Category: TRADE AND INVESTMENT RULES

Guaranteeing Access to Medicines: Reforming Trade and Investment Treaties in the COVID-19 Era

Eight months into COVID-19, what is the status of the international investment regime and access to essential medicines? The GDP Center’s Working Group on Trade and Access to Medicines will host a panel discussion on trade, investment regime, and access to essential medicines. The event is co-sponsored by the South Centre, the intergovernmental organization of […]

Is China the Villain? Jobs, Wages and Building a Better U.S. Policy toward China

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a blame game between the U.S. and China, disrupting the urgently needed international cooperation to control the spread of the disease and accelerate efforts to find and distribute affordable vaccines and treatments. The current finger pointing has exacerbated bilateral tensions that were already flaring as a result of […]

How Trade Policy Failed US Workers – And How to Fix it

A new report from the Global Development Policy Center in collaboration with the Groundwork Collaborative and the Institute for Policy Studies examines U.S. trade policy and performance in the Trump and COVID-19 era. The report examines U.S. trade policy prior to the pandemic and reveals an approach heavily focused toward the interest of the financial sector […]

New BU Policies for Visiting Faculty & Research Scholars and Visiting Students

On March 17, the Boston University Council approved a new policy for Visiting Faculty & Research Scholars, and on June 16 a related policy for Visiting Students. These policies will be applied to all new appointments starting on or after Tuesday, September 1. Policy highlights are as follows — Visiting Faculty & Research Scholars Criteria for Appointment: The […]

Report: Trade treaties and fiscal stability in the COVID-19 era

Trade and investment treaties are partially standing in the way of emerging market and developing country efforts to create as much fiscal space possible in order to fight the COVID-19 virus, protect the vulnerable, and put together pathways for a sustainable economic recovery. This is the main finding coming out of a new GDP Center report […]

Domestic Resource Mobilization and the Trade and Investment Regime: The Need for Policy Coherence

The challenges that developing countries have faced in terms of fiscal constraints, debt overhang and access to essential medicines existed long before COVID-19 and will persist long after it is gone. In November 2019, the Boston University Global Development Policy Center partnered with the Intergovernmental Group of 24 on International Monetary Affairs and Development (G-24) […]

The Fiscal Impacts of Trade and Investment Treaties

There is a renewed global push to mobilize resources to meet glaring global infrastructure gaps, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement commitments and generally improve standards of living. A core component of such resource mobilization will be the generation of domestic resources through taxation. Whereas tariffs form a miniscule share of public revenue […]