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WTO: US Surprise Initiative To Re-Start Trade Talks
US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick sent a letter to the trade ministers of WTO Members on 11 January, proposing to inject momentum back into the flagging trade talks. In his letter, he said he was taking a common sense approach to re-energise the talks and to avoid 2004 becoming a "lost year" for the Doha…
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Dispute Settlement: Lumber, Byrd Amendment And DSU Review
The year began without an immediate rush of new dispute settlement cases, despite the 1 January 2004 expiry of the "peace clause" (a nine-year moratorium on farming disputes at the WTO). Instead, the continuation of existing disputes — including the Canadian-US softwood lumber case and a probable retaliation request this month on the US Byrd…
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EU Agrees Cod Recovery Plan And 2004 Quotas
In late 2003 the European Council of Fisheries Ministers adopted a long-term recovery plan for cod and 2004 quotas for cod, hake, whiting and other fish species. Following all-night talks on 19 December, the annual three-day Council meeting agreed on more lenient quotas than proposed by fisheries scientists– who had suggested a total catch ban…
- In Brief
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G8 Targets Social Issues, Employment
LEADERS DISCUSS TRADE AT AMERICAS SUMMIT The heads of state of 34 countries of the Americas met at a Special Summit in Monterrey, Mexico from 12-13 January to discuss, among others, efforts to combat poverty, promote social development, and achieve economic growth with equity. Trade issues featured high on the agenda, in particular in relation…
- 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. If you would like to submit an event, please email events@ictsd.ch. Coming Up: 15-21 January 12-16 January 2004, Gland, Switzerland: 30TH MEETING OF THE RAMSAR STANDING COMMITTEE. Ramsar is the first…
- Resources
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Resources
DEFENDING INTERESTS: PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN WTO LITIGATION. By Gregory C. Shaffer (December 2003, Brookings Institution Press). This book examines the growing interaction between private enterprises and public officials to challenge foreign trade barriers. Building on more than one hundred interviews with former and current trade officials and private attorneys in the US and Europe, Gregory…