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Doha Round 'Patient' Shows &Quot;Signs Of Life,&Quot; AG Chair Says
Comparing the WTO Doha Round to a medical patient, Agriculture Chair Ambassador Crawford Falconer (New Zealand) indicated on 11 December that the negotiations seemed to be showing "signs of life," although it was possible that these amounted to little more than a minor "twitch." Falconer was speaking at an informal ‘transparency forum’, open to all Members,…
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Thailand Issues Compulsory Licence For Patented AIDS Drug
Thailand’s military-backed government on 29 November issued a compulsory licence for Merck’s HIV/AIDS drug efavirenz, in an attempt to cut growing healthcare costs by encouraging the production and import of generic versions of the patented medicine. The Thai ministry of public health authorised the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation to manufacture generic versions of the drug until…
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US Congress Agrees To Extend Series Of Trade Preferences
In one of its final acts, the outgoing 109th US Congress narrowly passed a bill containing a raft of trade preferences and other commercial measures long pursued by the Bush administration. Support from both Republicans and Democrats was essential to securing passage of the bill. The legislation extended the Generalised System of Preferences, which accords duty-free…
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'Narrow Window Of Opportunity' To Secure Tpa Renewal, Says Bush Administration
Rumours of the demise of the Bush administration’s trade agenda are greatly exaggerated, a senior US trade official told reporters in Geneva on 12 December. Deputy US Trade Representative John Veroneau insisted that the Democratic victory in the Congressional elections would not bring trade policy to a standstill in Washington. He said that it remained possible…
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WHO Group On Health, Innovation, And Intellectual Property Holds First Meeting
Delegates from more than 100 member states of the World Health Organization (WHO), joined by civil society and industry representatives, met in Geneva on 4-8 December to chart a way forward on a plan to promote research on diseases that disproportionately affect people in poor countries. The new Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on Public Health, Innovation…
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US-Korea Trade Negotiations Stumble
Trade talks between South Korea and the US came to a stand-still on 9 November, when negotiators were unable to agree on key issues including intellectual property and trade remedies. The failure to make meaningful progress during the fifth round of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations has called into question whether the two sides will…
- In Brief
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In Brief
AID TO MOST OF SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA FELL IN 2005: OECD Development aid to most of sub-Saharan Africa actually declined in 2005, according to new data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Although total worldwide official development assistance (ODA) from donor countries increased over that period, the bulk of the rise was accounted for…
- WTO in Brief
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WTO In Brief
VIETNAM TO JOIN WTO ON 11 JANUARY Vietnam is set to become the 150th member of the WTO on 11 January 2007. The Southeast Asian nation, a major exporter of textiles, shoes, electronics, rice, seafood and coffee, deposited its ratification with the WTO on 12 December. The ratification will automatically become effective after 30 days. Vietnam’s…
- 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 at: http://www.ictsd.org/cal/index.htm. If you would like to submit an event, please email events@ictsd.ch. Upcoming : 14-20 December 14 December, Geneva, Switzerland: TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD, 40TH EXECUTIVE SESSION (REPORT OF THE PANEL OF…
- Resources
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Resources
ECOSYSTEM CHALLENGES AND BUSINESS IMPLICATIONS. Produced by Earthwatch Institute (Europe), the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), and the World Resources Institute (WRI), November 2006. This publication compiles global scientific facts and projections from the UN’s multi-year Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and interviews with a range…