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Delhi Meeting ‘Breaks Impasse’ in Doha Talks
First politics, then substance, seems to be the order of the day for the WTO’s Doha Round of global trade talks. A meeting of trade ministers from more than 30 countries held in New Delhi, India last week produced a ‘unanimous’ resolve to push ahead in the negotiations, but the officials shied away from discussing…
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Trade Issues Come to the Fore in Climate Talks
Questions about how a global climate deal might impact the world economy - and specifically cross-border trade - got a new emphasis at informal, high-level climate talks in Bonn, Germany last month. Officials met from 10-14 August in an effort to inject momentum into the climate talks, which are quickly approaching a major deadline: in just…
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WTO Panel Allows Brazil to Cross-Retaliate on IP, Services in US Cotton Row
A WTO panel has cleared the way for Brazil to impose trade sanctions worth US$294.7 million - and possibly including cross-retaliation in services and intellectual property - to retaliate against the US’ failure to comply with previous WTO rulings on Washington’s cotton subsidies. The award was significantly lower than the US$4 billion in sanctions that…
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WTO Rules against Chinese Restrictions on Foreign Books, Movies, Music
Newspapers are billing it as Hollywood versus China. A WTO dispute panel in August sided with a complaint by the US, ruling against Beijing’s restrictions on the importation and distribution of foreign books, music, and movies. China requires copyrighted publications and audiovisual products - books, journals, video games, music, DVDs and the like - to be…
- In Brief
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India Signs Trade Deals with South Korea, ASEAN
India expanded its trade on two fronts by signing trade agreements with South Korea and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in August. After more than three years of negotiations, India and South Korea signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement covering trade in goods, services and investment, and international property rights. Both countries agreed…
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EU Inks Interim EPA with 4 African Nations
The European Union signed an interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar, all of which are members of the Eastern and Southern African (ESA) regional grouping, in Grand Baie, Mauritius on 29 August. Zambia and Comoros, other members of the bloc, have postponed signing to a later date, according to an…
- WTO in Brief
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US Appoints New Ambassador to WTO
Michael Punke, a Clinton-era trade official, will be the US’ new Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO, US President Barack Obama announced last week. Pending his approval by the Senate, Punke’s new position will make him Washington’s highest-ranking trade representative at WTO headquarters in Geneva. US Trade Representative Ron Kirk cheered the announcement. “Michael…
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Brazil Contests US Surcharges on Orange Juice
Brazil has launched a complaint against the US’ method of determining the extent of trade violations, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced last month. Brasilia’s complaint centres on how Washington calculates the level of anti-dumping tariffs that it imposes on imports of Brazilian orange juice. The South American country insists that the retaliatory tariffs are…
- Events
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Events
8-10 September, Rome, Italy. SECOND WORLD SEED CONFERENCE. Agriculture in a changing world needs to provide food security and economic development in the context of global challenges, such as climate change and evolving human needs by responding at the local, national and regional level. This event is aimed at policy makers, government officials, plant breeders,…
- Resources
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Resources
THE BIOFUEL DELUSION: THE FALLACY OF LARGE SCALE AGRO-BIOFUELS PRODUCTION. By Mario Giampietro and Kozo Mayumi (Earthscan, August 2009). Faced with the twin threats of peak oil and climate change, many governments have turned to biofuels for an answer. Yet, increasingly, the progressive implementation of this solution demonstrates that the promise of biofuels as a…