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Singapore 'Mini-Ministerial' Moves Doha Agenda Forward
Following up after a similar meeting in Mexico in August (see BRIDGES Weekly, 11 September 2001; ), trade ministers from 22 major WTO Members on 13-14 October held what US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Zoellick called a "mini-ministerial" in Singapore to advance preparations for the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference, currently scheduled officially for Doha, Qatar,…
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General Council Takes On DSU Review, Iran Accession
At a time when feverish preparations for the 4th Ministerial Conference keep WTO Members’ delegates busy, the WTO General Council met on 10 October to address, inter alia, review of the Dispute Settlement Understanding, attendance of observers from intergovernmental organisations at the Ministerial Conference, and Iran’s accession process. Dispute Settlement review Despite a commitment…
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LDCs Strive To Have Their Voices Heard
The 26th session of the WTO Sub-Committee on Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) met on 15 October for their final meeting before the Fourth Ministerial Conference on 9-13 November, currently scheduled for Qatar. The agenda for the meeting encompassed a number of follow-ups and tabling of declarations from other LDC meetings. It covered the High Level Meeting on…
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Prior Informed Consent Advances Towards Full Convention Status
From 8-12 October, delegates from over 110 countries gathered at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome to continue negotiating the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (PIC). According to observers, the PIC Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (PIC-INC-8) worked diligently throughout the week…
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GATS: Financial Services Last But Not Least In Services Week
WTO Members concluded the 2-12 October services cluster, or Services Week, with several meetings on financial services. During the third and final day of the Council for Trade in Services’ (CTS) negotiating sessions (see BRIDGES Weekly, 2 October 2001), delegates discussed aspects of negotiating proposals on financial services.Also, the Committee on Trade in Financial Services…
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EU Lends Support To New African Initiative
Several African leaders met in Brussels on 10 October to hold talks with European Union (EU) officials on an economic recovery programme for the continent entitled the ‘New Africa Initiative’ (NAI). The one- day meeting resulted in support from the EU, which has committed to establish a common group on infrastructure in the framework of…
- In Brief
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IN BRIEF
EU TOP AG OFFICIAL QUESTIONS NEW US FARM BILL. Last week, EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries, Franz Fischler criticised the US for its new farm policy, reacting to the adoption of a new farm bill by the US House of Representatives on 5 October, which provides for a major expansion of federal…
- WTO in Brief
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WTO In Brief
CI SAYS GATS AND AOA NOT PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. On 16 October, Consumers International (CI), a global pact of more than 260 consumer organisations in some 120 countries, published the findings of its study on liberalisation of agriculture and services trade, concluding that the WTO’s Agreements on agriculture (AoA)…
- Events
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Events
For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable development, please refer to ICTSD’s web calendar at: http://www.ictsd.org/cal/index.htm. Coming Up This Week 15-17 October, Alexandria, Egypt: BIOTECHNOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: VOICES OF THE SOUTH AND THE NORTH. An international conference on biotech and sustainable development co-sponsored by the Government of Egypt…
- Resources
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RESORCES
If you have a relevant resource (books, papers, bulletins, etc.) you would like to see announced in this section, please forward a copy for review by the BRIDGES staff to Hugo Cameron, hcameron@ictsd.ch. Submissions of publications to ICTSD’s documentation centre would also be welcome (contact Marc Galvin, mgal…@ictsd.ch). ICTSD Publication The September edition of BRIDGES Between Trade…