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CODEX: DISCUSSIONS HEAT UP ON ANIMAL BIOTECHNOLOGY STANDARD
CODEX: DISCUSSIONS HEAT UP ON ANIMAL BIOTECHNOLOGY STANDARD At a meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission Working Group on Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Animals held on 30 May - 1 June in Brussels, delegates struggled to define the unique challenges posed by animal biotechnology and how, in particular, to take up non-food safety…
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FISHERIES UPDATE: WTO, EU, FISH STOCKS
FISHERIES UPDATE: WTO, EU, FISH STOCKS Proponents elaborate on WTO fish liberalisation proposal Canada, Iceland, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Thailand, Panama and Oman on 22 May presented a new version of their sectoral proposal on reductions in tariffs on fish products to the WTO Negotiating Group on Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) (TN/MA/W/63/Add.1). The new text, which includes…
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WTO AGRICULTURE CTTE TAKES UP GREEN BOX
WTO AGRICULTURE CTTE TAKES UP GREEN BOX A group of 21 developing countries presented an informal paper at the WTO on 16 May which tries to ensure that developing countries can subsidise farmers for legitimate developmental and environmental purposes. It also aims to make sure that developed countries do not disguise trade-distorting agricultural subsidies under an…
- In Brief
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Chinese Block Imports of Burmese Timber
A ban placed by Chinese officials on imports of timber from Burma has led to dramatic cuts in flows of illegal timber, the lobby group Global Witness said on 30 May. At the request of the Burmese government, the Provincial Government of Yunnan on 27 March had instructed Chinese border checkpoints to stop imports of…
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Proposal to Eliminate Tariffs on Trade in Chemicals
A proposal to eliminate all tariffs on trade in chemicals at the WTO was put forward on 15 May by Canada, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan and the US (TN/MA/W/72) in the WTO Negotiating Group on Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA). Under the proposal, once enough WTO Members got on board (”critical mass”), developed country supporters of…
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India Reveals Biotech Label Law
The Indian Health Ministry on 22 May published draft rules on biotech labelling under which all food and food products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or produced using modern biotechnology must be labelled before being placed on the market. Under the proposed amendments to the Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules (PFA), 1955, any food that…
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Mutual Supportiveness of WTO, CBD a "Slight Problem": Lamy
At a speech during the 30 May opening ceremony of the annual EU “Green Week”, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy suggested that the WTO faces two environmental challenges, namely how to deal with unilateral transboundary actions to protect the environment and how the WTO should interface with MEA rules. Noting that the WTO dispute ruling on…
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Biological Diversity, Environment Days Celebrated
The Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, on the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May, urged the global community to address threats to maintaining and protecting the planet’s biological diversity. Ahmed Djoghlaf, in comments made to commemorate the occasion, noted that the theme selected for the event was…
- Events
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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 5 June,…
- Resources
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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 smohan@ictsd.ch. SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSED WTO NEGOTIATIONS - FISHERIES SECTOR STUDY. By U Kleih, P Greenhalgh, and A. Marter (Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich,…