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2010 Shaping Up as a Bad Year for Doha Deal, Climate Talks
2010 was the year in which two long-running sets of global negotiations were supposed to finally end in agreement: the WTO’s Doha Round of trade talks and multilateral negotiations to secure a deal to curb emissions of greenhouse gases. But fewer than 10 weeks into the year, officials involved in both sets of talks are…
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Brazil Releases List of US Goods for Retaliation in Cotton Dispute
Brazil has announced that it will impose retaliatory tariffs worth US$591 million on 102 US products. The move is part of Brazil’s retaliation against Washington for failing to bring its cotton subsidies into compliance with WTO rules. The list of US goods exports, which was made public and notified to the WTO on Monday, mainly comprises…
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G20 Countries Largely Resisting Protectionism: Report
The world’s biggest economies introduced fewer measures to restrict trade flows in late 2009 and early 2010 than in the preceding year, according to a new report on trade and investment protectionism from the WTO, the United Nations, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). But despite the “relatively muted” trade and investment policy…
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Doha Limbo Stymies Progress on Ag Market Access
A crisis of political leadership has undermined any hopes of rapid progress in the WTO’s Doha Round of trade talks, negotiators said - despite a raft of new submissions from developing countries on ways to safeguard their domestic producers from import surges and price drops. Several Geneva-based delegates who spoke to Bridges this week acknowledged that…
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TRIPS Council Debates Access to Medicines, Biodiversity
Delegates discussed long-standing concerns about public health and biodiversity at a 2 March meeting of the Council of the WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). At the close of the one-day session, they expressed support for continued review of a six-year-old initiative intended to help poor countries access affordable medicines. TRIPS…
- In Brief
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US Senator’s Remarks Cast Doubt on Cap-and-Trade
The shape of potential US climate and energy legislation remains uncertain, as remarks by influential lawmakers have called into question whether a future Senate bill will include a cap-and-trade system for curbing greenhouse gas emissions. “Cap-and-trade is dead,” Senator Lindsey Graham told a group of environmental leaders in a private meeting last week, the Washington Post…
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Tobacco Company Files Claim against Uruguay over Labelling Laws
Measures taken by Uruguay to deter smokers have drawn a legal challenge by one of the world’s largest tobacco companies under a treaty designed to protect foreign investors. Philip Morris, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes, objects to three recent regulations enacted by Uruguay that restrict the branding that can be featured on cigarette packages. Under Uruguayan…
- Events
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Events
15-17 March, Amsterdam, Netherlands. WORLD BIOFUELS MARKETS. Over 230 leaders of the biofuels industry will share their expertise on all aspects of the biofuels value chain during three days of interactive conference sessions. In addition, time will be provided for networking. Sessions will be held on: Biofuels and Developing Countries; Biofuels Standards; Biofuels, Downstream and…
- Resources
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Resources
BEYOND BARRIERS: THE GENDER IMPLICATIONS OF TRADE LIBERALIZATION. Trade Knowledge Network, 2010. Although trade can be a catalyst for greater gender equality, the effects of trade liberalisation and economic globalisation on women have been mixed. While trade has provided new livelihoods and empowered women, the benefits that women have gained from trade liberalisation have often…