International trade law

"The increasing sensibility regarding intangible cultural heritage provides momentum to better define a legal framework for the protection of these peculiar immaterial goods. This article questions whether the current intellectual property rights (IPRs) regime represents an adequate model of protection vis-à-vis intangible cultural heritage. A plethora of caveats must be taken into consideration, starting with the desirability of the commodification of intangible cultural heritage, i.e. its exploitation and commercialization through the IPRs regime, but also including the outlining of the legal instruments needed for guaranteeing adequate advantages for the countries and communities representing the sources of origin of the intangible goods. 
After framing the crucial issues detected in literature regarding intangible cultural heritage, the article investigates the ways in which the actual IPRs regime grants protection to intangible goods. Our evaluation supports the idea that, without a many-faceted remodeling, current intellectual property laws represent an unsatisfactory mechanism for protecting intangible cultural heritage. This inadequacy is rooted in the inefficacy of IPRs under the patent and copyright regimes in ensuring the protection of cultural heritage, while also falling short of fostering an appropriate comprehensive social policy."

This paper proposes to revisit the debate on trade and investment agreements (TIAs), development and inequality, looking at the role of global value chains (GVCs) and trans-national corporations (TNCs). It first presents stylized facts about trade and investment (agreements), declining global economic growth and rising inequality under the latest round of globalization. It then provides a long-run perspective on the mixed blessings of external opening, summarizing some key contributions of the mainstream literature, which are converging with long-standing research findings of more heterodox economists, and the eroding consensus today. Based on this stock-taking, it takes a fresh critical look at the TIAs-GVCs-TNCs nexus and their impact. Using data on value-added in trade and new firm-level data from the consolidated financial statements of the top 2000 TNCs going back to 1995, it examines whether the fragmentation of production along GVCs led to positive structural change or rather stimulated unsustainable trends in extractive and FIRE sectors. It then turns to the role of TNC-driven GVCs as a vehicle for economic concentration. Finally, it presents evidence linking TIAs and their correlates to rising inequality. Key findings include the fact that the ratio of top 2000 TNCs profits over revenues increased by 58 percent between 1995 and 2015. Moreover, the rise in top 2000 TNCs profits accounts for 69 percent of the 2.5 percentage points decline in the global labour income share between 1995 and 2015, with the correlation coefficient between annual changes in both variables as high as 0.82. The paper concludes by calling for a less ideological policy debate on TIAs, which acknowledges the mixed blessings of external financial and trade opening, especially their negative distributional impact and destabilizing macro-financial feedback effects, which both call for policy intervention. As an alternative to short-sighted protectionism, it further discusses possible options for anticipating undesirable effects arising from TIAs (e.g. rising carbon emissions, economic instability, inequality, etc.) and addressing those in TIAs themselves.

This paper examines the idea that commercial law has the capacity to evolve spontaneously in the absence of a clear state authority because of its unique nature. I argue that the manner of interaction implied by commerce plays a crucial role in this ability as it involves a high degree of overall engagement. This I term “high engagement,” which I divide into two elements: repetition and the creation of clear cycles of interaction. Together they produce identifiable legal norms and subsequent compliance. Game theorists have long recognized the importance of repeated interaction in inducing cooperation; however, how the manner of commercial interaction itself facilitates this process has been left largely unexamined. Part I presents a brief overview of the concept of reciprocity and spontaneous law theory. In Part II, a more detailed explanation of the notion of high engagement is offered. Here I set out exactly how high engagement is instrumental in the emergence of legal norms. Finally, the paper concludes that the element of high engagement indeed plays a decisive role in commercial law’s ability to evolve and function in a decentralized, spontaneous fashion—an important insight in terms of the future international development of the modern law merchant as it emerges in the absence of a single legislative authority.

While still fragmented, we are witnessing the emergence of a global commercial legal order independent of any one national legal system. This process is unfolding both on the macro-level of state actors as well as that of private individuals and organizations. On the macro-level, the sources of this legal order are complex international agreements; on the micro-level, private contracts employing commercial customary practices and arbitration are driving this process forward. Yet there is no comparable evolution occurring (in any substantial sense) in non-commercial areas of law such as criminal, tort, or family law. There is an overall asymmetry in the development of transnational legal order. But why is this happening? This paper argues that the emergence of a global commercial legal order may be partially attributed to the unique structural nature of trade. The paper gives a structuralist account, positing that unlike legal order of a non-commercial nature, commercial legal order has built-in mechanisms that make it particularly suited to evolve in a transnational context—i.e. to evolve and sustain itself in the absence of a central legislative or coercive authority. The paper identifies and explores these built-in mechanisms. The paper concludes that because commercial legal order is uniquely predisposed to emerge without the State, we should expect this asymmetry to not only continue, but likely grow even more extreme.

Blockchain technology is a new general-purpose technology that poses significant challenges to the existing state of law, economy, and society. Blockchain has one feature that makes it even more distinctive than other disruptive technologies: it is, by nature and design, global and transnational. Moreover, blockchain operates based on its own rules and principles that have a law-like quality. What may be called the lex cryptographia of blockchain has been designed based on a rational choice vision of human behavior. Blockchain adopts a framing derived from neoclassical economics, and instantiates it in a new machinery that implements rational choice paradigms using blockchain in a semi-automatic way, across all spheres of life, and without regard to borders. Accordingly, a global law and crypto-economics movement is now emerging owing to the spread of blockchain.

This Article suggests that such a rational choice paradigm is an insufficient foundation for the future development of blockchain. It seeks to develop a new understanding of blockchain and its regulation through code according to the emerging “law and political economy” framework. Blockchain is much more than a machine that enables the automation of transactions according to a rational choice framework. Blockchain should instead be understood as a technological infrastructure. Acknowledging the infrastructural dimension of blockchain technology may help identify a new role for the law in its interaction with blockchain, as well as for government in its interaction with the new technology. More precisely, identifying blockchain as an “infrastructural commons” helps us recognize that law and regulation should not be relegated to the role of merely facilitating the operation of the invisible hand of the market by and within blockchain, but should rather acquire more active roles, such as safeguarding access on non-discriminatory terms to users, on a model with net neutrality and other public utility safeguards. The Article closes by proposing a “law and political economy” framework for blockchain that is based on principles of publicness, trust, and interoperability.

A transformative, integrated, and holistic approach to sustainability is necessary to reach a prosperous future for all. With growing inequality in the world, demographic change, rapid technological development, and 40% of the world’s population with no access to digital technology, access to digital technology for all and, ultimately, having a prosperous future is a must today. Doing so will give a voice to the voiceless. For that, governments, companies, and transnational institutions should invest as much as possible to make it happen and provide solutions that are rules-based, inclusive, innovative, disruptive, and simple. We the citizens should push for this human right to materialize. That way, everyone will benefit and no one will fall behind. Access to energy, mitigating climate change, and benefiting from international trade and investment all can be achieved thanks to technological advancement. These global challenges are complex, interconnected, multidimensional, interdep...

The scale of the challenge posed by the recent universal adoption of the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in relation to the achievement of economic, social and environmental objectives is formidable. In order to achieve the trade-related targets included in the 2030 Agenda and SDGs, understanding the trade policy levers with the most potential to advance them remains critical for policy makers. This includes at the bilateral as well as regional level. In this paper, the inclusion of criteria related to sustainable development within free trade agreements (FTAs) is critically reviewed. Through this analysis, the demand for greater coherence amongst levels of trade policy becomes obvious in order to more effectively promote the 2030 Agenda. Finally, impact assessments and review mechanisms will also need to be bolstered.

Commonwealth International Trade Working Paper 2017/01

© The Commonwealth, London
FULL TEXT: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/commonwealth/trade/international-trade-working-paper_24133175

1 Jindal Law Review 18 (2015)        The  impact  of  Duncan Kennedy  on  legal  scholarship  has  been  undeniable.  In  this  paper  the  author pays tribute to Duncan  Kennedy and the impact that his work has had on the study of law, most  specifically,  the  globalization  of  law. This  article analyzes  the  institutional  history  of international trade law  and demonstrates how Kennedy’s work on the globalization of law is relevant to this project.

Intellectual Property, Nollywood, Creative Industry, Nigerian Copyright Laws, Digital Copyright, International Trade & Development, Transactional Negotiation, Animation Rights, Naijacomedy, Folklore, Traditional Cultural Expressions, Celebrity Branding, Fashion Design, Trademarks, Cyberspace law, Contract laws, Creative Human Capital, Technology law, Technical Protection Measures, Nigerian Copyright Commission, U.S. Copyright Office, Afrollywood, Afrondise, Technical Protection Measure, Digital Copyright Millennium Act, ECOWAS, WTO, TRIPS, WIPO, Cultural Appropriation, Cultural Anachronism, Fair Use, Fair Dealing, Bollywood, Ghallywood, Hollywood, Kennywood, Jollywood, Joziwood, Vollywood, Piracy, Cinematography, Films, Animation, Fashion design, Folklore, Customary law, Nigerian Legal System, Music, Derivative Rights.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on 2 July 2021 changed its rules of origin (RoO) pertaining to when a product can be said to have originated from within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for the purpose of utilising the preferential tariff rates. The new RoO require a 40% value added to the product during production within the GCC; and a 25% local workforce in the manufacturing company. The previous RoO had been in operation and relied upon by the other GCC nations since the 1981 Unified Economic Agreement. Although KSA has acted contrary to the spirit and principles of the GCC Charter; and possibly restricted, disrupted and distorted international trade, its actions are nonetheless lawful under both regional and international law.

My paper critically examines Saudi Arabia's obligations under the regional and international legal frameworks; in particular, that of the GCC and World Trade Organisation (WTO).

What accounts far the consensus among employers, the government and national trade union leaderships on rejection of the social clause specifying minimum labour standards in multilateral trade agreements? Does it represent the interests of rank-and-file workers? Who will benefit from this opposition?

Until the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) was born (January 1, 1995) the rules of the trading system pertained to trade in goods, not services. Where as tariffs are the principal barriers to trade in goods, domestic laws and regulations are the barriers to trade in services.

The scope of GATS in breathtaking. It applies to any measure (e.g., law, regulation) take by government at any level, from central to-local, which affects specified services. At present, the GATS is one of the several agreements being negotiated in the current (2000 to 2005) round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations.

The GATS expands the rights and protections of corporate investors. By expanding the reach of global institutions with legally binding authority over national policy decisions, transnational corporations seek to replace the complex role of the state with a single goal: pursuit of profit. The European Commission acknowledged that GATS is "first and foremost an instrument for the benefits of business, and not only for business in general, but for individual service companies wishing to export services or to invest and operate abroad."

WTO member governments must be persuaded to take -- "carve out" -- essential services from the negotiations. State or provincial and local governments should be clearly exempted from the jurisdiction of the GATS. Governments should insist on safeguards that enable them to measure negative social impacts from liberalization, specify a "trigger level" for applying safeguards, and respond with regulatory and subsidy actions that may not be WTO-consistent.

Before coming to the Agreement establishing the WTO it would be important to briefly remember the evolution of the trading system immediately after the WWII. After the United Nations was established there were concerns for regulating international trade system. Multilateral trade negotiations were held under the auspices of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). In 1946 the ECOSOC came out with a resolution to establish an International Trade Organisation (ITO) but it did not come into force.

Desde los principios del siglo XX a la actualidad se han elaborado distintos instrumentos internacionales de la facilitación del comercio, por lo que en este artículo se propone un acceso a la clasificación de los instrumentos internacionales de facilitación del comercio que se base en un criterio funcional. Esta clasificación incluye las reglas de la facilitación del comercio en el formato común y el uso de tecnologías de información para la facilitación del comercio exterior.

It is often argued that Africa is the only continent that does not need anything i.e. many resources often traded in global markets (like agricultural products/ commodities, and mineral resources) originate from Africa. However, owing to insufficient capacity to beneficiate these resources, they tend to be classified as raw materials, and countries are forced to export them. Africa is infamous for exporting raw materials and importing manufactured (value-added) products. The low rate of intra-African trade is an indication that African countries do not consume what they produce. The AfCFTA Agreement aims to address this by encouraging both specialization and higher value-added exports. It is more reasonable to concentrate on industrializing before initiating the African free trade area. Thus, the focus in the petroleum industry ought to be on constructing refineries across the continent to refine crude oil and facilitate intra-African trade for overall economic growth and development, to mitigate the effects of the resource curse.

As a result of the processes of globalisation and of technological revolution, markets now transcend countries’ physical borders. Increasingly interconnected, borderless and digitalised global markets, thus, tend to develop mass markets, increase the integration of enterprises and so produce goods and provide services that are readily accessible for consumers. Easy access improves knowledge transfer and raises economic efficiencies and expectations. However, there are
also downsides. The ever-diminishing distinction between goods and services in these markets poses a threat to the diversity of goods and services and, consequently, to small market players at both country and company level. Thus, the rise of anti-competitive cross-border economic activities such as collusion, international mergers and filling dominant positions gives reason to pause and revisit the relationship between competition and trade from the perspective of African countries, where national markets are generally small and where small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent the majority of market players. While economic analysis of trade on its own often assumes static models, attention to competition and especially to the interface between
trade and competition and between its laws and policies reveals possibilities of enhancing the focus on the diversification and development of productive capabilities that are crucial for the economic development of the small-scale national market players, and inclusive growth, within most African states. In this chapter we present such a perspective to economic policymaking in part by distinguishing between trade and competition at the level of economic activity (section 2) and trade and competition laws (section 3) when discussing their interrelations. We illustrate the latter by evaluating whether and to what extent the behaviour of cross-border economic operators is currently disciplined, with a specific focus on South Africa, one of Africa’s largest economies. South Africa has a well-articulated policy architecture for trade and competition; is a party to both major southern African regional agreements, the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC); and is involved in recent initiatives directed at African integration. We then conclude the chapter (section 4).

Tesis de licenciatura presentada por Lutz Alexander Keferstein Caballero al sínodo respectivo de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, campus Aragón.
Primera tesis en la Historia de la Facultad de Derecho de la UNAM con un tema tan actual en aquel entonces, a sólo dos años de la entrada en vigor del TLC de América del Norte.
Dumping, prácticas desleales de comercio internacional y los páneles internacionales para dirimir diferencias.

In the CAFTA-DR complaint against Guatemala, the Panel did find that Guatemala had neglected the enforcement of its labour laws, but not that it had breached its obligations under the free trade agreement. It is however conceivable that the Panel might have drawn a different conclusion if the US had mentioned widespread violence perpetrated against trade unionists in Guatemala in its complaint.

Extract ----- Abstract This article examines legal and policy measures taken in Canada and the United States to intensify the fight against forced labour and the worst forms of child labour in international trade. First, the article explores clauses included in regional trade agreements to combat forced and child labour. It then looks specifically at measures adopted by Canada, contrasting its strong international commitment with the country’s failure to implement policy to support this commitment at national level. The article then compares the Canadian approach to recent legislative amendments in the United States, which strengthen prohibitions in place since 1930 on importing products made from forced labour. Keywords: Forced labour, child labour, regional trade agreements, Canada, United States

L’uscita del Regno Unito dall’Unione Europea rappresenta una storica inversione del percorso che ha portato alla creazione del mercato comune in Europa. Proseguono gli incontri tra le delegazioni per definire i termini del futuro accordo tra l’UE e il Regno Unito, che dovrebbe  entrare in vigore il 1° gennaio 2021. Le ripercussioni, che interesseranno cittadini, imprese e amministrazioni, sia nel Regno Unito che nell’UE, spaziano dall’introduzione di controlli alla (nuova) frontiera fino alla validità dei certificati, licenze e autorizzazioni rilasciati dal Regno Unito, passando per il superamento dei principi di libera circolazione delle persone, dei beni, dei servizi e dei capitali.

The article discusses the issue of reform in Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) through the lens of the theory of heuristics and biases identified by cognitive psychology and behavioural economics. Reform proposals in ISDS have been heavily pathdependent on past theories and existing institutions in the field of international adjudication. A behavioural theory of international institutions can help design ISDS mechanisms that are better suited to the actual decision-making processes in international adjudication. The article presents various debiasing instruments for the ISDS context, such as 'nudges', which could form part of the institutional design of the new dispute resolution fora together with rational design instruments. Transparency mechanisms, levels of review, training and evaluation, consider-the-opposite strategies and new legal default rules should become embedded in the reformed ISDS, alongside a pluralistic rather than specialized court structure.

Do export sanctions cause export deflection? Data on Iranian non-oil exporters between January 2006 and June 2011 shows that two-thirds of these exports were deflected to non-sanctioning countries after sanctions were imposed in 2008, and that at this time aggregate exports actually increased. Exporting firms reduced prices and increased quantities when exporting to a new destination, however, and suffered welfare losses as a result.

Questions of power are central to understanding global trade politics and no account of the World Trade Organization (WTO) can afford to avoid at least an acknowledgment of the concept. A closer examination of power can help us to explain why the structures and rules of international commerce take their existing forms, how the actions of countries are either enabled or disabled, and what distributional outcomes are achieved. However, within conventional accounts, there has been a tendency to either view power according to a single reading - namely the direct, coercive sense - or to overlook the concept entirely, focusing instead on liberal cooperation and legalization. In this book, Matthew Eagleton-Pierce shows that each of these approaches betray certain limitations which, in turn, have cut short, or worked against, more critical appraisals of power in transnational capitalism. To expand the intellectual space, the book investigates the complex relationship between power and legitimation by drawing upon Pierre Bourdieu's notion of symbolic power. A focus on symbolic power aims to alert scholars to how the construction of certain knowledge claims are fundamental to, and entwined within, the material struggle for international trade. Empirically, the argument uncovers and plots the recent strategies adopted by Southern countries in their pursuit of a more equitable trading order. By bringing together insights from political economy, sociology, and law, Symbolic Power in the WTO not only enlivens and enriches the study of diplomatic practice within a major multilateral institution, it also advances the broader understanding of power in world politics.

Nel caso in cui la revisione dell’origine doganale scaturisca da un’indagine Olaf, incombe sulla Dogana l’onere di provare che l’informativa sia direttamente e specificamente riferibile ai beni sottoposti a rettifica.È illegittimo l’accertamento che si limiti a richiamare la documentazione promanante dall’Olaf senza fornire elementi probatori idonei a comprovare l’irregolarità delle specifiche operazioni contestate, in quanto il contribuente ha il diritto di poter contestare integralmente le risultanze dei verbali.

The vast majority of the books and articles that have been written over the past few centuries about trade policy in general and protectionism in particular have been written from a utilitarian perspective. Indeed, it would only be a slight overstatement to say that the only works written about protectionism have been written from a utilitarian perspective. The reason for this fact is that most analyses on protectionism are written either by economists or by people who adopt the ideas of economists to support their positions. And economists tend to be utilitarians. Those who have political agendas will tend to incorporate only those sources that support their own view and ignore or downplay opposing views, but even biased commentators use utilitarian arguments to support their positions. This paper takes a distinctly different approach. Rather than starting from a utilitarian premise, it begins from the premise that conduct that violates human rights is improper, then examines whether protectionism violates human rights. Part II presents an overview of the utilitarian approach to the examination of protectionism. Part III points out the deficiencies in the utilitarian approach and offers an alternative approach based on property, contract and association rights. The author concludes that the only trade policy that does not violate human rights is a policy of total, immediate and unilateral free trade. An extensive bibliography with links to more than 100 trade articles is also included.

Climate change and trade are two separate realms that inevitably interact with each other. Trade, representing more than half of global GDP by some accounts, may play a pivotal role in efforts to combat climate change and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The WTO Agreements were not specifically composed for climate change
purposes. Labelling and international standards may be used as a trade tool whose application may influence consumer preferences and shift markets. In the context of climate change, labelling may effectively inform consumers about international standards and, in particular, the carbon footprint of products. In the context of WTO Agreements, labelling is governed by the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
(TBT Agreement). This article investigates the compatibility of the TBT Agreement in
governing labelling aimed at mitigating climate change and it elaborates tensions at the nexus between climate change and trade in the context of labelling. This article eventually argues that climate change, labelling, international standards and the TBT Agreement can be in harmony. Further arrangements, which will close more gaps in the relation between the TBT Agreement and measures aimed at combating climate change, are required to alleviate (possible) tensions in practice.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has revolutionized International Trade like no other organization to date. For a developing country like Kenya whose main export is Agriculture the WTO Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) was very significant because it represented, the first time since the creation of GATT in 1947 that agricultural commodities had been subject to the multilateral trading rules. In fact the AoA was supposed to herald a new era of trade liberalisation in the agriculture sector. So when the agreement came into force in 1995, it was hailed as a victory by developing countries because they viewed it as a significant first step towards fairer competition and a less distorted sector.
Developing countries hoped that a multilateral trade agreement would provide additional export earnings to alleviate poverty as it would open up new market opportunities for their agricultural products. Unfortunately it’s been 20 years since the AoA came into force and developing countries still find themselves on the side-lines. Developing countries have been unable to access a greater market. The increase in liberalization of agriculture in the last half-century has caused the dismantling of the traditional world structure of food production based mainly on family food production. Hence many countries, especially in the south, became increasingly focused on raw materials and natural resources exports to sustain the increasing consumption patterns of the North, in a process that has facilitated the accumulation and concentration of wealth by a small number of large corporations in the agricultural sector.
Developing countries have experienced reduction in their exports and widespread agricultural dumping. Dumping by global agri-business companies based in the US and EU has wreaked havoc on global agricultural markets. The hardest hit are farmers in developing countries who are often pushed off the farm by dumped agricultural commodities. This has led to the death of many agricultural industries in developing countries and resulted major job losses.
Yet the provisions of the AoA at first glance encompasses the protection of very key  fundamental rights, which include : right to adequate standard of  living, right to work, right to health , right to life, right to free trade and  right to food  being the basis for this project.
This paper will critically analyse the provisions of the WTO AoA that codify the right to free trade and right to food, to illustrate that the problem within the AoA is not the lack of codification of basic human rights, but in the conflict of hierarchy that exists amongst WTO members when it comes to the distribution of two major fundamental human rights, the right to free trade and right to food. This paper will aspire to illustrate that although human rights are generally protected within the AoA, there is an imbalance in the application of both the rights when dealing with developed and developing nations, and that this imbalance is the root of the problem with the Agreement.

Scientific research can make a critical contribution to addressing global challenges and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As part of an effort to improve processes of research uptake in policy making, this report synthesizes research submitted by Geneva-based institutions and their global networks to the project From Science to Practice: Research and Knowledge to Achieve the SDGs on the theme of sustainable and just economies.

The report considers how to build sustainable and just economies—economies that promote growth along with an equitable distribution of benefits to the whole population, and which preserve rather than profit off of the natural environment. It includes recent findings on how the Covid-19 pandemic is impacting and, in many cases, exacerbating the challenge of building fairer economies. The report then presents some pathways towards achieving the SDGs that link to and reflect discussions within the research community. Four examples are proposed from International Geneva, of possible spaces for action to maximize synergies in addressing the SDGs: the role of trade and technology; systems thinking; the circular economy; and strengthening the science-practice interface. The report concludes by highlighting the need for a holistic approach towards addressing the topic of sustainable and just economies under the SDGs, one that recognizes the complexity and interdependence of the global challenges to which the Goals are responding.

As pressures of globalization and advances in technology accelerate, more and more remote, coastal, and small communities are left financially stranded and disempowered. Many communities located at the historic periphery of global markets and trade routes are, often paradoxically, marginalized from the benefits of globalized trade, even while their more accessible natural resources have moved far closer to the center of global markets. The powerful political institutions of nation states combined with growing transnational businesses are driving a combination of boosts in national economies, explosions in technology, and fewer international restrictions on capital. This three-pronged dynamic is reshaping the structure and impacts of an accelerating global economy, creating an international global class of citizenry for whom borders have diminished meaning. 1 Anita L. Parlow, Esq. Mst., a Fulbright Iceland Scholar, Team Lead for the Woodrow Wilson Polar Code Roundtable Project, and a...

The World Bank has for decades influenced the regulation and international liberalisation of public procurement markets. However, proliferating procurement chapters of trade agreements and cheap commercial credit flooding emerging markets, along with new development banks on the horizon, forced the Word Bank to conduct the first complex reform of its procurement policies, and to compete for its share in the market of development aid. The reform has produced new Procurement Regulations to be implemented from July 2016 onwards. New rules offer plentiful options, of how to configure procurement processes, and give borrowers much more flexibility in terms of negotiating with bidders, or applying environmental and social considerations. Subject to the bank’s consent, the new rules allow the use of borrower’s own or other development banks’ procurement rules, continuing a process initiated with the introduction of Piloting Program on the Use of Country System in 2008. By doing so, the new rules are meant to attract borrowers who could now develop their national procurement systems and be compliant with international obligations without having to use special procurement regimes for bank-financed projects.