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EU Commissioners to Consider Energy Tax Overhaul
The European Union is set to consider a blanket energy tax that could make renewable fuels cheaper than traditional sources of energy. News of the potential policy shift broke last week when Reuters news agency obtained a draft European Commission document that outlines the proposed changes. The proposed new tax, which would range from €4 to…
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UNITAID Launches Patent Pool for HIV/AIDS Drugs
A “patent pool” that promises to spur innovation and lower costs for state-of-the-art HIV/AIDS treatment took a big step closer to becoming a reality on Tuesday, with a crucial procedural decision that sets up an entity that can negotiate with the makers of key drugs to secure access to their intellectual property. After months of negotiations,…
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WTO Delegates Perform Cotton ‘Ritual’
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy told trade delegates in a fax on 12 May that cotton has become a “litmus test” for the “development dimension” of the Doha Round. At a recent review of the issue’s standing in WTO talks, some countries, such as Tanzania, alleged that no progress has been made since 2005. Leonce Kone, the…
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APEC Trade Ministers Pledge Firm Commitment to Doha
Trade ministers and other officials from 21 countries around the Pacific Rim gathered in Sapporo, Japan last week for the annual gathering of high-ranking trade officials from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) countries. The ministers reiterated the bloc’s commitment to furthering the WTO’s Doha Round of global trade talks, and discussed progress on regional economic integration.…
- In Brief
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Despite Positive Atmosphere, Climate Talks Move Slowly
A constructive and upbeat tone has characterised the climate meetings taking place in Bonn, Germany from 31 May to 11 June. Climate officials are scattered across four negotiating arenas, the most prominent of which is the negotiation toward a new global climate deal. However, progress in those particular talks has been slowed by ad nauseum repetition…
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US, Developing Countries at Odds over Potential Treaty for the Blind
Delegates at the World Intellectual Property Organization continued their work to establish a new mechanism to help the visually impaired gain access to books and other reading materials at consultations on 26 and 27 May. Those discussions will be ramped up at the next meeting of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights…
- WTO in Brief
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US, EU Ink Deal to End Banana Dispute
The United States and the European Union have signed an agreement that should bring to a close their long-running dispute over trade in bananas, the Office of the US Trade Representative said on Tuesday. The announcement comes on the heels of a related pact that was signed by the EU and a group of Latin…
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WTO Reports Sharp Increase in Trade Flows for 1Q 2010
The WTO has released its trade statistics for the first quarter of 2010, showing a 27 percent jump in global exports and 24 percent increase in imports from the same period in 2009. Seventy economies were surveyed, representing approximately 90 percent of world trade, according to the WTO. These figures - released on 2 June -…
- Events
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Events
10 June, Bonn, Germany. CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR MULTI-STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AS PART OF REDD-PLUS READINESS PROCESSES. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) will be hosting a panel discussion on the contribution that multi-stakeholder participation makes to the building of REDD-plus (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries) strategies…
- Resources
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Resources
INTAL MONTHLY NEWSLETTER. By the Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean. The INTAL Monthly Newsletter disseminates news on events and regulations concerning the evolution of integration processes in the different regional blocs, and publishes bibliographic reviews, publications on integration on the web and the programming and description of INTAL and IDB…