What the ‘Global South’ wants: necessary reforms to the international trade and financial architecture

There has been a debate underway in international affairs about the term “Global South” and what it is, who it is, and what it wants, and if the term is even useful or not. This paper explores this debate, examines the history and meaning of the term “Global South,” and lists many of the things that the Global South wants from the rich countries in terms of reforms to the international financial and trade architecture, including: enabling developing countries to pay for imports with their domestic currencies; establishing a more balanced global trading system; enabling developing countries to borrow in their own domestic currencies; establishing to get an immediate international resolution to the worsening sovereign debt crisis an international sovereign debt restructuring mechanism for heavily-indebted countries; IMF and World Bank policy and governance reforms; WTO policy and governance reforms; greater access to international financing during financial crises and for tackling climate change; improved technology transfer; reforms to bilateral trade and investment agreements and international investment arbitration procedures; subsidies to support green energy transitions; taxation of cross-border e-commerce; reforms of the major credit rating agencies; reducing tax evasion and other illicit financial flows; and easing restrictions on the use of capital controls.