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Awaiting Draft Modalities Text, Members Still Divided On AG Market Access
Only a week before ministers are set to arrive at WTO headquarters in Geneva in an attempt to hammer out an agreement on some central aspects of the Doha Round negotiations, Members remain profoundly divided on agricultural market access. Agriculture negotiations Chair Ambassador Crawford Falconer (New Zealand) is expected to release an initial draft ‘modalities’ text…
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End-June Meeting Starts To Take Shape Amidst Low Expectations
Ministers and senior trade officials from several WTO Member countries are planning to attend a high-level meeting in Geneva at the end of June in an attempt to rescue the faltering Doha Round trade talks. However, persistent divisions have left many observers pessimistic about their ability to strike a framework deal on modalities for agriculture…
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Some Gaps Remain On AG Export Competition
As WTO Members scrambled to narrow their differences ahead of a top-level meeting scheduled for the week of 26 June, a new paper from the chair of the agriculture negotiations showed that they had made clear progress on export competition, though a number of issues still need to be resolved. Ministers and other senior trade officials…
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WTO Talks On Fisheries Inch Towards Middle Ground
WTO Members signalled a slight narrowing of their differences on fisheries subsidies during meetings of the Negotiating Group on Rules from 12-16 June. The debate focused on key differences such as which kinds of grants contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, and how to provide special and differential treatment for developing countries. While several sources deemed…
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Members Step Up Demands On GI Extension, Disclosure As Stalemate Continues
WTO Members remain divided on how to address geographical indications as well as the relationship between biodiversity conservation and intellectual property protection, following discussions at multiple levels last week. Echoing a late-May proposal from a group of developing countries, Norway (WT/GC/W/566) on 14 June called for amending the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property…
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Developing Countries Present Views On Environmental Goods
At an informal meeting of the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment Special Session (CTE-SS) on 12-13 June, several developing countries reiterated their objections to designating a finite list of specific ‘environmental goods’ for expedited trade liberalisation under Paragraph 31(iii) of the Doha Declaration. The gathering was originally supposed to continue a product-by-product evaluation…
- In Brief
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In Brief
EU TRADE CHIEF MOOTS NEW WTO ROUND ON ENERGY EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has called for a new WTO round of negotiations that would address the energy sector and seek to treat oil and gas like other traded goods. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on 23…
- Events
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Events
EVENTS For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable development, please refer to ICTSD’s web calendar. If you would like to submit an event, please email us. Upcoming : 22-28 June 22 June, Washington DC, US: WASHINGTON INTERNATIONAL TRADE ASSCOCIATION (WITA) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERIES: CUSTOMS LAWS. This instalment of WITA’s professional development series will…
- Resources
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Resources
WHAT DETERMINES PROTECTION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS? AN ANALYSIS OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS. By the World Bank, June 2006. Using cross-country data, the authors evaluate historical determinants of property rights protection. They examine four historical theories that focus on conceptually distinct causal variables believed to shape institutions: legal origin, endowments, ethnic diversity, and religion.…