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Millions Pledged In Technical Assistance Present New Challenges To WTO
A flood of money emanating from an 11 March pledging conference for technical assistance for developing countries at the WTO has presented the organisation with a strange problem: how to effectively deploy the funds? Overall, developed countries pledged close to $US 18 million towards the Doha Development Trust…
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Divisive Debate Over Trips And Public Health Continues In TRIPS Council
Intellectual property rights (IPRs) and public health again divided Members at the Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) during its first meeting after Doha on 5-7 March, leaving the US virtually isolated against the EU and developing countries. Members also debated the extension of geographical…
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Regional Integration Efforts Urged at African Development Forum
The Third African Development Forum (ADF III) concluded on 8 March after a week of discussion on how to promote economic and political integration on the continent. Delegates came out of the meeting with a bold agenda for the continent’s policy makers to follow if they are to…
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Fisheries Subsidies Remain Within General Context Of Subsidies Talks At WTO
FISHERIES SUBSIDIES REMAIN WITHIN GENERAL CONTEXT OF SUBSIDIES TALKS AT WTO In the first formal meeting of the WTO Negotiation Group on Rules, on 11 March, Chair Timothy Groser of New Zealand announced that for "practical considerations" and without implying any political views whatsoever, he would be grouping topics…
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Codex Task Force Adopts Standards For Biotech Food
The Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived From Biotechnology at its third meeting in Yokohama, Japan, on 4-8 March adopted principles for risk analysis and guidelines for conducting safety assessments of foods derived from biotechnology. Delegates agreed to include the concept of "traceability" in the standards (ie a system for tracing all foods and food…
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DSB: US Steel-Tariff Plan Faces Fierce Criticism
Following the Bush administration’s decision last week to raise tariffs up to 30 percent over a range of steel products, a number of WTO Members have voiced serious concern over the US plan, arguing that it is a clear violation of WTO rules. Interest groups among several countries, including Canada, Venezuela, the EC and Brazil are…
- In Brief
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In Brief
US, CHINA REACH DEAL ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED SOYBEAN IMPORTS On 7 March, USTR Chief Agricultural Trade Negotiator Allen Johnson announced that the US had reached an interim agreement with China that will allow imports into China of genetically modified soybeans and other agricultural products from the US. Earlier this…
- WTO in Brief
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WTO In Brief
WORKING GROUP ON TECH TRANSFER DISCUSSES WORK PLAN At the first informal meeting of the newly-established WTO Working Group on Trade and Transfer of Technology on 6 March, delegates primarily discussed how to structure their work. As instructed in the Doha Ministerial Declaration, the Working Groups will examine the…
- Events
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Events
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: 12-19 March 11-12 March, Vancouver, BC, Canada: FORUM ON THE SOUND MANAGEMENT OF POPs. The forum is designed to examine current themes and management issues for…
- 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). GATT/WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PRACTICE RELATING TO GATT ARTICLE…