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MEA-WTO Relationship: Debate Matures, No Solution Yet
WTO Members convened on 1-2 May for a special (negotiating) session of the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE), where discussion focussed on the relationship between the WTO and so-called ’specific trade obligations’ in multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). Although the question of formal observer status has yet to be…
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TRIPS Council: GI Extension Issue Crops Up in Negotiations on Multilateral System
During its special session from 29-30 April, the Council for Trade- related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) continued negotiations on the establishment of a multilateral register of geographical indications (GIs) for wines and spirits, based on a first draft text circulated by TRIPs Council Chair Ambassador Eui-yong Chung…
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EU Puts Forward Cautious Services Offer
The EU tabled its initial services offer on 29 April, two months after a 31 March WTO deadline. According to the negotiating mandate on services that Members agreed at Doha in 2001, "participants shall submit initial requests for specific commitments by 30 June 2002 and initial offers by 31…
- In Brief
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In Brief
AFRICAN COUNTRIES CALL FOR END TO COTTON SUBSIDIES Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso and Chad, on behalf of West and Central African countries, recently circulated a WTO proposal on the complete elimination of cotton subsidies. The countries highlighted this issue as a potential "global deal," calling for a decision at the upcoming WTO Ministerial to be held…
- WTO in Brief
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Anti-Dumping Probes On The Decline
The WTO Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices met from 1-2 May to review Members’ anti-dumping (AD) legislation, and the Secretariat released information on WTO Members’ use of AD investigations. The Committee reviewed the legislation from China, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, the EC, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. The US and Korea raised…
- 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. If you would like to submit an event, please email events@ictsd.ch. Coming Up: 8 - 14 May 28 April - 9 May, New York, US: 11TH SESSION OF THE UN COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. For further information, contact: Division…
- Resources
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Resources
TRADE RULES BEHIND BORDERS: ESSAYS ON SERVICES, INVESTMENT AND THE NEW TRADE AGENDA. By Pierre Sauvé (Cameron May 2003). This collection chronicles a decade of original thinking on some of the forces that are shaping the evolution of trade rules and institutions in a world of deeper integration. Rooted in the author’s hands-on experience as…