-
BRICs Show New Influence at G20 Finance Ministers Meeting
Emerging economies displayed a new level clout at a gathering of finance ministers from the Group of 20 old and new economic powers over the weekend, winning pledges for increased funding from international financial institutions, as well as a greater say in how those institutions are run. The G20 ministers, whose nations together represent roughly 85…
-
US, EU, Quizzed on Farm Subsidies, Other Trade Measures
The latest US farm bill and the reintroduction of EU export subsidies were among the controversial issues discussed at a 12 March meeting of the WTO’s regular agriculture committee. Officials took advantage of the deadlock in the Doha Round talks to scrutinise the trade measures that countries must notify regularly to the WTO, trade sources…
-
Trade Issues Emerge as Climate Policy Hits US Agenda
With a new administration in power and a major international conference on the horizon, climate change policy has re-emerged on the agenda in the US Congress. But as the much-anticipated issue takes centre stage, some politicians are already calling for trade barriers to help US industry cope with anticipated challenges if a cap-and-trade scheme is…
- In Brief
-
World Bank Warns of ‘Worrisome’ Rise in Protectionism
Seventeen of the 20 nations that comprise the G20 group of economic powers have enacted restrictive trade measures since they made a joint pledge to resist such policies in November of last year, a report from the World Bank concluded this week. Counting back from the onset of the financial crisis in September, countries around the…
-
Obama Administration Denies Request to Release ACTA Docs
Barack Obama’s administration has refused to make public a series of documents related to secretive international negotiations on an intellectual property rights enforcement treaty, citing national security concerns. The documents at issue include government proposals for the content of the prospective Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, which is currently under negotiation by a group of mostly…
-
EU, South Korea Appear Set to Announce FTA Next Month
The EU and South Korea are “very close” to concluding a free trade deal, a Korean official said Monday. Officials are expected to wrap up any outstanding issues at an eighth round of trade negotiations, to be held in Seoul next week. An announcement of the conclusion of the deal is expected to come on…
-
Brazil’s Lula Presses Obama on Doha
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva paid a visit to the White House on Saturday, making him the first Latin American head of state to meet with US President Barack Obama in Washington. The two leaders discussed the global financial crisis and ongoing world trade talks at the WTO, with Lula leaning on his…
- WTO in Brief
-
Chair of WTO Farm Talks is Set to Leave Post
The chair of the Doha Round agriculture negotiations, Ambassador Crawford Falconer of New Zealand, has told negotiators that he plans to go back to his home country in April - seemingly reversing a decision he made in December to postpone his return (see Bridges Weekly, 17 December 2008, http://ictsd.net/i/news/bridgesweekly/36487/). Back in Wellington, Falconer will take…
-
Lamy Hosts Trade Finance Meeting, Will Attend G20 Summit
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy met with a high-level group of bankers and finance officials at WTO headquarters in Geneva today to assess the market for trade finance, which has been crumbling since the onset of the economic crisis. Many developing countries rely on trade finance - loans tied directly to trade transactions - to ship their…
- Events
-
Events
19-21 March, Taj Chandigarh, India. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT. This conference, conducted by the National Institute of Technology, aims to address the challenges in the emerging areas of energy and environment to achieve sustainable development. The Conference, EnviroEnergy 2009, shall provide a forum for academics, technologists, entrepreneurs and policy makers to exchange…
- Resources
-
Resources
BOOM FOR WHOM? FAMILY FARMERS SAW LOWER ON-FARM INCOME DESPITE HIGH PRICES. By Timothy A. Wise and Alicia Harvie, Global Development and Environment Institute, February 2009. According to US Department of Agriculture figures for 2008, the average farm operator household income was $86,864 in 2008, 27% higher than in 2003. However, this paper illustrates how…