-
Will Fish Be On the Hong Kong Menu?
WILL FISH BE ON THE HONG KONG MENU? Concerns regarding the lack of progress in the fisheries subsidies debate were heard in WTO corridors during the 11-15 July meeting of the Negotiating Group on Rules. Doubts were raised whether fisheries subsidies would make it onto the table at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, since strong forces…
-
CODEX STALLS ON PARMESAN, ADOPTS STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH
CODEX STALLS ON PARMESAN, ADOPTS STANDARDS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH At its 28th session on 4-9 July in Rome, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) once again failed to agree on whether to develop a new standard for Parmesan cheese because of divisions among members over the cheese’s status as a "geographical indication". With regard to country of…
-
GMO UPDATE: BRAZIL, ARGENTINA, JAPAN, AFRICA
New Brazilian biosafety law challenged On 21 June, Brazilian Attorney-General Claudio Fonteles asked the Brazilian SupremeCourt to consider whether the country’s new biosafety law is unconstitutional. In particular, he challenged a section of the Biosafety Law 11.105, which was signed into law on 24 June by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio "Lula" de Silva (see BRIDGES Trade…
- In Brief
-
CBD Considers Ways to Support Traditional Knowledge
At the first-ever meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Advisory (”Steering”) Committee for the Programme of Work on Article 8(j) and Related Provisions, held in Montreal, Canada on 11-14 July, representatives from all of the sixteen UN regions gave their advice on issues pertaining to traditional knowledge (TK). Article 8(j) of the CBD…
-
European Court Fines France over Fishing
After nearly fifteen years of legal confrontation, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on 12 July imposed a record fine on France for its failure to comply with EU fish stock protection rules, suggesting that the EU is clamping down on member states who violate strict rules that aim to prevent overfishing as a result…
-
ASEAN Ministers Pledge to Promote Renewables, Energy Efficiency
On 13 July, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) energy ministers met to discuss energy stability, security and sustainability in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The meeting took place against the backdrop of high energy prices and a cooling effect they are beginning to have on economic growth in the region. Among other measures, ministers called for…
-
China and US Sign Food Safety Agreement
At a meeting of the US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade on 11 July, the two countries agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to improve bilateral cooperation on animal and plant health and food safety. US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Chinese Minister of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine Li Changjiang signed the…
-
G8 Fails to Deliver on Illegal Logging
The G8 Summit held in Gleneagles on 6-8 July failed to make substantive progress to tackle illegal logging, and instead included in the final communique a reaffirmation of non-binding commitments made by G8 environment and development ministers in Derbyshire, England in March (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 1 April 2005). G8 ministers “recognized the impacts 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 July,…
- 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 Sarah Mohan . MEASURING POLICY COHERENCE AMONG THE MEAS. By Anantha Kumar Duraiappah and Asmita Bhardwaj (International Institute for Sustainable Development, June 2005). This paper provides…