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Doha: Members Sound More Optimistic, But Will It Lead To Anything?
Trade officials from the world’s major economies are sounding more optimistic about the Doha Round than at any point since talks broke down last July, even though governments have yet to openly shift their bargaining positions. An EU-US summit in Washington last week was notable for the absence of the finger-pointing that has marked exchanges on…
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Canada Initiates WTO Dispute Proceedings Against US Farm Subsidies
Canada has initiated WTO dispute proceedings against a wide range of US agricultural subsidy programmes, in a move that appears calculated to influence future farm spending by Washington. The Canadian government alleges that the US has exceeded its legal limit for trade-distorting subsidies in five of the past eight years. It is also specifically targeting the…
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Will WTO AG Negotiators Leap Through 'Window Of Opportunity'?
As trade diplomats entered the much-vaunted January to March ‘window of opportunity’ for making progress in the troubled Doha Round of WTO talks, they made several positive noises about the possibility of moving ahead. However, while they claimed some progress on technical issues, broad agreement remains elusive on farm subsidy and tariff cuts, as well…
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Appellate Body Condemns US For 'Zeroing' On Anti-Dumping Duties
The WTO Appellate Body on 9 January ruled that the US’ controversial methodology for calculating anti-dumping duties was incompatible with multilateral trade rules, in what is widely seen as the clearest blow yet to Washington’s use of ‘zeroing.’ The global trade body’s equivalent of an appeals court overturned aspects…
- In Brief
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In Brief
ASEAN TO ENHANCE REGIONAL INTEGRATION, LIBERALISE SERVICES TRADE WITH CHINA The ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN*) ended their annual summit on 15 January, with promises of greater integration within the bloc and expanded trade liberalisation with China and other major economies in the region. Heads of state from member countries on 13…
- WTO in Brief
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WTO In Brief
VIETNAM BECOMES 150th MEMBER OF WTO Vietnam on 11 January became the 150th member of the WTO, 30 days after ratifying its accession agreement. The last hurdle to normalised trading relations between Hanoi and the US also fell, when Washington withdrew its invocation of a WTO provision that allowed it to refrain from applying multilateral rules to…
- 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 : 18-24 January 24-28 January, Davos, Switzerland: WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM ANNUAL MEETING 2007: SHAPING THE GLOBAL AGENDA, THE SHIFTING…
- Resources
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Resources
BUSINESS SERVICES, TRADE, AND COSTS (OECD Trade Policy Working Paper No. 46). By Molly Lesher & Hildegunn Nordås. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, 13 December 2006. This technical paper analyses the role of business services in 32 select OECD and non-OECD economies. It reinforces the view that business services are important drivers in the…