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Members Divided Over Transparency, Definition At WTO Investment Talks
At the first substantive session of the WTO’s Working Group on Investment since the November 2001 Doha Ministerial, Members on 18-19 April addressed the issues of ‘transparency’ and ’scope and definition’ in the context of preparing for possible negotiations on investment rules under the Doha mandate. Significant divergences emerged between industrialised countries and…
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EC Proposal Under Scrutiny In DSU Negotiations
At a 16 April special (negotiating) session of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), Members formally commenced negotiations "on improvements and clarifications" of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) as mandated by the Doha Declaration in paragraph 30. Addressing the EC’s call for more transparency in the WTO dispute settlement mechanism as put forward in its tabled…
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GATS: Leaked EC Draft Requests Bring Mixed Reactions
On 16 April, a storm of protest amongst civil society groups erupted after a set of confidential draft "requests" prepared by the European Commission were leaked to the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) — which subsequently made the EC documents publicly available on its GATSwatch website (see http://www.gatswatch.org/requests-offers.html). NGOs…
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CBD Adopts Guidelines On Access To Genetic Resources And Alien Species
Delegates at the Sixth Conference of the Parties (COP-6) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) on 7-19 April in The Hague, The Netherlands, adopted the first-ever international guidelines on access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing (ABS). The meeting furthermore adopted Guiding Principles on alien species despite a last- minute objection by Australia based on…
- In Brief
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Britain And Indonesia Sign Agreement Addressing Trade In Illegal Timber
In an agreement signed on 18 April by British Environment Minister Michael Meacher and Indonesian Minister of Forestry Dr. Muhammad Prakosa, Britain and Indonesia agreed to take action to combat trade in illegal timber between the two countries. The deal commits Britain to revising its current laws, with the goal of eliminating imports of timber…
- WTO in Brief
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September or October Suggested Dates for 2003 WTO Ministerial Meeting
According to a note circulated to trade diplomats in Geneva the week of April 8-12, the WTO’s next ministerial meeting will take place in September or October of 2003, as per the recommendations of Mexico, host of the next (fifth) Ministerial Conference. The venue of the meeting has not been selected, although the choice has…
- 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: 23-30 April 22-23 April, Singapore: ASIA BIO-FUELS 2002 CONFERENCE. The conference will address what it takes to develop successful bio-fuels projects in Asia. Highlights include detailed…
- Resources
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Resources
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 Matteo Rizzolli, mrizzolli@ictsd.ch). CONTROLLING THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ILLEGALLY LOGGED TIMBER…