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Brazil Plans Doha Meeting for Nov. as US Kicks Off Bilateral Talks
Brazil, the EU and the US are engaging in high-level political manoeuvres on the WTO’s Doha Round of trade talks this week, maintaining at least some of the momentum generated by the G20’s recent call for swift progress in the negotiations. Meanwhile, trade officials back at WTO headquarters in Geneva continue to plough through some…
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Milk Crisis Continues as EU Ministers Weigh Response
As dairy farmers continued to pour millions of litres of milk onto their fields in protest, agriculture ministers from across the EU met in Brussels on Monday to discuss the recent plunge in milk prices that has stunned dairy producers. The lunchtime gathering, which was called by the Swedish government, was not intended to provide…
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New Deal Could Slash Tariffs on Green Goods in OECD, China
Key players in the climate change puzzle are negotiating a deal that could eliminate duties on environmental goods in China and the 30 rich-country members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The EU and the US are spearheading the closed-door talks in an attempt persuade China to make hefty emissions reduction commitments…
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WIPO Looks to Engage on Global Challenges, but How Much Can it Deliver?
The recent annual meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) signalled the organisation’s eagerness to be at the centre stage of efforts to address challenges facing the global IP system. This year’s General Assemblies, which lasted from 22 September to 1 October, were chaired by Ambassador Alberto Dumont of Argentina. For the first time…
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Housekeeping Keeps WTO Ag Delegates Busy
Discussions on creating schedules for commitments kept WTO agriculture delegates busy during the last week of September. Although the discussions were largely technical, a cloud that has recently been hanging over the scheduling talks has lifted. Officials have “laid to rest” the idea of ‘skipping modalities’ in the farm talks, meaning that they will continue…
- In Brief
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Colombia and Peru in Final Trade Talks with EU
Colombia and Peru are close to finalising a free trade accord with the European Union, officials said after their sixth and final round of negotiations, held in Geneva from 21 to 25 September. But despite recent progress, negotiators continue to clash in the talks on agricultural market access. The EU’s banana tariffs remain a particularly…
- WTO in Brief
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Chair of IP Talks Challenges Members to ‘Move Forward’
In a Friday-morning session that was open the full WTO membership, Ambassador Trevor Clarke of Barbados, the chair of the intellectual property talks, briefed delegates on the negotiations on the establishment of a register for geographic indications for wines and spirits. The chair explained that he was trying to set an appropriate pace for the…
- Events
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Events
8 October, London, UK. IMPROVING MARKETS AND INSTITUTIONS. An African green revolution - and even significant local advances in farm productivity - requires well-functioning agricultural markets. This includes market rules and market access, institutions for finance and contracts, and action on shared land-water issues, input and output delivery. This meeting will look at how African…
- Resources
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Resources
MISADVENTURES OF THE MOST FAVORED NATIONS: CLASHING EGOS, INFLATED AMBITIONS, AND THE GREAT SHAMBLES OF THE WORLD TRADE SYSTEM. By Paul Blustein. PublicAffairs Books, 22 September 2009. In this book, financial journalist Paul Blustein tells the story of how the WTO is sliding into dysfunction- which poses a new and grave menace to globalisation itself.…