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Agriculture: Members Still Far Apart On Key Elements Of Negotiation Modalities
At a 26-27 June and 1 July special (negotiating) session of the WTO Committee on Agriculture (CoA), Members mainly focussed on discussing a draft progress report prepared by CoA negotiations Chair Stuart Harbinson to be submitted to the Trade Negotiations Committee (see BRIDGES Weekly, 3 July 2003), In their comments, Members such as the EU,…
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WTO Environment Committees Stuck On Role Of MEA Secretariats, ECO-Labelling
On 7 and 8 July, WTO Members convened for the final meetings of the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) regular and special (negotiating) sessions before the Cancun Ministerial Conference in September. A proposal by the EC to recommend to trade ministers in Cancun that the CTE hold three dedicated sessions on eco-labelling was opposed…
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Services Council Considers New LDC Modalities Drafts
During its meeting on 4 July, the WTO Council for Trade in Services (CTS) negotiating session considered, inter alia, new informal documents on modalities for the special treatment of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the current services negotiations. Prepared by the WTO Secretariat and the US, the documents (jobs (03)/127 and 133, not yet derestricted)…
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TBT Committee Considers Proposed EU Chemical Legislation
Meeting on 2 July, the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) discussed, inter alia, draft EC chemical legislation, EC wine labelling requirements and US bioterrorism legislation. EU chemical legislation The EU submitted information on its draft chemical legislation to the TBT in late May (G/TBT/W/208, available at http://docsonline.wto.org). The European Commission released the draft…
- In Brief
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Caribbean Leaders Tackle Integration, WTO, FTAA Issues At Summit
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS EMISSIONS TRADING SCHEME The European Parliament adopted the world’s first multi-national emissions trading scheme (ETS) covering greenhouse gases in the Union on 2 July. The Directive, taking effect in 2005, will cap emissions from 10,000 plants in the oil refining, smelting, steel, cement, ceramics, glass and paper sectors, and allow trading of their…
- WTO in Brief
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WTO In Brief
TRIPS COUNCIL MAKES NO PROGRESS ON GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS At the special session of the Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) on 2-3 July, Members failed to make progress in the negotiations on a multilateral register for geographical indications for wines and spirits. Members remained divided over two key issues, i.e. "legal effect" —…
- 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. If you would like to submit an event, please email events@ictsd.ch. ICTSD ICTSD will host two informal events during the meeting of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore…
- Resources
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Resources
ICTSD Resources The June issue of BRIDGES Monthly Review is now available. To access it online, visit http://www.ictsd.org/monthly/index.htm. The June issue of Trade Negotiations Insights is available at http://www.ictsd.org/tni/index.htm. Other Resources THE SINGAPORE ISSUES AND THE WORLD TRADING SYSTEM: THE ROAD TO CANCUN AND BEYOND. By Krista Lucenti, Julian Clarke, Simon Evenett, and Benno Ferrarini…