CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment (CITEE)

In the early 1990s, when the negotiations for the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) were at their peak, CUTS got involved in the issues of international trade and economics. During the 13th World Congress of the London-based International Organisation of Consumer Unions (IOCU, renamed as Consumers International in 1995), held at Hong Kong in July 1991, CUTS discovered that hardly any consumer group in India or very few in the South are pursuing this crucial area of work which will have an impact on every consumer. Since then, CUTS has engaged itself in work on trade and development, which is briefly spelt out below under Milestones.

After gaining much experience, CUTS launched the CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment in 1996. Its aim is to become a global standard institution for research and advocacy on trade issues affecting countries in the South. In order to realise this aim, it has formulated its own vision statement, (PDF format) which covers time period up to year 2005. To guide its work programme it has an international advisory board chaired by the eminent trade theorist, Prof. Jagdish Bhagwati. The board also includes other experts with very diverse views, which help us with taking a more middle and a pragmatic path.

MISSION

Pursuing economic equity and social justice within and across borders by persuading governments and empowering people.

GOALS

Enable, empower and facilitate representatives of the civil society, from developing countries in particular, to analyse, articulate and advocate on emerging and relevant issues in the international trading and economic system at the appropriate fora.
Create an informed society through empowerment of people and civil society representatives thus enhancing transparency and accountability in the international trading and economic system.
Promote equity between and among the developed and developing countries through well-argued research and advocacy on issues of international trading an economic system.

STRATEGIES

Conducting research and advocacy on issues of international trade, sustainable development and comparative domestic policies.
Training and networking with international agencies, NGOs and media.
Creating dynamic upward and downward linkages between people and policy makers.
Implement the above under the guidance of an international advisory board of experts.

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MILESTONES

1991

Consumers Network on Trade launched at Hong Kong in association with Public Citizen, USA; Vebraucher Initiative, Bonn; and Parents for Safe Food, London

1994

Joined the Global Policy and Campaigns Committee on Economic Issues of the Consumers International, London as the member from Asia-Pacific region
Catalysed the South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment (SAWTEE), Kathmandu in association with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, New Delhi; Pro-Public, Kathmandu; Law & Society Trust, Colombo; SDPI, Islamabad; Associates for Development Initiatives, Dhaka

1996

Founded the International Centre of Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) at Geneva alongwith the IUCN, Gland, Switzerland; Swiss Coalition of Development Organisations, Bern, Switzerland; Fundacion Futuro Latin Americo, Quito, Equador; and International Institute for Sustainable Development, Ottawa, Canada
Launched CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment (CITEE) at Calcutta, now shifted to Jaipur

2001

Established the Africa Resource Centre of CITEE, Lusaka, Zambia, to consolidate and expand South-South civil society cooperation activities

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PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES

Trade and Sustainable Development

CUTS is involved in the area of trade and sustainable development in various ways and at various levels: international, sub-continental, national and state. The activites are focused mainly the WTO and related domestic policies. What follows is a brief description of the work being done at the international and sub-continental levels. At the national level the work mainly involves regular interaction with the Ministries of Commerce, Industries, Textiles, and Consumer Affairs, and networking with consumer and other NGOs.

In 1995, the Central Pollution Control Board, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India commissioned, CUTS to undertake a study on the impact of environmental conditions in developed countries on India's exports in the area of textiles and garments including carpets, leather and leather goods, agricultural and food products including tea and packaging. The study was done through extensive literature survey and in-depth interviews. It was presented to the Ministry in July, 1995.

In 1996, the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, commissioned the Centre to analyse the progress of negotiations in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) in the context of the past debates on liberalisation and regulation of investments. The study was done through extensive literature survey and intensive interviews with officials of several OECD governments (USA, UK, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland). In-depth consultations were also held with inter-governmental organisations like the European Commission, Brussels, OECD, Paris, World Trade Organisation and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Geneva, the World Bank, Washington DC, and experts and academics who have been involved with the issues for a long time. The study was revised in August 1997, and presented to the Ministry.

In 1999, the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, commissioned the Centre to provide negotiating inputs vis-a-vis possible multilateral framework for investment in the World Trade Organisation. The study aimed to provide pragmatic inputs for helping Indian negotiators strategise their negotiating agenda in a flexible manner on a possible multilateral framework on investment in the WTO, and to help Indian negotiators formulate a strategy that could be termed as a southern agenda on investment issues. The study was submitted to the Ministry in July, 1999.

In 1999, the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, commissioned the Cenre to analyse the compatibility or otherwise of subsidies on cotton and cotton products in the US and European Commission with concerned WTO instruments. The study was done through extensive literature survey and intensive interviews with concerned experts from the business, academia, inter-governmental organisations, the US Department of Agriculture, and was presented to the Ministry in November, 1999.

In February, 1999, a CUTS-led consortium was awarded a project titled, "Field Styudy Research in South Asia: Conditions Necessary for the Liberalisation of Trade and Investment to Reduce Poverty" by the Department for International Development, Government of the UK. The focus of the research was India but it also included issues relevant for Bangladesh and Pakistan. The consortium included Indira Gandhi Institute for Development Research, Mumbai, India; the Centre for Policy Dialogue, Dhaka, Bangladesh; and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad, Pakistan. To guide the research team an India National Reference Group (NRG) was constituted. The members of the NRG hailed from various ministries, research institutions, media persons, and social sector organisations. The findings of the study were presented in two meetings organised by the Institute for Development Studies, Sussex, UK and the World Bank, Washington DC, USA in Sussex, UK and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, respectively. The study would feed into the World Bank's World Development Report, 2000-01 that would be focusing on the linkages of trade, technology and poverty. The research has been published in a report titled, "Liberalisation and Poverty: Is there a virtuous circle_"

At the state level, we are proposing a programme to the Rajasthan state for designing compatibility with WTO provisions, and looking at what advantages can be derived out of it, and also to cope with the disadvantages that may arise.The project will be replicable in other states as well.

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Fostering Equity & Accountability in the Trading System (FEATS)

A comprehensive, dynamic and continuing Work Programme at the international level for supporting our capacity building work in the area of trade and sustainable development. It is envisioned by the CUTS staff and board members that CITEE must achieve the status of a global level institution by the year 2000. Currently the programme receives core support from the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Germany and The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, USA and project support from various sources such as Christian Aid, Oxfam, UNDP, UNCTAD as well as research grants from the Government of India's Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Textiles, and the Department for International Development, UK.

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Progressive Regional Organisation, Action & Co-operation on Trade (PROACT)

This is the 3-year Work Programme of the South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment (SAWTEE) being supported by HIVOS, the Netherlands and run out of Jaipur and Kathmandu, Nepal. It is involved in capacity building in the South Asian subcontinent.

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SOUTH ASIAN CIVIL SOCIETY NETWORK ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE ISSUES (SACSNITI)

This is a 3-year Work Programme of the Centre at the South Asian level, and the International Development Research Center, Canada has agreed to support this in principle. It's general objectives are to:

undertake comprehensive analysis of trade policy issues of interest to individual countries as well as for the South Asian region;
develop a facility that would provide a rapid regional response to important emerging issues on multilateral trading platform; and
crate an information database on trade policy issues vis-a-vis WTo Members of the South Asian region.

More on EFP Project

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EVENTS

Competition Policy & Law in Developing Countries” – 7-Up Phase-II Review Meeting, July 5-6, 2002, Geneva CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment (CUTS-CITEE) implemented a two-year research and advocacy programme titled “The 7-Up Project” for a comparative study of competition regimes of seven developing countries in the Commonwealth with the support of DFID, UK.
The project wasconsisted of two phases: The first phase dealt with the institutional framework, while the second phase dealt with the cross-border competition concerns.
The Phase-II review meeting of the project was organized on July 5-6, 2002 in Geneva. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Phase-I synthesis report, deliberate upon the important cross border issues that have emerged from the research work of second phase and plan for the way ahead.
The venue of the meeting is Hotel Le Warwick, 14 Rue de Luusanne, CH-1201 Geneva.
For further information contact:
Mr. R D Mathur / Ms Anjali Bansal at or Fax (0)141-20 7486
CUTS-CITEE New Delhi Working Group Meeting,Friday, 14^th June 2002
Federation House, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Tansen Marg
Liberalisation and economic integration into the global economy have been viewed by many as tools to increase both domestic and foreign investment. India has dismantled many market barriers for gaining reciprocal access to global markets, capital and technologies. However, there are divergent views in India on how far these reforms have helped or hampered India in achieving its objectives.
In the fourth ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) held at Doha, Qatar in November 2001, India secured major gains in several areas of the hard fought agenda. An analysis of the Ministerial Declaration from the perspective of India’s basic trade interests reveals that India bargained hard on agriculture, implementation, TRIPs and trade & transfer of technology among other areas and got a fair amount of success.
CUTS has been involved in the WTO process and has participated in every ministerial meeting since Marrakesh in April, 1994. In this context, CUTS has outlined an agenda for India to be pursued both at international as well as domestic level. This agenda was published in a series of articles in the leading business daily, The Financial Express and will be published in a book form. The international agenda talks about what India should do at the international forums, in the best interest of its people in the context of the WTO.
But in the post-Doha scenario, equally important is the domestic agenda, which requires Indian Government to take note of, in implementing our commitments under the WTO as also to make the best out of it. The Government needs to act domestically on all the issue, whether that is of agriculture, services, environmental standards or of intellectual properly rights.
As part of a series of New Delhi Working Group Meetings, CUTS-CITEE organised a Panel Discussion on WTO & India: Domestic Agenda for Action. This aimed at finding out strategies and options to attend this huge agenda before we can reap any perceived gains that the on-going trade negotiations can throw up.
Tentative Panel: Muchkund Dubey, former Foreign Secretary of India; B. B. Bhattacharya, Director, Institute of Economic Growth, Delhi; Rohit Bansal, The Financial Express, New Delhi; Manoj Pant, Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
For further information please contact
Shesnwita Roy/Purnima Purohit at or Fax (0)141-20 7486

Natipnal Stakeholders Meeting on Leather Sector, 13 June 2002, New Delhi
Under the project one stakeholders meeting in each of the country i.e. India and Malaysia would be organised. The Meeting in India to discuss the first draft of the study on leather sector was held on 13th June 2002 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. while the one on tropical timber would be held in Malaysia in last week of June 2002.
Based upon the results of the case studies, CUTS will prepare a synthesis document summarising the major issues across the selected sectors with regard to opportunities, constraints, and policy recommendations. The first draft of Indian case study on Leather Sector is now available for comments. Event Report

2^nd National Seminar on Competition, Regulation & Investment: Role in Economic Growth, 8-9 June 2002, Chennai, India
CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment (CUTS-CITEE), Jaipur, India, organised an event in collaboration with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), New Delhi, India which was the second event, in continuation to the National Seminar organised on 11-12^th January 2002, in Jaipur.
The target audience was consisted of representatives from consumer organisations, competition and regulatory authorities, policy makers, industry associations, trade unions, academia and media.
This Seminar was designed on the same pattern as the earlier one. It was comprised of three plenary sessions, where the first session deliberated on the proposed competition law of India, particularly in context of cross-border competition issues. The second session of the seminar looked at competition & consumer concerns in regulatory reforms in India. The third plenary focused on investors’ and civil society’s perceptions on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and FDI policy frame work in India. Press Release Event Report

Scoping Workshop on WTO Issues,
21- 22 May 2002, Brussels
CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment (CUTS-CITEE) organised a Scoping Workshop on WTO Issues, Brussels, on 21st and 22nd May 2002. The workshop took place at the Hotel Dorient, Brussels, Belgium.The purpose of this meeting was to identify research and networking needs. Press Release Event Report
LINKAGES: How do we bridge the gap_
May21, 2002, Brussels, Belgium.
CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment (CUTS-CITEE) organised a dialogue on Linkages: How do we Bridge the Gap_ on Tuesday, 21st May 2002. The meeting took place at the Hotel Dorient, Brussels, Belgium.
The purpose was to conduct a dialogue between protagonists and antagonists on the contentious issues of labour standards in trade agreements. Press Release
Trade & Social Development: A Southern Viewpoint
1^st May 2002 ,9.00 to 11.30AM, Geneva, Switzerland
Conference WTO and South Asia: Lessons and Strategies
9-10 March 2002, New Delhi, India
Training Seminar: Competitiveness of Indian Industries in the WTO Era, Focus: Textiles and Clothing,
17-19 January 2002, Hyderabad, India More
National Seminar on Competition, Regulation & Investment: Role in Economic Growth
11-12th January 2002, Jaipur, India
Launch Meeting of 'Investment for Development' Project

13-14th December 2001, Jaipur, India.
Consumers would welcome competition law and policy at the international level, but not sure if the WTO is the best place

Doha 12th November, 2001
Panel Discussion 'Standards and Market Access: The Road Ahead'
Doha,11th November 2001
Competition Policy and Consumer Interest in the Global Economy

Geneva, 12-13 October 2001More on Event
Fairplay in Global Business
A conference held at New Delhi, India during February 14-15, 1994, and jointly organised by CUTS and the Internaional Organisation of Consumer Unions, London, UK. It deliberated on trade and transnational corporations, the draft United Nations Guidelines for Transnational Investment, the International Chamber of Commerce's Guidelines for Investment, and the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) Declaration on Multilateral Enterprises. A Declaration was adopted at the conference.
Competition Policy in the Context of Liberalisation
An international conference held at New Delhi, India during January 20-21, 1995, and jointly organised by CUTS and the Internaional Organisation of Consumer Unions, London, UK. Its recommendations include calling upon the WTO (World Trade Organisation) and UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) to develop work programme on tra de and competition and governments to involve public interest groups in policy making.
Agenda for India at the WTO--Need to be proactive
A series of four seminars organised during May and October 1996 and March and October 1997 in different parts of India for informing and consensus building on India's approach to the new world trade order.
Multilateral Frameworks for Investment
An international seminar held at Geneva, Switzerland during October 18-19, 1996, and jointly organised by the Centre and Consumers International, London, UK. The event covered issues concerning investment liberalisation and its impact on consumer, development and environment.
International Trade Policy: Issues for Developing Countries
An international conference held at Geneva, Switzerland during November 28-29, 1997, and jointly organised by the Centre and International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, Geneva, Switzerland. It deliberated on built-in agenda at the WTO as well as new issues from the perspectives of developing and least developed countries.
Strengthening Trade and Environment Policy Integration in India and Trade, Investment and the Environment
Two seminars were held back-to-back at Jaipur, India during January 13-15, 1998, and were organised on behalf on UNCTAD, United Nations Development Programme, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. These events deliberated on the role of trade and investment in promoting sustainable development, especially in developing countries.
Southern Agenda for the Next Millennium: Role of the Civil Society
An international conference held at Bangalore during August 17-18, 1999, at the time of G-15 trade mininters meeting. A brief report is available in PDF format.
Vexed Issues of Linkage
A panel discussion held at Seattle, USA on December 1, 1999 during the Third Ministerial Conference of the WTO, and jointly organised by the Centre and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Minneapolis, USA. A major recommendation of the discussion was to organise a series of structured dialogues, backed up by secondary research, on issues of trade linkages for building capacities of Northern civil society.
National Seminar on Competition, Regulation & Investment: Role in Economic Growth

11-12th January 2001, Jaipur, India

For more information, click here.

Others Events

Competition Policy & Issues

Campaign on Linkages

Investment for Development

CUTS@DOHA

CUTS-CITEE Research Programme on WTO Rules

An international workshop on “Negotiating Agenda for Market Access: Cases of Sanitary and Phyto-sanitary Measures and Technical Barriers to Trade” was organised by CUTS Centre for International Trade, Economics & Environment, with the cooperation of UNCTAD and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, Geneva. More

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CITEE ADVOCACY

Agenda for India at the WTO:A Report Card on CUTS-CITEE’s Advocacy Efforts

In the year 1996-97 CUTS CITEE organised four policy dialogues, with the objective “To develop a better understanding on the existing and emerging issues at the World Trade Organisation, their impact on India and evolve a consensus on India’s approach through a structured dialogue among policy makers, civil society representatives, trade experts and mediapersons.” The outcome of these dialogues was a set of 42 recommendations, classified into following six categories:

·       General issues

·       Market access and trade liberalisation

·       TRIPs, biological diversity and biotechnology

·       Trade, investment and competition

·       Trade and Environment

·       Trade and labour standards

Considering all these recommendations, in December 1997 CITEE came out with the document “Agenda for India at The WTO- Need to be proactive” , which was used to launch an advocacy programme on trade issues. CITEE targeted this activity particularly for policy makers, trade experts, business organisations and media persons.

After a period of three years, CITEE analysed the efforts of the activities. To review CITEE's results click here.

The New Indian Competition Law in Controversy

The proposed new Competition Law in India has become mired in controversy due to ignorance, confusion and resistance by the protectionist and right-wing elements. This matter was carried in the Financial Times, while all Indian newspapers carry it regularly. Herewith please find copy of a news item in the FT and a rejoinder letter published by CUTS in the FT for your information. More on it in further bulletins.

More on The New Indian Competition Law in Controversy

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CAMPAIGN:

Campaign on WTO

CUTS INITIATIVES FOR DOHA

DEBATE

ARTICLES

PUBLICATIONS

ON-LINE DISCUSSION

THE CAMPAIGN

Press Statement

CUTS' Statement at the WTO High-level Meeting on Trade and Environment

CUTS' Statement at the WTO High-level Meeting on Trade and Development

Abort TRIPs Campaign

Third World Intellectuals and NGOs’ Statement Against Linkage (TWIN-SAL)

Event Reports

Contact CITEE

Agenda for India at the WTO:A Report Card on CUTS-CITEE’s Advocacy Efforts

CUTS Centre For International Trade, Economics & Environment (CITEE)