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NAMA Week Underway As Members Look To G-6 For Boost
WTO Members are meeting from 27 February - 3 March for a week of discussions on a wide range of topics in the non-agricultural market access (NAMA) negotiations. These include the flexibilities to be accorded to developing countries when making their tariff cuts, sectoral initiatives for tariff reduction, and the relationship between industrial goods and…
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WIPO Members Agree On How To Structure Future Talks On Development Agenda
After a week’s talks, members of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) managed to agree on 24 February on a method for structuring future discussions on the large number of proposals submitted by countries on how to embed a ‘development agenda’ in all aspects of the work of the global intellectual property body. The Provisional Committee…
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CTE Negotiators Discuss Way Forward On Identifying Environmental Goods
During an informal 21-22 February meeting of the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment Special Session (CTE-SS), Members decided on a work plan to at least start proceeding with the identification of environmental goods for the purpose of liberalising trade in them. Divisions, however, remain about the broad approach to follow when liberalising trade in…
- In Brief
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In Brief
US, COLOMBIA SIGN BILATERAL FTA The US and Colombia have concluded a comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), US Trade Representative Rob Portman, and Colombian Trade, Industry and Tourism Minister Jorge Humberto Botero announced on 27 February. The accord, signed after a final two-week round of negotiations in Washington, will lower tariffs and other barriers to…
- WTO in Brief
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Plurilateral Services Requests Launched; CTS-SS To Meet 7 March
On 28 February, groups of WTO Members started to circulate collective requests for countries to open their markets to foreign services providers. This coincided with the target date for the submission of such ‘plurilateral requests’ set out in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, prompting one Western official to dub it, tongue-in-cheek, the first successfully-met deadline…
- 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 : 2-8 March 6 March, Arusha, Tanzania: PROMOTING PRODUCTION AND TRADING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ORGANIC AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS IN EAST AFRICA. A joint delegation from the UN Conference on…
- Resources
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Resources
TRADING ON TIME: REFORMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES CAN BOOST EXPORTS. By Simeon Djankov, Caroline Freund, and Cong S. Pham. World Bank. January 2006. The study found that in developing countries each day of delays in moving standard cargo from the factory gate to the ship reduces a country’s export volume by 1 percent. Even more…