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AG: Members Discuss New Cairns Group Proposals On Sensitive Products And Tropical Products
Although negotiators at the WTO in Geneva remain impatient for news of the bilateral discussions taking place elsewhere between major trading powers, they were given something new to focus on at a 9 March meeting of the agriculture negotiating committee: two informal papers from the Cairns Group of agricultural exporters. The proposals are the first new…
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WTO Interim Panel Ruling Favours EU In Retreaded Tyres Dispute With Brazil
A WTO dispute panel appears to have made a preliminary ruling in favour of the EU’s complaint against Brazil’s import restrictions on ‘retreaded tyres’. According to Brazilian newspapers, a confidential interim report circulated to the two parties on 12 March ruled that Brasilia’s policy of allowing imports from its Mercosur trade bloc while banning them…
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Members Looking At Potential Compromises On Services
The chair of the WTO negotiating group on trade in services plans to continue a series of meetings with ambassadors from 20-25 delegations over the forthcoming weeks in an attempt to identify grounds for compromise on further liberalisation. These gatherings, which Chair Ambassador Fernando de Mateo (Mexico) has dubbed the ‘enchilada talks’, are patterned after the…
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Lamy Calls For 'Full Speed' Doha Negotiations At Multilateral Level
Heads of state from around the world have made yet another series of calls for progress in the faltering Doha Round multilateral trade talks. However, little has changed in the deadlocked negotiations in spite of a widespread impression that time is running out for a breakthrough. Leading governments continue to insist that others should budge…
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US, Brazil Agree To Cooperate On Biofuels - But Leave Out Tariffs
The US and Brazil — the world’s two top ethanol producers — on 9 March agreed to advance cooperation on the research and development of biofuels. However, they did not agree on any changes to the substantial tariffs that Brazilian ethanol producers currently face in the US market. On the sidelines of US President George W.…
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Agreement Eludes US And Korea In FTA Talks, Despite Progress
South Korea and the US failed to conclude a free trade agreement during their final scheduled round of negotiations from 8-12 March in Seoul, although officials report substantial progress. It is still not clear whether the two sides will manage to reach a deal in time for Washington’s 31 March deadline. US agriculture negotiators are staying…
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WTO Body Debates Public, Private Food Safety Standards
The debate on the pros and cons of private-sector standards related to food safety continues at the WTO. With regard to government standards and schemes, Members recently discussed, among others, Australia’s stringent new risk management measures on imported shrimp. Meeting in both formal and informal settings at the beginning of March, the Committee on Sanitary and…
- In Brief
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In Brief
THAI GOVERNMENT EXPLAINS COMPULSORY LICENCE POLICY ON PATENTED DRUGS Thailand’s government on 8 March released a report elucidating why it recently decided to suspend patent protections on three drugs by issuing compulsory licences for the production and import of generic versions of them. The explanation follows much debate about the process by which Bangkok granted the licences…
- 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 : 15-20 March 2007 15-16 March, Geneva, Switzerland. UNCTAD EXPERT GROUP MEETING ON THE DEVELOPMENT IMPLICATIONS OF REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS (RTAs) AND…
- Resources
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Resources
A FARM BILL FOR THE WORLD & A FARM BILL FOR AMERICA. Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), March 2007. These are the first two briefs in a series that will continue throughout the year on the US 2007 Farm Bill. The IATP analyses what is at stake for all of us- from farmers…