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With No Doha Conclusion in Sight, WTO Considers How to Proceed
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy announced on Friday that there will be no conclusion to the Doha Round of trade talks before the end of the year, making this the second major setback for the round in fewer than six months. Although some had feared that the Round would soon go into hibernation as administrations change in…
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ASEAN Signs Charter, Trade Deals in Move toward Deeper Integration
The Association of South East Asian Nations, or ASEAN, made significant progress this week towards achieving an integrated regional community, similar to that of the EU, with the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter and the inking of three trade pacts on trade in goods, investment and services. The inaugural ASEAN Coordinating Council convened alongside…
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Climate Talks in Poznan Meet Low Expectations
Ministers and officials from 189 countries wrapped up climate change discussions in the early morning hours of 13 December having made unexpected progress on the terms of the UN Adaptation Fund and marginal movement towards an agreement on technology transfer. Nevertheless, many observers criticised the meeting for yielding exactly what was expected going in: very…
- In Brief
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US Trade Experts Offer Recommendations to Obama
The United States should “recalibrate” its stance on trade, strengthen domestic social programmes, and take the lead in international trade negotiations, a group of 22 bipartisan trade policy experts wrote in a recent memo to US President-elect Barack Obama and the members of the next session of Congress. Presenting “a new trade policy for the United…
- WTO in Brief
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Falconer to Remain in Geneva as Chair of WTO Ag Talks
The chair of the WTO’s agriculture trade talks, New Zealand’s Crawford Falconer, has been invited to stay on in Geneva in a ‘special role’ as Ambassador to the WTO Doha negotiations, despite the end of his official term this December, the New Zealand Government announced on Tuesday. Falconer had been due to return to Wellington at…
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WTO Appellate Body Rejects China’s Auto Parts Appeal
The WTO’s Appellate Body upheld an earlier dispute panel ruling against China in an on-going battle with Canada, the EU and the US over auto part tariffs, the WTO announced on Monday. The seven-member Appellate Body recommended that China bring its import duties on foreign auto parts into “conformity with its [WTO] obligations.” Beijing now has…
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WTO Criticises High Farm Support in Switzerland, Liechtenstein
Switzerland and Liechtenstein, two of the world’s wealthiest countries, have enjoyed solid economic growth over the past four years but should cut their subsidies and tariffs in the agriculture sector to further benefit consumers, a WTO review of the countries’ trade policies concluded this week. External trade is the lifeblood of both economies: their ratios of…
- Events
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Events
Coming up: 18-24 December 19-20 December, Paris, France. SIXTH WORLD FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: PRIORITIES, FINANCING, GOVERNANCE. Launched in 2003, the Global Sustainability Forum provides an annual meeting for decision-makers and managers from the worlds of business, politics, education and the non-profit sector in the French-speaking world, with strong links to Asia, the US and Latin…
- Resources
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Resources
THE IMPLEMENTATION GAME: THE TRIPS AGREEMENT AND THE GLOBAL POLITICS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY REFORM IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. By Carolyn Deere, Oxford University Press, December 2008. The ‘Implementation Game’ is the first book-length study of the politics surrounding the implementation of the World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). It seeks…