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In China, changing demographics, rising incomes and shifting consumer preferences have resulted in an ever-growing demand for food that is more varied, healthier and of higher quality and this demand is set to persist well into the future. According to International Monetary Fund projections (2019), by 2024, Chinese per capita gross domestic product (GDP, in current prices) will increase to dollar 28,450, from dollar 13,130 in 2019, and the population will increase to 1.5 billion people (United Nations, 2019). The projected urbanization rate will reach 67 percent by 2030, compared to 56 percent in 2015 (Goh and others, 2014). The growing number of consumers in China, that are increasingly more affluent and educated, will continue shifting their dietary preferences to include more protein, fruits and vegetables. Central Asian countries are well placed to be more competitive in satisfying fruit import demand in the growing Chinese markets and will reap economic and social development benefits along the way. For centuries, Central Asia has occupied a position of strategic importance in trade between the East and the West. The region's geographic location, natural resources, untapped yield potential, and the possibility of greater private sector investment through policy reform create the necessary preconditions for the Central Asian countries to increase their agricultural exports to China. As China places an important role on meeting its growing food needs on dynamic agricultural trade and investment cooperation with the Central Asian countries, this results in significant opportunities for the region to increase its presence in the Chinese fruit markets brought by improved infrastructure and higher cross-border investment. For example, according to the recent World Bank report (World Bank, 2019), Belt and Road Initiative transport projects are estimated to increase trade by up to 9.7 percent. Countries that have a comparative advantage in time-sensitive sectors, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, are expected to be the biggest winners.

Access to Markets --- Agricultural Trade --- Agriculture --- Export Competitiveness

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This report provides a multifaceted diagnostic overview of Lesotho's export competitiveness, including an analysis of the macroeconomic environment in which exporters and importers operate in Lesotho; level, growth, composition, and market share performance of Lesotho's exports; the evolution of FDI inflows and their sectoral composition; the diversification of products and markets, as well as the quality and sophistication of Lesotho's exports. It builds on this with CGE analysis of potential impacts based on specific trade-related scenarios as well as diagnostic tools to facilitate the analysis of global and regional value chain participation and integration. The report then formulates several recommendations that could enhance export competitiveness, deepen Lesotho's integration in global and regional value chains in goods and services and strengthen the country's ability to respond to changing external environment.

Access to Markets --- Employment --- Export Competitiveness --- Fiscal Policy --- Monetary Policy --- Trade Facilitation --- Trade Liberalization --- Trade Policy

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The first section identifies the overlaps between Kazakhstan's development objectives and the goals of IFC's new strategy of creating markets for the private sector. Kazakhstan's development objectives are to increase diversification, employment, and productivity. These are based on the government's 2030 Strategy and 2020 Plan, as well as World Bank Group (WBG) country assessments. Operationalizing the IFC 3.0 strategy requires identifying the markets with the greatest potential to help meet these objectives. The approach amounts to: (a) identifying those sectors with the greatest market potential which, if realized, would have the greatest impact on development objectives; (b) providing an assessment of what is preventing the realization of market potential; and (c) indicating the IFC and WB activities that should be the top priorities to help meet this double bottom-line of development impact and market creation. The assessment in the second section indicates that the sectors with the greatest unrealized development and market potential are food-grains, meat and poultry, and cross-Kazakhstan transport and logistics. The market potential assessment relies on quantitative tools (multiplier models, product space and competitiveness benchmarking), expert interviews and a survey of policy reports. The assessment in the second section indicates that the sectors with the greatest unrealized development and market potential are food-grains, meat and poultry, and cross-Kazakhstan transport and logistics. The market potential assessment relies on quantitative tools (multiplier models, product space and competitiveness benchmarking), expert interviews and a survey of policy reports. The last section summarizes the priority horizontal reforms, sector-specific policies, and promising sectors with the potential for expansion and greater firm entry. The first part of this section is intended to inform the high-level dialogue between WBG management and Kazakhstani authorities. The second part is essentially the sector-wide measures without which private sector investments will not be forthcoming, recognizing that the aim is to create markets and expand private sector development. The third part identifies promising areas where private sector actors could play a catalytic role, recognizing the ease of playing such roles differs by sector: it is greatest for grains, somewhat less for meat, and least for transport and logistics.

Access To Markets --- Agricultural Trade --- Agriculture --- Business Environment --- Export Competitiveness --- Livestock --- Livestock And Animal Husbandry --- Transport

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The exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Brexit) may have a negative impact on trade and investment flows not just for the UK, but also for the countries with the largest exposure to the UK. The indirect impact of a Brexit-induced recession in the UK -may also be felt in the EU because of the two countries' strong trade, investment, and financial linkages. The magnitude of these impacts will depend on the type of trade relationship that the UK negotiates with the EU, the duration of the negotiations, and the market confidence in the leadership of the UK, EU and other mayor players during the transition period. The major effect of the Brexit vote is the withdrawal of the UK from the EU project of deep economic integration, raising the possibility that the same doubts that gave rise to Brexit lead to an interruption of trade openness and integration in other parts of the world. International development institutions like the World Bank Group can play an important role in informing debates in this area.

Access to Markets --- Capital Flows --- Foreign Direct Investment --- Investment Climate --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Trade Policy

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One of the most significant developments of the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations (1986-94) was the inclusion of intellectual property rights (IPRs) issues on the agenda of the multilateral trading system. The resulting Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is one of three pillar agreements, setting out the legal framework in which the World Trade Organization (WTO) has operated since the end of the Uruguay Round. For the multilateral trading system, TRIPS marked the departure from narrow negotiations on border measures such as tariffs and quotas toward the establishment of multilateral rules for trade-affecting measures beyond borders. This move reflected underlying trends in international commerce. Due to the growth of trade in knowledge and information-intensive goods, the economic implications of imitation, copying, and counterfeiting had in many industries become at least as relevant for international commerce as conventional border restrictions to trade. Yet the TRIPS negotiations on intellectual property were marked by significant North-South differences. Developed countries, which host the world's largest intellectual property-producing industries, were the key advocates for comprehensive minimum standards of protection and enforcement of IPRs. By contrast, many developing countries, which see themselves mostly as a consumer of intellectual property, felt that stronger standards of protection would serve to limit access to new technologies and products, thereby undermining poor countries' development prospects. Not surprisingly, the TRIPS Agreement remains one of the most controversial agreements of the WTO.This short paper seeks to provide an introduction to the main instruments used to protect intellectual property in section second, the key economic trade-offs of stronger IPRs in section third, the basic provisions of the TRIPS Agreement in section four, and recent TRIPS developments affecting access to medicines in developing countries in section five.

Access to Markets --- Intellectual Property Rights --- Patents --- Trade Policy --- World Trade Organization