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WTO Negotiations Committee Looks Ahead To 2005
WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi told the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) at its 9 December meeting that he plans to launch consultations early next year to encourage Members to "collectively reflect" on the organisation’s objectives for 2005. Despite fears that negotiations would be put on hold by political transitions in the EU and the US, Supachai said…
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General Council Reviews Year's Progress
In a 13 December meeting of the WTO General Council (GC), Members approved accession requests by Afghanistan and Iraq, and will now set up Working Parties on their accession. This came after the United States blocked consensus on a similar request from Iran, saying that it was still studying Iran’s request to start accession talks…
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Zoellick, African Leaders Discuss Cotton, Textiles, US-SACU FTA
During a week-long trip to West and Southern Africa from 7 to 13 December, a US team led by US Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Zoellick met with African leaders to discuss a range of issues. These included the current round of multilateral trade liberalisation talks, West Africa’s concerns about cotton, the imminent phase-out of textile…
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China Marks Three Years In WTO
China marked the third anniversary of its membership in the WTO on 11 December by announcing a series of liberalisation measures. The US and the EC, for their part, reviewed China’s efforts to adhere to its WTO commitments more favourably than they have in past years. Meanwhile, foreign businesses operating in the country hailed it…
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US, Egypt, Israel Sign 3-Way Trade Pact; May Fall Foul Of WTO
Egypt, Israel, and the US have inked a three-way trade pact under which the US will grant tariff-free access to goods produced in certain areas of Egypt that contain a minimum percentage of Israeli inputs. However, the WTO compatibility of the unilateral market access scheme remains in question. Officials from the US, Egypt, and Israel met…
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Agriculture Informals At WTO Address Export Financing, Blue Box
WTO Members met informally on 13 and 14 December for agriculture negotiations that included discussions on a new draft text on export financing, and on 15 December to debate additional disciplines for so-called "blue box" domestic support. The new export financing text, presented on 14 December by Agriculture special session Chair Tim Groser, closely resembles the…
- In Brief
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In Brief
AFRICAN TRADE EXPERTS DISCUSS WTO AGRICULTURE TALKS African trade experts are meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a five-day workshop which started on 13 December. The workshop, organised by the African Union (AU) in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), aims to explore multilateral trade issues including strategies aimed at enhancing the…
- WTO in Brief
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EC And Complainants Granted Delay Request In Sugar Case
SUPACHAI PRAISES TEXTILES MONITORING BODY WTO Members and Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi took the opportunity to reminisce about the Textiles Monitoring Body (TMB) at its final meeting on 9 December. Supachai described the elimination of all textile and clothing quotas scheduled for 1 January 2005 as an "important milestone in the development of international trade relations,"…