Bridges Trade BioRes

Volume 4 • Number 17 23rd September 2004

  • TRIPS COUNCIL ZOOMS IN ON DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS
    TRIPS COUNCIL ZOOMS IN ON DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS Meeting on 21 September, the Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) considered a proposal by Brazil, India, Pakistan, Peru, Thailand, and Venezuela to advance discussions on the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and biodiversity issues and traditional knowledge. Members remained locked in their positions, so…
  • CITES EXPECTED TO BROADEN COVERAGE OF HEAVILY TRADED COMMODITIES
    CITES EXPECTED TO BROADEN COVERAGE OF HEAVILY TRADED COMMODITIES The upcoming October Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) in Bangkok is expected to move further into regulating trade in economically valuable species, including a number of fish, timber and medicinal plant species. Also…
  • GMO UPDATE: THAILAND; BRAZIL; EU REGULATIONS
    GMO UPDATE: THAILAND; BRAZIL; EU REGULATIONS Thai government confirms GM papaya finding On 14 September Thailand’s Agriculture Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said that at least one of the papaya trees grown from seeds distributed by the Thai government’s Khon Kaen experimental research station has been found to be genetically modified. On 21 September, after collecting 1,164 samples from…
  • EC'S LAMY ADVOCATES VALUE-BASED TRADE RELATIONS
    EC’S LAMY ADVOCATES VALUE-BASED TRADE RELATIONS In a speech delivered in Brussels on 15 September, European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy presented a case for consideration of so-called ‘collective preferences’ (or ‘collective choices’) in trade relations. When communities make practical decisions based upon their social values — for example, a government could…
  • In Brief
  • Asbestos Sparks Controversy at Rotterdam Convention
    Delegates at the first Conference of the Parties of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, meeting from 20-24 September in Geneva, agreed to add 14 new toxic chemicals, including a lead additive for petrol, to the PIC list. However, chrysotile asbestos —…
  • Coffee Companies Agree to Code of Conduct
    On 10 September an international alliance of more than 70 representatives of coffee farmers, commerce and industry, non-governmental organisations and unions concluded a draft Common Code for the Coffee Community (CCCC) in Hamburg, Germany. While Swiss-based food giant Nestle, US firms Kraft Foods and Sara Lee, as well as German-based Tchibo presented the voluntary code…
  • WTO Panel Side with Brazil in Cotton, Sugar Cases
    On 8 September, the WTO panel hearing Brazil’s challenge to US subsidies to upland cotton producers issued its final decision in favour of Brazil on all major claims (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 30 April 2004). The panel found that certain US payments to farmers amounted to trade distorting domestic support. The panel further ruled that…
  • 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 25-26 September,…
  • Resources
  • Resources
    If you have a relevant resource (books, papers, bulletins, etc.) you would like to see announced in this section, please forward a copy or review by the BRIDGES staff to Heike Baumüller. FOOD WARS: THE GLOBAL BATTLE FOR MOUTHS, MINDS AND MARKETS. By Tim Lang and Michael Heasman (August 2004). The food we eat is involved…