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CONSTRUCTIVE AMBIGUITY SAVES LMO LABELLING DISCUSSIONS AT MOP-3
CONSTRUCTIVE AMBIGUITY SAVES LMO LABELLING DISCUSSIONS AT MOP-3 While countries at the third Meeting of the Parties (MOP-3) to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety — convening from 13-17 March in Curitiba, Brazil — managed to resolve most agenda items relatively quickly, negotiations on documentations requirements for shipments of living modified organisms (LMOs) proved highly contentious,…
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TRADE @ COP-8: ACCESS AND BENEFITS-SHARING, INCENTIVE MEASURES
TRADE @ COP-8: ACCESS AND BENEFITS-SHARING, INCENTIVE MEASURES Among the issues on the table at the Eighth Conference of the Parties (COP-8) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to be held from 20-31 March in Curitiba, Brazil, countries will be discussing how to proceed in the discussions on a possible international regime to govern access…
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WTO FISH SUBSIDIES NEGOTIATIONS CONSIDER DRAFT TEXT
WTO FISH SUBSIDIES NEGOTIATIONS CONSIDER DRAFT TEXT On 15 March, WTO Members in the Negotiating Group on Rules continued discussions on possible text for new rules on fisheries-specific subsidies. While new proposals from New Zealand, Japan, Chinese Taipei and India were examined, most time was spent on new draft legal text put forward by New Zealand.…
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WTO DISCLOSURE TALKS TRY TO CLARIFY CBD-TRIPS RELATIONSHIP
WTO DISCLOSURE TALKS TRY TO CLARIFY CBD-TRIPS RELATIONSHIP At the meeting of the Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on 14-15 March, WTO Members continued to struggle with their differences on the need to clarify the relationship between the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the TRIPS Agreement. In a new submission, the…
- In Brief
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Argentina Asks EU to Intervene on Monsanto Soy Dispute
Argentinean agriculture officials on 7 March sent a report to the European Commission regarding Monsanto’s filing of three European lawsuits and six stoppages of Argentinean soy shipments to Europe, asking the Commission to conduct an investigation into the actions (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 14 October 2005). Although Monsanto holds patent rights over RoundUp Ready soy…
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EU Reconsiders Biotech Decision, Process
As the new President of the European Union, Austria on 9 March reopened the debate on the EU risk management and authorisation procedures for biotech products. Ministers meeting for the Environment Council were unable to reach agreement on the suggestions that Austria made at the gathering to change the approval system, although the need for…
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WTO Appoints Panel Members in Retreaded Tyre Dispute
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy on 16 March appointed the members of the panel that will rule on the EU complaint against Brazilian import restrictions on retreaded tyres (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 3 February 2006). The panel will be chaired by Matsuo Matsushita of Japan, a former member of the Appellate Body. He will be assisted…
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WTO: Support Sort for Fish and Forest Tariff Cuts
A meeting open to all WTO Members to provide information on initiatives for accelerated reduction or elimination of tariffs for forest and fish products was held on 28 February as part of a week of WTO non-agricultural market access (NAMA) negotiations. The proponents of so-called “sectoral initiatives” in fish and forests — Canada, Hong Kong,…
- 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. COP-8 to the Convention on Biological Diversity 20 -…
- 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. ICTSD Resource OVERVIEW OF THE WTO BIOTECH DISPUTE AND THE INTERIM RULING. By Heike Baumüller, Knirie Sogaard and Yvonne Apea (International Centre for Trade and Sustainable…