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WTO: Negotiators Gear Up For End-July Deadline
WTO delegates in Geneva are involved in intense negotiations on all trade issues on the table, with a particular focus on agriculture, the centrepiece of the Doha Round. The trade delegates are meeting regularly in small groups, bilateral and heads of delegation (HOD) sessions, and convened in the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) on 30 June…
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Agriculture: Critics Voice Concern Over Negotiating Process
Meeting in Geneva on 5 July, the G-10 — comprising net food-importing, mainly developed countries, including Switzerland and Japan — released a position paper expressing dismay at being excluded from consultations among the Five Interested Parties (FIPs: Australia, Brazil, the EC, India and the US). In related developments, civil society groups called for a stronger…
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Services Negotiations Struggle To Keep Up Pace
On 2 July, the special (negotiating) session of the WTO Council for Trade in Services approved recommendations charting a road map to pursue further services negotiations. The recommendations, already presented by Chair Alejandro Jara at the 30 June Trade Negotiations Committee, are set to be part of a framework deal on the overall Doha Round…
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EC Chemicals Regulation Draws Renewed Criticism At WTO
At a 1 July meeting of the WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), the US, Japan and other EC trading partners reiterated their criticism against the proposed European chemicals policy REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restrictions of Chemicals), saying the legislation would be too costly and burdensome and would disrupt global trade. Meanwhile,…
- In Brief
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In Brief
CODEX DEFERS DECISION ON ORIGIN LABELLING The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) at its 27th session from 28 June - 3 July in Geneva, Switzerland, failed to reach a decision on revising the Codex standard on country of origin labelling. Instead, the Commission instructed the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) to forward a letter to member…
- WTO in Brief
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WTO In Brief
WTO PANEL DELAYS PROCEEDINGS IN BIOTECH DISPUTE The WTO panel examining the US-Argentina-Canada complaint against the EC’s de facto moratorium on the approval of new genetically modified organisms (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 28 May 2004) has delayed the next step in the proceedings by about a month, pushing the second panel session to the middle of…
- 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. Coming Up: 8-14 July 6-8 July, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: AFRICAN UNION SUMMIT 2004. The third Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly. For further information contact the African…
- Resources
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Resources
RESOURCES AGRICULTURE AND THE WTO: CREATING A TRADING SYSTEM FOR DEVELOPMENT. Edited by John Nash and Merlinda Ingco (World Bank, March 2004). This book explores the key issues and options in agricultural trade liberalisation from the perspective of developing countries. Experts in trade and agriculture from both developed and developing countries provide key research findings and…