This Briefing Paper examines the resilience of the medical product and pharmaceutical global value chains. Based on this assessment, policy recommendations are presented to increase supply security, including measures to improve the resilience of supply chains, and to expand stockpiling. We also highlight that industrial policy measures to promote reshoring should play a more important role, and that coordination on the EU-level is necessary. Given the large differences between products and supply chains within and between sectors, policies need to be tailored to specific products and product groups. Finally yet importantly, repercussions of EU policy on the Global South also need to be taken into account.
The implementation of the Agenda 2030 entails massive financing needs. The debate increasingly emphasizes the importance of the private sector and the role of aid to 'leverage' private sector investments for development. In this context, the concept of blended finance is key. This briefing paper traces the current debates about blended finance. It introduces definitions, instruments and main actors, presents existing data and provides a critical assessment of the concept.
"No blood in my cell phone" - Anfang der 2000er-Jahre zeigten Kampagnen von Nichtregierungsorganisationen (NGOs) Verbindungen zwischen Rohstoffen in Elektronikprodukten und der Finanzierung des Krieges in der Demokratischen Republik Kongo (DRC) auf. In diesem Zusammenhang rückte auch die Verantwortung von Unternehmen für die Gestaltung ihrer Lieferkette verstärkt ins öffentliche Bewusstsein. 2017 tritt nun eine EU-Verordnung in Kraft, die verhindern soll, dass Unternehmen durch ihre Rohstoffbeschaffung bewaffnete Konflikte finanzieren. Auch wenn die Verordnung als Schritt in die richtige Richtung gesehen werden kann, bleiben noch viele Fragen offen.
"No blood in my cell phone" - In the early 2000s, NGO-campaign slogans pointed out the links between raw materials in electronic products and the financing of armed conflicts. These campaigns focused on the responsibility of companies for their supply chain. In July 2017, an EU regulation came into effect that aims to prevent companies from financing armed conflicts via their procurement of raw materials. This Policy Note explains how the debates on 'conflict minerals' led to the formulation of various regulatory initiatives and analyses the scope and potential impact of the current EU-regulation.
Die COVID-19 Pandemie hat zu einem starken Nachfrageanstieg nach Medizinprodukten geführt. Zeitgleich kam es zu Lieferproblemen in internationalen Lieferketten aufgrund von gesundheitspolitischen (z.B. Lockdowns) und wirtschaftspolitischen Maßnahmen (z.B. Ausfuhrkontrollen). Beides zusammen hatte temporäre Knappheiten von Gütern zur Folge und löste eine kontroverse Diskussion über die Vor- und Nachteile globalisierter Produktionsstrukturen aus, die nicht zuletzt auch zu starken Abhängigkeiten von einigen wenigen, primär asiatischen Standorten und Unternehmen, geführt haben. Vor diesem Hintergrund und basierend auf Fallstudien für Österreich diskutiert dieses Working Paper die Frage, welche Faktoren die Robustheit von Globalen Warenketten für Atemschutzmasken, Untersuchungshandschuhe und Beatmungsgeräte determinieren und welche nationalen bzw. europäischen Politiken dazu geeignet sein könnten, die Versorgungssicherheit mit Medizinprodukten und Medikamenten zu steigern. ; The COVID-19 pandemic led to a strong increase in demand for medical products. At the same time, supply problems in international supply chains kicked in due to health policy (e.g., lockdowns) and economic policy measures (e.g., export controls). Combined, both resulted in temporary shortages and triggered a controversial discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of globalized production structures, which led to strong dependencies on a few, primarily Asian, locations and companies. Against this background and based on case studies for Austria, this working paper deals with the question which factors determine the robustness of global commodity chains for respirators, protective gloves and respiratory equipment and which national and European policies could be suitable for increasing resilience in the supply of medical products.
The promotion of sustainable value chains is on the rise in the EU, with important implications for textile and apparel (T&A) products. EU T&A supplier countries and firms will increasingly have to adapt to the new EU value chain and market dynamics. Based on a case study of the Egyptian T&A sector, this policy note argues that the required transformation of the industry will be highly demanding. EU development policy should increase support in order to promote sustainable value chains in the T&A sector in Egypt, but also in other MENA countries with export-oriented T&A sectors
This policy note presents policy recommendations for a sustainable development strategy targeting the Ivorian and Ghanaian cocoa processing sectors. Against the backdrop of a comparatively small share of processed cocoa exports and limited opportunities in the cocoa global value chain, industrial policies should primarily seek to leverage the increasing opportunities in the local and regional as well as in niche global export markets to further promote local value added and linkages through the processing of cocoa beans. This is particularly important in the context of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) that both countries have negotiated with the EU.
This policy note presents policy recommendations for a sustainable development strategy for the Tunisian olive oil sector in the context of the ongoing negotiations on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) between Tunisia and the EU. Against the backdrop of increasing local value added and ecological constraints, a sector development strategy should primarily focus on exploiting functional and product upgrading potentials in the EU and other end markets instead of increasing low value bulk exports.
This policy note presents policy recommendations for a sustainable development strategy for the Tunisian textile and apparel (T&A) sector in the context of the ongoing negotiations on the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) between Tunisia and the EU. Against the backdrop of economic crisis and decreasing apparel exports to the EU, support for the T&A industry could be an important way to help reinvigorate the economy. A sector development strategy should primarily focus on functional and product upgrading potentials, linkage development as well as on export market and product diversification.
AbstractEconomic partnership agreements (EPAs) mark a new era in economic relations between the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries that will lead to reciprocal tariff liberalization. Model‐based impact assessments have become a powerful tool in trade negotiations and mixed results are reported for ACP countries. Given their set‐up within a neoclassical framework, these models neglect important issues such as impacts on employment, macroeconomic balances and adjustment costs. The structuralist computable general equilibrium model applied in this article for three African EPA regions addresses these shortcomings and shows negative macroeconomic and distributional effects and important adjustment costs associated with employment and public revenue losses. These results highlight the importance of policy responses to deliver on promises associated with EPAs, namely sustainable economic development. More generally, they show the importance of alternative models to understand implementation challenges and facilitate broader debates about bilateral trade agreements.
The European Union (EU) promotes the Free Trade Agreement with Vietnam (EVFTA) as an important milestone of its trade agenda. The agreement, whose part with EU-only issues is supposed to be ratified in 2019, is the most comprehensive one that the EU has concluded with a developing country so far, including an ambitious sustainability chapter. The reciprocal liberalization of tariffs and quotas will benefit important Vietnamese export sectors such as textiles, apparel, and footwear. On the other side, agricultural and industrial sectors in Vietnam might face increased import competition. Other provisions in the agreement such as the adoption of international or EU standards might be associated with adjustment costs. Thus, it will be crucial for Vietnam to promote its export sectors with pro-active upgrading policies. Further, the provisions in the sustainability chapter will have to demonstrate that increased trade and investment are compatible with labour and environmental protection. Both issues require substantive support by the EU.
The European Union (EU) and Tunisia launched negotiations on a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) in 2015. So far, progress has been limited. The enhanced integration of the Tunisian economy into the EU single market involves several controversial topics. Above and beyond the elimination of tariffs in sensitive agricultural sectors, these concern in particular the liberalization of trade in services, investment and public procurement. At the same time, the negotiations take place under challenging economic, political and social circumstances within the country and the MENA region, which call for a particularly prudent approach. Our assessment of expected economic impacts points to negative GDP effects and minor employment effects in Tunisia in the short to medium term in the case of full tariff liberalization and extensive harmonisation of the regulatory frameworks. Therefore, in the negotiations, the EU should prioritize short-term benefits for the Tunisian economy, mitigate adjustments costs and pro-actively support productive development and upgrading.
The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries mark a new era in the economic relations between both sides. Reciprocal tariff liberalization will however result in asymmetric market opening by ACP partners, which will entail negative, though small, macroeconomic effects for these countries in the short to medium term. In order to deliver upon the promised tangible benefits of EPAs in the longer term, the EU should implement strong policy responses in three key areas: (i) coping with adjustment costs, (ii) promoting productive development, and (iii) fostering trade-related institutional capacities in the public sector and civil society, including an effective monitoring process for EPA implementation.
