Overview

Of enduring concern for small states are the numerous constraints they face in international trade negotiations. This study provides evidence that small states can still have an important influence over the outcomes of negotiations if they successfully identify and tackle these underlying constraints. Building on existing scholarship, Manoeuvring at the Margins is the first attempt to thoroughly analyse the views of representatives from small states on the constraints they face in this area. The authors, led by Dr Ngaire Woods and Dr Carolyn Deere Birkbeck of the University of Oxford, highlight three areas where small states can maximise their potential influence: establishing an effective negotiating team by strengthening human resources; harnessing the support of civil society and the private sector; and improving negotiation strategies. The recommendations they provide will be useful in assisting trade policy-makers in small states to achieve greater success in WTO and other trade arenas.

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9781849290067

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Manoeuvring at the Margins: constraints faced by small states in international trade negotiations Emily Jones; Carolyn Deere-Birkbeck and Ngaire Woodsapel_1291 174..187 Commonwealth Secretariat, London, 2010 Pp. xviii + 115. ISBN. 978 18492 9006 7 The authors of this publication are members of the Global Economic Governance Programme, University College, Oxford. They examine the constraints facing small developing countries in negotiating access to multilateral trade arrangements: an area in which there is a huge asymmetry of resources and information between large, advanced countries and small, developing countries. These constraints are now recognised as a significant obstacle to the effective participation of small states in multilateral trade negotiations and agreements. Moreover, despite assistance provided over several years by international agencies-such as the Commonwealth Secretariat, which commissioned this study-there has been little improvement in the situation. Thus, this survey sets out to see why. The constraints faced by small developing states were found to fall into three categories: (1) difficulties in building an effective negotiating team; (2) difficulties in harnessing the support of civil society and the private sector; and (3) difficulties in leveraging their limited bargaining power into more suitable access arrangements. The main constraint to building an effective negotiating team is inadequate human resources. This, of course, is a problem that plagues governments of small developing states at all levels and in all arenas. Development assistance agencies have given a great deal of time and effort to so-called 'capacity building' in recipient countries, often with little success. As the authors of this report found, in the trade policy area the usual difficulties in retaining the staff once they are trained are often overwhelming. This problem is of current concern for the Pacific island countries, as Australia has for some time been training government officials from the Pacific to participate in the negotiations over the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations with Australia and New Zealand (PACER Plus). Other constraints to building an effective negotiating team are shortages of information and analysis and poor oversight by parliaments of the activities of the negotiating team. The formation of regional negotiating teams to generate economies of scale across small states may appear to be a solution but they also present difficulties in the form of moral hazard-that is, attempting to serve several masters. The provision of training by donors and their consultants, who may come from countries on the other side of the negotiating table, may also give rise to conflicts of interest. The authors also identified difficulties that small developing states face in drawing effectively on the private sector and civil society to put together a good negotiating package. The consultative process was found to be weak, with major export and import activities dominating the process at the expense of smaller businesses. The influence of non-government organisations, trade unions, academics, and think-tanks was also found to be weak. The problems appear to lie both with the low demand by governments for inputs and the weak capacity of the stakeholders. One of the major limitations on the bargaining power of the negotiating teams was found to be that team members perceive themselves to be under a high level of threat from the large states-a comment one sees often reflected in debates over trade negotiations between Australia and New Zealand and the Pacific island states. Again, the formation of regional teams may present a means of counterbalancing the asymmetry; but the moral hazard problem remains. The authors identify several ways to overcome the obstacles faced by small developing states in trade negotiations. The first is commitment by the political leadership to the negotiations. This involvement is seen as necessary to generate support from the bureaucracy as well as the community. To assist with improved development of negotiating positions, it is suggested that the capacity of the private sector to participate is strengthened. As well, the capacity of local academic and policy institutes should be strengthened. But these recommendations have been pursued rather futilely for many years. A more useful recommendation-which is related to the first-is for the political leadership of small countries to engage politicians in powerful states at the most senior level possible to try to generate support for their positions. One can imagine different circumstances in which it would be possible to develop such support. This book does an effective job of identifying the constraints that small developing states face in trade negotiations and the reasons for them. It is difficult to get around the human resource shortages found in such developing countries. However, the authors examine the various problems thoroughly and suggest some possible measures for improving the situation. For this reason the book should be very useful to those involved in funding and providing assistance to small developing states to improve their trade negotiating capacities. Ron Duncan The Australian National University -- Ron Duncan ASIAN-PACIFIC ECONOMIC LITERATURE

' - an interesting, ambitious, timely and useful study - [it] asks good questions and contributes original evidence from three methods: an online survey, semi-structured interviews, and country case studies. I found what the respondents said, and the report concluded, to be revealing and valuable.' - John Odell, University of Southern California, and author of 'Negotiating Trade: Developing Countries in the WTO and NAFTA'

Author Information

Ngaire Woods is Professor of International Political Economy, and Director of the Global Economic Governance Programme, University College, Oxford. Carolyn Deere-Birkbeck is Senior Researcher and Trade Project Director, Global Economic Governance Programme, University College, Oxford. Emily Jones is a project associate for the Global Economic Governance Programme's Global Trade Governance Project.

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