Supply Chains, COVID-19 and the GATT Security Exception: Legal Limits of ‘Pandemic Exceptionalism’

2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-31
Author(s):  
David Chieng

Abstract The increasingly fraught relationship between trade and security has manifested through expanding conceptions of security to include notions of economic self-sufficiency. Some suggest that this trend will be accelerated by COVID-19 to permanently enshrine exceptionalism in trade (‘pandemic exceptionalism’), arguably enabling invocations of the security exception to justify potentially protectionist measures where it is considered, by an invoking WTO Member, as necessary to protect its ‘essential security interests’. This article explores the security implications of the pandemic’s disruption of international supply chains and growing calls to ‘reshore’ production in order to examine whether COVID-19 could enable an indefinite expansion of the security exception under Article XXI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994. The analysis contrasts the subjective and objective elements of Article XXI(b)(iii) to highlight the role of judicial settlement and objective determination in imposing legal limits on ‘pandemic exceptionalism’.

Technology united with research and development has evolved as a grave differentiator of the agriculture sector in India including production, processing, and agriculture packing and marketing of given crops. Near about 50 percent of the Indian workforce was engaged in the agriculture sector but its share in GDP was only 14 percent, much lower in comparison to former. Though, certain agriculture items showed a steady annual increase in terms of kilograms per hectare. Agriculture transformed significantly over the past few decades but when it comes to investment in research and development there is a lot more which needs to be done. The paper analyzes the role of various research and development institutions in boosting the growth of the agriculture sector that helps in attaining sustainable agriculture development and self-sufficiency in the production process since independence. It also focusesed on the various issues faced by these development institutions. The findings unveiled that since independence a lot more was done to boost the research and development in the agriculture sector at both the center and state levels but a proper implementation of these policies along with transparency could bring more desirable outcomes than were gained at present.


2021 ◽  
Vol 99 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 39-39
Author(s):  
Mark McCully

Abstract The role of the breed association has historically been to keep a registry of a pure breed, aggregate the performance data surrounding that one breed, develop breeding and selection tools, and conduct breed promotion. Larger associations have been able to augment that with operating magazines and other media, running branded beef programs, feeder calf marketing programs, and genetic evaluation for other breeds. The relevance of breed associations is being and will continue to be challenged as genomics and large commercial databases develop and allow for breeding and selection tools to be developed independently by large breeders or private entities. Gene editing and other such technology will also challenge the traditional seedstock models and opens the door for proprietary genetic lines. Breed associations may need to modify their traditional policies to incorporate these innovations. Supply chains will continue to become far more sophisticated and will incorporate more genetic information to guide management decisions and potentially validate brand promises around sustainability. To stay relevant, breed associations of the future will need to do the following: Balance the needs of diverse membership (show, hobby, lifestyle, etc.) with commercial industry value and significance. Have access to large amounts of data and be leaders in adopting the most current technologies. Deliver tools for breeders that enhance the profitability of commercial producers – identify optimum production levels vs maximum outputs. Work collaboratively with multiple supply chains providing the needed genetic information. Be a significant educational resource to breeders and commercial producers. Be a leader in research on breed improvement and genetic advancement. Have value-added programs that create real and sustained pull-through demand for the end product.


2013 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 10-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luni Piya ◽  
KL Maharjan ◽  
NP Joshi ◽  
DR Dangol

Chepangs are highly marginalized indigenous nationalities of Nepal, who live nearby the forests that are rich in Non-timber Forest Products (NTFPs) of commercial importance. These NTFPs can be a potential source of income for Chepangs. This study describes the role of Chepangs in the marketing channel of those NTFPs and analyses the household socio-economic characteristics that influence the collection and marketing of NTFPs by Chepangs in Shaktikhor VDC of Chitwan district using backward multiple regression method. Empirical evidences show that collection and marketing of NTFPs is not an attractive source of income especially for those relatively better-off Chepang households who possess higher landholdings, food self-sufficiency, and income from other alternative sources. This is because the current price offered for the NTFPs collected by the community is very nominal, that do not even cover the labour costs involved. Praja Cooperative Limited (PCL), a Chepang community based institution in Shaktikhor, is struggling to provide better prices for Chepangs. However, it is facing challenges due to limited institutional management capacity of Chepangs. Further empowerment of PCL can contribute to improve the bargaining power of Chepang community in NTFP trade. The Journal of Agriculture and Environment Vol:12, Jun.2011, Page 10-21 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/aej.v12i0.7558 


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sachin Modgil ◽  
Shivam Gupta ◽  
Rébecca Stekelorum ◽  
Issam Laguir

PurposeCOVID-19 has pushed many supply chains to re-think and strengthen their resilience and how it can help organisations survive in difficult times. Considering the availability of data and the huge number of supply chains that had their weak links exposed during COVID-19, the objective of the study is to employ artificial intelligence to develop supply chain resilience to withstand extreme disruptions such as COVID-19.Design/methodology/approachWe adopted a qualitative approach for interviewing respondents using a semi-structured interview schedule through the lens of organisational information processing theory. A total of 31 respondents from the supply chain and information systems field shared their views on employing artificial intelligence (AI) for supply chain resilience during COVID-19. We used a process of open, axial and selective coding to extract interrelated themes and proposals that resulted in the establishment of our framework.FindingsAn AI-facilitated supply chain helps systematically develop resilience in its structure and network. Resilient supply chains in dynamic settings and during extreme disruption scenarios are capable of recognising (sensing risks, degree of localisation, failure modes and data trends), analysing (what-if scenarios, realistic customer demand, stress test simulation and constraints), reconfiguring (automation, re-alignment of a network, tracking effort, physical security threats and control) and activating (establishing operating rules, contingency management, managing demand volatility and mitigating supply chain shock) operations quickly.Research limitations/implicationsAs the present research was conducted through semi-structured qualitative interviews to understand the role of AI in supply chain resilience during COVID-19, the respondents may have an inclination towards a specific role of AI due to their limited exposure.Practical implicationsSupply chain managers can utilise data to embed the required degree of resilience in their supply chains by considering the proposed framework elements and phases.Originality/valueThe present research contributes a framework that presents a four-phased, structured and systematic platform considering the required information processing capabilities to recognise, analyse, reconfigure and activate phases to ensure supply chain resilience.


Author(s):  
Richard A. Seidu ◽  
Min Wu ◽  
Zhaoliang Su ◽  
Huaxi Xu

Gliomas represent 60% of primary intracranial brain tumors and 80% of all malignant types, with highest morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although glioma has been extensively studied, the molecular mechanisms underlying its pathology remain poorly understood. Clarification of the molecular mechanisms involved in their development and/or treatment resistance is highly required. High mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) is a nuclear protein that can also act as an extracellular trigger of inflammation, proliferation and migration, through receptor for advanced glycation end products and toll like receptors in a number of cancers including gliomas. It is known that excessive release of HMGB1 in cancer leads to unlimited replicative potential, ability to develop blood vessels (angiogenesis), evasion of programmed cell death (apoptosis), self-sufficiency in growth signals, insensitivity to inhibitors of growth, inflammation, tissue invasion and metastasis. In this review we explore the mechanisms by which HMGB1 regulates apoptosis and autophagy in glioma. We also looked at how HMGB1 mediates glioma regression and promotes angiogenesis as well as possible signaling pathways with an attempt to provide potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of glioma.


Author(s):  
Rachel T. A. Croson ◽  
Karen Lisa Donohue ◽  
Elena Katok ◽  
John Sterman
Keyword(s):  

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