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Top-Down Or Bottom-Up? Members Deliberate How To Address WTO-MEA Relationship
At the third meeting of the special (negotiating) session of the WTO Committee on Environment (CTE) on 10-11 October, WTO Members continued to disagree on how to examine the relationship between the WTO and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). Major discussions took place over whether Members should adopt a ‘top-down’ approach, such as that favoured by…
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CTD Looks At Technical Assistance For 2003
On 8 and 9 October, the 42nd session of the WTO’s Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) met to address, inter alia, the planning of technical assistance for 2003, the ongoing work on the participation of developing countries in world trade, and a review of the flexibilities for developing countries under GATT 94 Article XVIII…
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EU Agriculture Ministers Fail To Finalise GMO Rules
The European Council of Agricultural Ministers at its 14-16 October meeting failed to reach agreement on the European Commission’s proposed labelling and traceability regulations for genetically modified organisms (GMOs), instead postponing the debate to next month’s Council meeting. This comes at a time when the US is reported to have stepped up pressure on the…
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WTO Environment Committee Stumped On Labelling
Meeting for 2002’s last session of the regular WTO Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) on 8-9 October, Member delegates remained far from agreement over how to address labelling issues. Some little progress was made on the mandate of identifying and debating environmental aspects of ongoing trade negotiations to reflect sustainable development, but Members continued…
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Developing Countries Contribute Food For Thought In Dispute Settlement Negotiations
At a meeting of the special (negotiating) session of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on 14 October, a number of new proposals for review of the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) were received from developing countries, bringing new ideas to the table (see BRIDGES Weekly, 18 September 2002). Negotiations on improvement and clarifications to the…
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WTO Members Discuss WTO's Role And Functioning At Weekend Retreat
At an 11-12 "retreat for WTO permanent representatives" organised by General Council Chair Ambassador Sergio Marchi, Canada, some 100 developing and developed country Ambassadors convened during the weekend to informally address themes such as "International Trade Relations And The Role Of The WTO", "The WTO Agenda & Governance" and "The WTO And The World We…
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WTO Resources
REVISED TIMELINE TO THE CANCÚN MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE. The WTO last week released the principal dates in the revised timeline that WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi, as chairperson of the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC), circulated to WTO Members for the 3-4 October 2002 TNC meeting (see BRIDGES Weekly, 9 October 2002). It is intended to help focus…
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Concerns Raised Over New US Agriculture Department Labelling Guidelines
FAO TO LAUNCH AGRICULTURE STRATEGY FOR AFRICA AMIDST DECLINING COMMODITY PRICES On 11 October, UN Food and Agriculture Organization Director Jacques Diouf announced during a speech in Lomé, Togo that the FAO had begun work on an agricultural development strategy for Africa. Diouf said that food security programs would soon begin in several African countries,…
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Macedonia Soon To Become WTO's Number 145
EU RECEIVES ACP SUPPORT AGAINST BRAZIL-AUSTRALIA SUGAR SUBSIDY CASE The European Union has found the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific group) to be an ally in the consultative phase of a brewing dispute with Brazil and Australia over European sugar subsidies (see BRIDGES Weekly, 2 October 2002). Four ACP countries with preferential access to the…
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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 resources@ictsd.ch. Submissions of publications to ICTSD’s documentation centre would also be welcomed (see mailing address below). TURNING THE TIDE ON FISHING SUBSIDIES: CAN THE WTO PLAY…