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Mexico Slaps Tariffs on US Goods in Trucking Spat; Obama Vows Swift Response
Mexico has imposed retaliatory tariffs on US$ 2.4 billion worth of US exports in response to Washington’s recent termination of a pilot programme that allowed Mexican long-haul trucks to cross into US territory. The tariffs took effect 19 March, just one day after Mexico City announced the measures. “We believe the United States is wrong in…
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While Economic Turmoil Grabs Headlines, Food Crisis lingers
The combined effects of the financial crisis, increased protectionist policies, continued rich country subsidies, and climate-induced changes in patterns of agricultural production are likely to hit developing countries hardest. Thanks to the confluence of these factors, a long-term solution to the global food crisis has not been reached, experts agreed at two recent summits on agriculture. With…
- In Brief
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EU, US Trade Reps Vow to Work toward Doha Deal
The top trade officials from the EU and the US vowed last week to fend off protectionism and work to conclude a world trade deal at the WTO “as soon as possible.” EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton was in Washington on Thursday to pay a visit to new US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, who was officially…
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Ashton, EU Parliament Make New Push on EPAs
The EU has demonstrated renewed vigour in its push to ink Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, with a flurry of activity at the European Parliament. On 25 March, the European Parliament voted to support an interim EPA with Côte d’Ivoire. The same day, European lawmakers also passed resolutions affirming their…
- WTO in Brief
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World Trade Will Drop 9% in 2009: WTO
World trade flows will fall by roughly 9 percent this year – the biggest drop in more than 60 years – thanks to the ongoing economic downturn, the WTO said Monday. Global trade grew by just 2 percent in 2008, not the 4.5 percent that was forecasted a year ago, the WTO said, attributing the over-estimation…
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China, US Accept Mixed Verdict in Piracy Dispute
China and the US have officially accepted a WTO ruling in a piracy dispute that Washington launched against Beijing nearly two years ago. Speaking at a meeting of the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body on 20 March, both countries indicated that they would not appeal the decision. The final ruling in the case, which was released in…
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EU Reports Drop in Trade-Distorting Payments, but Farm Support Still High
New figures that the EU has recently submitted to the WTO show a dramatic fall in the overall trade-distorting support that the bloc provides. However, as minimally trade-distorting ‘green box’ payments have increased by a similar amount, total support remains largely unchanged. Green box subsidies, which are meant to cover payments that cause not more than…
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NAMA Committee Takes up Non-Tariff Barriers
The WTO committee that deals with industrial goods zeroed in on non-tariff barriers to trade, or NTBs, at its most recent meeting on 19 March. Chief on the agenda was an EU proposal to create a speedier mechanism for resolving disputes over NTBs, which include measures such as import licences, packaging and labelling standards, or…
- Events
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Events
If you would like to submit an event, please email bridges_weekly@ictsd.ch. Coming up: 19-25 March 26-27 March 2009, Cape Town, South Africa. THIRD ANNUAL AFRICA TRADE AND INVESTMENT CONFERENCE. Exporta’s 3rd Annual Africa Trade & Investment Conference is an international event attended by the senior decision-makers of the trade and export industry. With a consistent year-on-year…
- Resources
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Resources
DISTORTIONS TO AGRICULTURE INCENTIVES IN AFRICA. By The World Bank, Edited by Kym Anderson and William A. Masters, March 2009. This publication provides an overview of the evolution of distortions to agricultural incentives caused by price and trade policies in the Arab Republic of Egypt plus 20 countries that account for about of 90 percent…