On the road to Liberty

The WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong failed to break the deadlock at the trade negotiations. But Hong Kong provided the best illustration of free trade, without any negotiations. For the past 50years, the secret of the success of the city has been its open trade policy. In this article published in the Far Eastern Economic Review (FEER), in December 2007, I ask "What Can India Learn from Hong Kong?" There is more than a little irony that the World Trade Organization ministerial is being held in Hong Kong this month. Hong Kong is the epitome of the success of unilateral free trade policies: A few pieces of rock, devoid of any natural resources, the territory today ranks among the most prosperous places on earth. Hong Kong’s success is rooted in the institutions of rule of law and economic freedom. The territory did not negotiate any free trade deal. It just declared it unilaterally, and the rest is history. Yet the contrast between the success of Hong Kong’s unilateral f...

My article titled Submission to DFID Consultation on International Development was pubilshed on International Policy Network on April 7, 2006. 1. What determines economic success and promotes economic growth in poor countries? ¡ñ How do factors such as a government¡¯s macroeconomic policy, investment, trade, the environment, or regional markets and institutions affect the private sector¡¯s ability to raise the levels of growth? ¡ñWhat are the obstacles to growth and how can they be removed? 9. How can the UK Government make sure that international trade negotiations deliver the benefits needed for developing countries? ¡ñHow can trade barriers be broken down so that developing countries get better access to regional and international markets? The three factors that primarily affect economic performance in poor countries are weak rule of law and enforcement of property rights, rising levels of regulations that reduce competition and increase the cost of entrepreneurship...

WTO ministerial meeting was being held in Hong Kong, this month, and as in the past, this time too, anti-trade and anti-globlisation groups were protesting outside on the streets. In this article, "What can India learn from Hong Kong" , published in the Far Eastern Economic Review, in December 2005, I look at the experience of Hong Kong, a city that has thrived on an unilateral free trade policy, and was not even negotiating at WTO! There is more than a little irony that the World Trade Organization ministerial is being held in Hong Kong this month. Hong Kong is the epitome of the success of unilateral free trade policies: A few pieces of rock, devoid of any natural resources, the territory today ranks among the most prosperous places on earth. Hong Kong’s success is rooted in the institutions of rule of law and economic freedom. The territory did not negotiate any free trade deal. It just declared it unilaterally, and the rest is history. Yet the contrast between the succe...

My IPN press release titled Biosafety Protocol Will Harm Poor Farmers and Undermines WTO was published on International Policy Network on 11 September 2004. 11 September, Cancun – Today, the Biosafety Protocol goes into effect worldwide. The Global Freedom to Trade Campaign, a coalition of pro-globalization NGOs at the Cancun WTO Ministerial, believes that the Biosafety Protocol will harm poor farmers by preventing them from accessing farming technologies which would help them to generate income and escape poverty. Agricultural expert Barun Mitra, Director of the Liberty Institute in New Delhi, India (a member of the SDN), commented: “Farmers everywhere should have the freedom to choose the technologies they use. But the Biosafety Protocol will only aggravate the trade barriers they already face. Poor farmers will be subjected to arbitrary restrictions on trade in agricultural products, especially from the European Union. Thus, it will only prolong poor farmers’ escape from poverty.”...

THE World Trade Organization dispute between the EU and the US, Canada and Argentina over the EU's longstanding moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops ñ due to be decided this week ñ is not about winners and losers. It is about the so-called precautionary principle, which has theoretically allowed the EU to close its borders to a large portion of the world's agricultural produce. The result of this case could have ramifications throughout the world, particularly for other innovative industry sectors. My article titled Why precautionary principle can damage wealth and health was published in European Voice on June 10 2004 THE World Trade Organization dispute between the EU and the US, Canada and Argentina over the EU's longstanding moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops - due to be decided this week - is not about winners and losers. It is about the so-called precautionary principle, which has theoretically allowed the EU to close its borders to a large portio...

My IPN 
Press release titled Int'l NGO Coalition Demands Global Freedom to Trade was published on International Policy Network on August 26 2003. Tuesday, 26 August, London – An international coalition of NGOs has launched a campaign which calls on trade ministers and governments everywhere to promote freedom to trade. In anticipation of the World Trade Organisation’s 5th Ministerial in Cancun, Mexico, (10-14 September, 2003), six campaign members from Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Bangladesh and India will gather in London on Wednesday (27 August) to call on governments everywhere to remove the artificial barriers that prevent people from trading with each other. Campaign member Barun Mitra, director of Indian NGO the Liberty Institute, explains: “Members of the Global Freedom to Trade Campaign challenge world leaders to rise above national politics and vested interests at the Cancun Ministerial, tear down trade barriers, and give the people of the world the real freedom to trade...

A version of this paper "Free Trade Protects Environment" appeared in The Asian Wall Street Journal on 23 November 1999 and The Wall Street Journal Europe on 26 November 1999. Are economic and environmental goals really in conflict with each other? Or can the market, which has proved its ability to meet economic interests of the consumers most efficiently, now meet the environmental preferences of the people as successfully? These are some of the basic issues that the participants at the WTO Ministerial Meeting at Seattle will have to try and answer. The battle lines are being drawn up. While developing countries like India are strongly opposed to any linkage between trade and environment, many of the developed countries are pressing for a working group to look into the relationship between these two areas. However, trade and environment need not be mutually exclusive. Nor need the interests of one be balanced against those of the other. Free trade and an open market, with d...

Liberty Institute Briefing Paper on Trade and Development "Taking Advantage of E-commerce" was published in November 1999. The world e-commerce transaction is said to have touched $500 billion this year according to one estimate (including goods sold and purchased over the internet). There are over 2 million people whose jobs are now dependent on it. And this is just the beginning. India with a substantial presence in the computer software segment, and a large well-trained manpower, has the potential to gain significantly from e-commerce. However, there are serious bottlenecks. With barely one million PCs and 15 million telephones in India, India needs radical policy reforms in many areas if she is to take advantage of this emerging area of e-commerce. On the other hand, e-commerce has the potential of freeing the Indian economy and her people from the restrictive influence of the state. 1. How can India benefit from e-commerce? A. India has shown itself to be competitive in ...