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TRIPS Council Agrees On Extensions For LDCs On Pharmaceutical Patents
WTO Members at the 25-27 June meeting of the Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) adopted a decision to extend the period until 2016 during which least-developed countries (LDCs) do not have to provide patent protection for pharmaceutical products. They furthermore agreed on a waiver…
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US Submits Gats Requests To WTO Trading Partners
The US on 1 July formally submitted to the WTO its requests for further services trade liberalisation under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), setting out its positions tailored for each of its 142 fellow WTO Members states on how to bring down barriers in international…
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Busy Days For Development Committee At WTO
On 2 July, WTO delegates concluded the last of three meetings in two days for various sessions of the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) that addressed a wide range of issues of importance to developing countries. The 2 July formal special session of the CTD was preceded…
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WTO Committees Scrutinise GMO Regulations And EU Wine Labelling
Much attention at the formal meeting of the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) on 20-21 June focused on various forthcoming labelling schemes of the EC, including for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and wines. Labelling furthermore featured on the agenda of the 20 June informal meeting of the TBT Committee, where the…
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WTO Members Divided Over Geographical Indications
The issue of geographical indications was discussed at both the regular (25-27 June) and special (28 June) sessions of the Council for Trade- related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs). While Members addressed the extension of additional geographical indications (GI) protection to products other than wines and spirits during the regular session, they continued…
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ACP Ministers Call For Greater EU Assistance
On 28 June, delegates from the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries’ Council of Ministers concluded their 2-day meeting in the Dominican Republic and requested a new development aid package from the EU. The ACP demands come at a time when negotiations for reciprocal trade agreements between the EU and the ACP…
- In Brief
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In Brief
EU RATIFIES BIOSAFETY PROTOCOL On 25 June, the EU became the 20th party to ratify the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety out of the 110 that have signed it so far. According to the European Commission, ratification of the Cartagena Protocol, which comes only a month after the EU’s…
- WTO in Brief
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WTO In Brief
NEW SUBMISSION ON NEGOTIATING PROCESS FOR MINISTERIAL CONFERENCES On 28 June, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong-China, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and Switzerland submitted a communication to the General Council on the preparatory and negotiating processes for Ministerial Conferences. The paper (see WT/GC/W/477 at http://docsonline.wto.org/gen_search.asp) draws upon the…
- 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: 3-9 July 3-5 July, Geneva, Switzerland: FOURTH SESSION OF THE UNCTAD INTERGOVERNMENTAL GROUP OF EXPERTS ON COMPETITION LAW AND POLICY. Convening under the auspices of…
- 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 (send to resources@ictsd.ch). IMPLICATIONS OF…