Bridges Trade BioRes

Volume 3 • Number 9 15th May 2003

  • US Requests WTO Consultations with EU on Biotech Moratorium
    The US on 13 May officially requested consultations with the EU over its continued de facto moratorium on the approval of genetically modified organisms (GMO). Canada has also filed a separate request while Argentina and Egypt have expressed their intention to follow suit. The countries allege that the moratorium poses an unjustified trade barrier in…
  • Trade Issues Expected to Feature at Upcoming UN Forest Forum
    The third session of the UN Forum on Forests (UNFF-3), meeting from 26 May to 6 June in Geneva, Switzerland, will focus on three priority areas that include the economic aspects of forests; forest health and productivity; and maintaining forest cover to meet present and future needs. A number of trade-related issues are expected to…
  • WTO: EU Takes Long-Awaited New Stance on Fisheries Subsidies
    At the 5-7 May meeting of the WTO Negotiating Group on Rules, the EU presented a new proposal on fisheries subsidies. While the EU has in the past been reluctant to address fisheries subsidies in the WTO, the submission takes a more proactive stance following the adoption of the EU Common Fisheries Policy reform in…
  • MEA Secretariats Ambivalent About WTO Environment Negotiations
    WTO Members convened on 1-2 May for a special (negotiating) session of the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE), where discussion focussed on the relationship between the WTO and so-called ’specific trade obligations’ in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). Although the question of formal observer status has yet to be decided, secretariats from six trade-related MEAs…
  • European Commission Releases Draft Chemicals Legislation
    The European Commission released its long-awaited proposal for the EU’s new chemical legislation on 7 May for an eight-week public consultation process. Many experts have described the proposal as the most important piece of environmental legislation for a decade because of its enormous scope. European industry groups have expressed serious concerns about the legislation’s impact…
  • In Brief
  • Scientific Studies Send Wake-Up Call to Fishery Managers and Governments
    On 14 May German and Canadian scientists released the findings of a long-term study, which concludes that ninety percent of all large fish in the world’s ocean have been depleted over the past 50 years. The study, which was conducted over a ten year period, is based on data from all…
  • Indonesian Ramin Worth Millions; Traded Illegally Around the World
    According to a new report released by the London-based Environmental Investigative Agency (EIA) and the Jakarta-based Telapak, Malaysia and Singapore are trading heavily in ramin wood, a hardwood species protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). The two groups have now called…
  • UK Government Responds to CIPR Report
    The UK government has issued its reaction to the report of the UK Commission on Intellectual Property (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 26 September 2002), providing responses to the more than 50 CIPR recommendations. While stressing the “vital role” intellectual property rights (IPRs) can play for development, Secretary of State for International…
  • WTO: Softwood Lumber Panel to be Established
    On May 7 2003, the Dispute Settlement Body approved the establishment of a panel on the United States - Investigation of the International Trade Commission in Softwood Lumber from Canada (WT/DS277, searchable). The request was the second one made by Canada in this regard, and the panel will be established despite…
  • CSD Moves Towards Implementing WSSD Outcomes
    During the eleventh session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), which took place from 28 April to 9 May in New York, delegates agreed on a 12-year work programme for the Commission. In particular, delegates decided how the CSD was going to implement the commitments of the Johannesburg…
  • In Brief
    In Brief SCIENTIFIC STUDIES SEND WAKE-UP CALL TO FISHERY MANAGERS AND GOVERNMENTS On 14 May German and Canadian scientists released the findings of a long-term study, which concludes that ninety percent of all large fish in the world’s ocean have been depleted over the past 50 years. The study, which was conducted over a ten year…
  • Events
  • Events
    For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable development, please refer to ICTSD’s web calendar. Please bear in mind that dates and times of WTO meetings are often changed, and that the WTO does not always announce the important informal meetings of the different bodies. Coming up in the next two weeks 18-20 May,…
  • Resources
  • Resources
    A NEW CHEMICALS POLICY IN EUROPE - NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDUSTRY: A RESPONSE TO THE CLAIMS MADE REGARDING THE BUSINESS IMPACT OF A NEW CHEMICALS POLICY THAT IS DESIGNED TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH. WWF European Toxics Programme and the European Environmental Bureau, January 2003. . EUROPE’S ENVIRONMENT: THE THIRD ASSESSMENT. Environmental assessment report…