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All Eyes on US Ahead of High-Level Doha Meeting
The Doha Round of global trade talks has been moribund for almost two years. In an attempt to revive it, different groups of WTO members are meeting to explore possible ways forward. Senior officials from five influential member governments - the US, the EU, China, Brazil, and India - met in Paris in late April to…
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EU Farm Subsidies More Skewed than Ever: Report
More than 1,200 beneficiaries of European farm aid received payments worth at least €1 million last year, according to recent analysis from farmsubsidy.org, a transparency group. Sugar processing companies topped the list of recipients, while producers in France were granted the highest total levels of support. All of those payments were made through the European Union’s…
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WIPO Committee Increases Pace of Talks on Traditional Knowledge
The 16th session of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) witnessed agreement on the establishment of Inter-sessional Working Groups (IWGs). With this matter resolved, delegates hoped to accelerate the committee’s substantive work, which aims to produce a draft legal…
- In Brief
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US Senators Unveil Climate Bill with ‘Carbon Tariff’ Provision
United States Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman introduced new draft climate legislation on Wednesday, ten months after the House of Representatives passed its own bill to cut US emissions of greenhouse gases. Senators Kerry, a Democrat, and Lieberman, an Independent, are the chief sponsors of the nearly 1,000-page piece of legislation, which aims to bolster…
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EU, Mercosur Set to Restart Stalled Trade Talks
The European Union and the Mercosur bloc of South American countries will re-open stalled negotiations toward a free trade agreement, officials said last week. The two sides hope to conclude the talks before the end of the year. “Negotiations such as these are challenging but the moment is right to take a fresh look at the…
- WTO in Brief
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Brazil, India Challenge Generic Drug Detentions
After months of speculation, Brazil and India have launched a WTO dispute against the EU and the Netherlands over the seizure of generic drugs in transit, the Brazilian Mission to the WTO announced on Wednesday. The two complainant countries have requested consultations with the EU and the Netherlands, the first step in the WTO’s dispute settlement…
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WTO Fisheries Talks Focus on Special Treatment for Poor Countries
Establishing appropriate levels of special and differential treatment (S&DT) for developing country fisheries subsidies monopolised the agenda as negotiators met at the WTO from 3 to 7 May. The S&DT focus was pushed primarily by an in-depth analysis from WWF of a negotiating proposal tabled by Brazil, China, India, and Mexico on 11 February (TN/RL/GEN/163). The…
- Events
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Events
17-19 May, New York City, United States. FIRST PREPARATORY COMMITTEE MEETING FOR THE UN CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. This will be a preparatory meeting for the UN Conference on Sustainable Development that will be held in Brazil in 2012. Agenda items for the meeting include the election of officers, consideration of the draft rules of…
- Resources
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Resources
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IMPACTS OF INVESTMENT INCENTIVES: A CASE STUDY OF MALAWI’S TOURISM SECTOR. By Nelson Nskiu and Sheila Kiratu. Trade Knowledge Network, IISD, 2009. Many countries have policies to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) and use policy instruments such as investment incentives to enable FDI relationships. While the efficacy of incentives as a determinant for…