A key question is to what extent countries gain from open trade in natural resources. Some of the issues examined in the Report include the role of trade in providing access to natural resources, the effects of international trade on the sustainability of natural resources, the environmental impact of resources trade, the so-called natural resources curse, and resource price volatility.



The Report examines a range of key measures employed in natural resource sectors, such as export taxes, tariffs and subsidies, and provides information on their current use. It analyzes in detail the effects of these policy tools on an economy and on its trading partners.



Finally, the Report provides an overview of how natural resources fit within the legal framework of the WTO and discusses other international agreements that regulate trade in natural resources. A number of challenges are addressed, including the regulation of export policy, the treatment of subsidies, trade facilitation, and the relationship between WTO rules and other international agreements.



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Download pdf:

> Complete report (256 pages; 12969KB)

> Contents, acknowledgements, disclaimer, DG Foreword and Executive Summary (19 pages; 1096KB)

I- The trade situation in 2009-2010 (18 pages; 843KB)

II- Trade in natural resources

> A. Introduction (6 pages; 590KB)

> B. Natural resources: Definitions, trade patterns and globalization (28 pages; 1204KB)

> C. Trade theory and natural resources (40 pages; 1628KB)

> D. Trade policy and natural resources (48 pages; 1734KB)

> E. Natural resources, international cooperation and trade regulation (40 pages; 1128KB)

> F. Conclusions (4 pages; 5085KB)

> Statistical appendix (25 pages; 868KB)

> Bibliography (11 pages; 1027KB)

> Technical notes, glossary, abbreviations and list of figures (15 pages; 1217KB)