Economic co-operation,globalisation, chemicals andOPCW
OPCW Conference
The Hague, 2 May 2016
Rob Visser
United Nations
Some economic/financial topics are dealt with at aglobal or regional scale within the UN system e.g. :
Economic and Social Council – co-ordination
Regional Economic (and Social) Commissions –promote co-operation
World Bank Group, Regional Development Banks,IMF – financing, monetary co-operation
Some specialized agencies, programmes addresseconomy related topics e.g. : ILO, FAO, UNIDO, UNDP,UNEP
WTO
•Follow up on negotiations on GeneralAgreement on Tariffs and Trade GATT, since1948
•Final negotiations Uruguay Round 1986 –1994
•World Trade Organisztion established in 1995– now 162 members
•Doha Round 2001 - ?
Main WTO Agreements
•Goods and investment – Tariff RelatedInvestment Measures – TRIMS
•Services – General Agreement on Trade inServices - GATS
•Intellectual Property – Trade-Related aspectsof Intellectual Property rights – TRIPS
•Dispute settlement
Principles of free trade
•Non-discrimination
•Reciprocity
•Binding and enforceable commitments
•Transparency
•Safety valves/exceptions – e.g. in relationto health, environment
Regional economic co-operation
•Many regional economic co-operation agreements ororganisations in all continents e.g. : EU, ASEAN, AndeanCommunity, West/East/Southern Africa and tradefocussed agreements e.g. NAFTA, APEC and Mercosur
Benefits of integrating similar (small) economies:
•Larger markets – trade, production scale ,efficiency
•More competition and investments
•More efficient use of resources – specialisation,technology exchange
•Increased international bargaining power
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
•Established in 1961, follow up to Marshall Plan
•Then 24 industrialized countries Europe, NorthAmerica, Asia, Pacific
•Now 34 countries, also from South America
•Close co-operation with Brazil, China, India,Indonesia, South Africa
•Brings 39 countries around the table covering80% of world trade and investment
Some OECD aims and activities
Aims :
•Achieve sustainable economic growth andemployment, financial stability
•Expansion of trade, reduce tariffs
Activities :
•Binding Decisions on common policies
•Studies (e.g. country reviews, economic outlooks) andprojects on policy issues of current interest
•Inform, discuss, consult, advise, recommend, co-ordinate, co-operate
Some global challenges
•Demography – age, migration
•Agriculture – food security and safety
•Water stress
•Energy security
•Use of natural resources
•Technology development and transfer
•Environment– climate change, biodiversity
•Terrorism
Wider economic development
•Global co-operation needed to deal withsuch global challenges
•When developing further, regions are lessself–sufficient in terms of addressing supplyof food , fuels, raw materials
•Advances in transport, telecommunication,(information) technology, financial systems
•International marketing – global village
•Larger role of multinational companies
Globalizing economy
Increased interconnections – an interdependentglobal economy
•Positive impacts : even larger markets, increasedtrade, more competition, furtherspecialisation/division of labor
•Negative impacts : social inequality, jobinsecurity, loss of (cultural) uniqueness, possibleenvironmental race to the bottom
•Needed : improved international policycoherence, co-ordination, co-operation,governance
Chemicals in the economy
•Chemical industry : 7% of global income, 9%of global trade, 10 million jobs
•Global chemical output valued at $171 billionin 1970; grown to $4,12 trillion in 2010
•In Europe almost 144 000 chemical substanceshave been registered
•Chemical Outlooks have been prepared byOECD and UNEP
Chemicals, GDP and population(OECD data)
Projection of growth in chemicalsproduction to 2050 per region (OECDdata)
Projected trends in chemical use
•Synthesized chemicals are increasinglyreplacing natural materials in products
•Type of chemicals produced will diversifyfurther
•Many more different chemicals in consumerproducts/articles
•Penetration of chemical intensive productsinto many more national economies
Potential trends related to chemicalsafety
•Increasing chemical accidents, environmentalemissions, hazardous consumer exposure,chemical waste : more risks for human healthand environment ?
•More reglementation to be developed in morecountries–(SAICM)
•More monitoring, surveillance and inspection?
•Co-operation among countries on chemicalsafety management saves money – in OECD :€ 153 million per year
Globalisation and Chemicals
•Globlisation of production and use of chemicals
•Chemicals production will grow faster thanpopulation and GDP
•Chemicals production outside the OECD countrieswill grow faster than within OECD countries
•In more countries advanced productiontechnologies will be used
•In more countries oversight of production will beput in place
Possible implications/opportunitiesfor OPCW
•Capabilities to produce chemical weapons willincrease around the globe
•Possibilities for use of chemical weapons interrorist activities can increase
•With more safety reglementation in morecountries, there are further opportunities to co-operate with nationalauthorities/inspectorateswhich will have more detailed information onchemicals and production facilities in the country
Thank you
very much
for your
attention.