EU-India FTA : Impacts on women
Centre for Trade and Development | March 2010
CENTAD, in partnership with the Heinrich Boll Foundation, have come out recently with 4 reports on trade and gender. The first is a backgrounder (literature review) while the other three are on the gender impact of the EU-India FTA in the fields of agriculture, services and health.
The Current Trade Framework and Gender Linkages in Developing Economies : An Introductory Survey of Issues with Special Reference to India
Given the emphasis on gender mainstreaming today, the gender impact of trade policy must be paid serious attention to, especially as it is increasingly evident that trade policy is not ’gender neutral’. The nature of international trade itself is undergoing continuous changes, with autonomous liberalization being accompanied by initiatives at the WTO as well as rapid advances in Preferential or Free Trade Agreements.
To download the full paper in PDF format, click here.
The Current Trade Paradigm and Women’s Health Concerns in India : With Special Reference to the Proposed EU-India Free Trade Agreement
India is currently negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union, which includes not only liberalization of commodity trading, but also a wide range of chapters including deep services trade liberalization, full investment liberalization, and stricter IPR conditions than the TRIPS norms. As trade is an engine of growth and development, India’s trade policy has many goals to meet. India shows high poverty level, increasing income and social inequalities as well as deep seated gender inequalities.
To download the full paper in PDF format, click here.
The EU India FTA in Agriculture and Likely Impact on Indian Women
India’s trade policy has undergone a significant shift towards an increasing engagement with Free Trade Agreements as compared to unilateral trade liberalization or multilateral trade liberalization through the WTO. This shift in India’s trade policy has had a significant impact on the agriculture sector which no longer enjoys the exclusive protection it has received so far. Since 2007, India has been negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union of which agriculture is an important component. Along with liberalization of commodity trade, and corresponding impact on tariffs and non tariff barriers, substantial movement in enforcing stricter IPRs and a much more ambitious investment liberalization policy are likely to significantly affect agriculture
To download the full paper in PDF format, click here.
The EU-India FTA in Services and Possible Gender Impact in India : Concern Areas
This paper studies the impact of services trade liberalization under the currently negotiated EU-India FTA on women’s lives in India and tries to delineate the concern areas. Services sector liberalization can affect women in two major ways ; by creating or destroying employment and incomes ; and by, affecting the access to critical basic services like credit, health, education, water, energy. It is undeniable that many chapters of services trade liberalization involve a clear and differentiated impact on women.
To download the full paper in PDF format, click here.
