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Political Paralysis Poisons WTO Agriculture Talks
Paralysis at the political level continues to stymie attempts to move forward in the WTO Doha talks on farm trade, sources said this week, after a meeting on the controversial “special safeguard mechanism” for developing countries produced no further progress. “We agreed that we’re not going anywhere” said one delegate familiar with the small-group discussion that…
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Officials Seek to Ease Fears of Privacy Violations under ACTA
Although controversy continues to dog a potential multi-country agreement on strengthening intellectual property enforcement, government negotiators made progress towards an accord during talks in Lucerne, Switzerland last week, and reaffirmed their commitment to work to conclude a deal as soon as possible in 2010. The prospective “Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement” has attracted controversy…
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WTO Environmental Goods Talks Focus on Climate
The WTO’s negotiations to open up trade in environmental goods and services saw solid progress last week, according to sources with knowledge of the 30 June and 1 July special session of the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE-SS). Progress was stimulated by a new proposal from Qatar that identifies specific tariff lines for environmental goods,…
- In Brief
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Argentine Import Ban Complicates EU, Mercosur Talks
Allegations of an Argentine import ban against EU food products are continuing to generate tension between the European Union and Mercosur, South America’s largest trade bloc. The two parties met last week in Buenos Aires to discuss a potential EU-Mercosur trade pact, despite the opposition of some EU member states. Argentina is currently under fire for…
- WTO in Brief
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WTO Rules on EU Aircraft Subsidies; Boeing Claims Victory
Several of the European Union’s subsidies to aircraft maker Airbus violate world trade rules and should be removed, a WTO dispute settlement panel concluded last week. In a 1,200-page final ruling that was released to the public on 30 June, the panel backed several points put forward in the initial complaint, which was filed by the…
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Private Standards, Mediation Cause Conflict at WTO Committee Meeting
WTO delegates failed to find common ground on multiple issues during the latest meeting of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Committee on 29-30 June. The issue of private sector standards in food safety and animal health was one of the major areas of disagreement, with delegates split on the committee’s legal authority to even…
- Vacancies
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Vacancy: ICTSD
ICTSD is looking for journalists with a background in international trade policy and sustainable development, along with written/electronic journalism experience. ICTSD’s Periodicals Team releases regular publications in six different languages, delivered both electronically and in print. The combined subscription base of ICTSD’s periodicals currently amounts to 65,000 separate subscriptions.…
- Events
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Events
Coming up this week 9 July, Hong Kong, China. IMF GLOBAL ECONOMIC OUTLOOK. The Asia Society will be hosting a luncheon presentation, featuring Olivier Blanchard, Economic Counselor and Director of the Research Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The presentation will focus on the IMF’s world economy update report, which it released in January.…
- Resources
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Resources
CARBON CONCERNS: HOW STANDARDS AND LABELLING INITIATIVES MUST NOT LIMIT AGRICULTURAL TRADE FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. By James Macgregor, ICTSD, May 2010. This paper examines the current status of carbon labelling initiatives in the food industry. It looks at how embedded carbon is likely to be marketed and how this phenomenon may affect agricultural trade from…