tools. They chose not to
‘We can’t afford to become the Covid continent’
The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention only launched in 2017, but between Ebola, measles and the Covid-19 pandemic, it has had its work cut out for it. The…
World leaders: Global recovery requires multilateral cooperation
Addressing the Covid-19 health and economic crisis requires international relations based on cooperation, the rule of law, collective action and shared principles
Patents a litmus test for global vaccine rollout
As India and South Africa push for relief at the World Trade Organisation through intellectual property rights waivers, India’s history of getting concessions may be the…