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Need For Technical Work, Policy Space Stressed In Doha Round Oversight Body
On 12 October, the WTO Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) met to take stock of Doha round negotiations and discuss the concerns of Members. The session was the first TNC meeting since the agreement of the so-called "July package" almost three months ago, which effectively breathed new life into the struggling Doha round of trade negotiations.…
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CITES Expands Coverage, Discusses Wildlife Trafficking, Ivory, DNA
Key decisions were made this week at the 2-14 October Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) in Bangkok, Thailand. These included decisions on a Southeast Asian initiative to combat wildlife trafficking, the regulation of a…
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Agriculture Talks Inch Forward
Trade delegates met in a special (negotiating) session of the WTO Committee on Agriculture on 8 October to wrap up three days of talks. The talks, which had started on 6 October (see BRIDGES Weekly, 6 October 2004), focused mainly on the process for bringing forward the negotiations following a framework deal agreed in July…
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Canadian Drugs Patent Law For Poor Countries Released For Comment
On 2 October, Health Canada released for public comment regulations that would enable the export of low-cost generic versions of patented drugs to developing countries. The regulations seek to implement Bill C-9, "An Act to amend the Patent Act and the Food and Drugs Act (the Jean Chrétien Pledge…
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Procedural Issues, Environmental Goods Dominate WTO Environment Negotiations
WTO Members at the special (negotiating) session of the Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE), meeting from 12-13 October, continued their discussions on the relationship between WTO rules and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). Members focused on a submission by Australia on its national experiences on negotiating and implementing specific…
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PPMS, Process Issues Addressed At WTO Environmental Goods Workshop
A workshop on environmental goods (EG) organised by the WTO Secretariat on 11 October witnessed active participation from delegations, capital-based officials and other experts who attended. The workshop was aimed at enhancing WTO Members’ understanding of the key issues involved in the negotiations on environmental goods. These are outlined…
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US Textile Groups File Safeguards Against Chinese Imports
On 12 October, US textile groups announced that they were filing safeguard claims under China’s WTO accession agreement based upon the threat that Chinese textile and apparel imports will surge after quotas are removed at the end of this year and thereby cause market disruption. One petition on cotton…
- In Brief
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In Brief
UN ECONOMIC REPORT ON AFRICA: FREE TRADE ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH In its annual report released on 29 September, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) pointed out that trade liberalisation by itself will not lead to economic growth and poverty alleviation in African countries, unless it is complemented by policies aimed at simultaneously boosting…
- Resources
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Resources
RESOURCES HOW DID DAVID PREPARE TO TALK TO GOLIATH? SOUTH AFRICA’S EXPERIENCE OF TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE EU. By Bilal, S. and Laporte, G., European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), 2004. This paper analyses the experience of South Africa in pursuing a development-focused trade strategy, and successfully mobilising…