-
WTO Ministerial Lifts Hopes for Doha, but Scepticism Lingers
The WTO’s seventh ministerial conference, which ran from 30 November to 2 December, largely met expectations, trade delegates said this week. But the meeting, which was billed as a no-surprises ‘housekeeping’ exercise, also produced a somewhat unexpected political push for the WTO’s Doha Round trade talks. “It was a worthwhile ministerial insofar as it showed that…
-
Ongoing Tropical Products Talks Could Slip Up Banana Deal
The WTO has included the issue of trade in bananas on the agenda of next Thursday’s General Council meeting, trade sources said, with the EU and Latin American countries apparently poised to sign an accord on tariff cuts for the controversial fruit. However, ongoing talks on other tropical products could still slip up the deal,…
-
Copenhagen Talks: What to Expect on Trade and Climate
The eye of the world is focused on Copenhagen, Denmark, where a massive flurry of delegates and heads of state are convening under cold, grey skies to try to forge progress in the fight to cut the world’s emissions of climate-warming gases. Two years ago, the same 192 countries that are now gathered in Copenhagen met…
-
Economists Call for End to Direct Payments to EU Farmers
A prominent group of European agricultural economists is calling for “radical” changes to the European Union’s farm support policies, including the ultimate elimination of all direct payments to the region’s agriculture producers. In a declaration released last month, the economists argued that the Single Farm Payment - the cornerstone of the bloc’s Common Agricultural…
- Special Section
-
Note to Subscribers: ICTSD Annual Survey
ICTSD, the publisher of Bridges Weekly, is carrying out its annual impact evaluations in order to enable the organisation to set priorities and improve its products and services in the coming year. This year’s survey focuses particularly on trade and climate change. Your input will help the organisation better understand how ICTSD can effectively contribute to…
- WTO in Brief
-
Talks on Special Safeguard Mechanism Due Tomorrow
WTO delegates gathering tomorrow at an informal negotiating session on agriculture are expected to share simulations of the practical working of the Special Safeguard Mechanism. The SSM, as officials call it, is a proposed new tool that would allow developing countries to levy temporary additional tariffs in the event of a sudden surge in import…
- Events
-
Events
7-18 December, Copenhagen, Denmark. TRADE AND CLIMATE CHANGE EVENTS IN COPENHAGEN. This series of events, organised by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), are taking place on the sidelines of the official negotiations at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties. Topics that will be covered include the diffusion of climate-friendly technology, competitiveness,…
- Resources
-
Resources
CAPPING UNUSUALLY HIGH TARIFFS: THE WTO DOHA ROUND AND ‘TARIFF PEAKS’. The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, November 2009. This information note examines the proposed tariff cap and what this would mean for countries with extremely high tariffs. The tariff peaks of Iceland, Japan, Norway and Switzerland are examined in closer detail. For…