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TRIPS Council Discusses Biodiversity, Health In Informal Mode
At the 8 March meeting of the WTO Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), the outgoing Chair — Ambassador Vanu Gopala Menon of Singapore — reported on the outcomes of informal consultations on how to convert the 30 August 2003 Decision on paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration (on access to generic…
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India, US Clash Over Us Move To Halt Federal Outsourcing
In a move to ban the outsourcing of US federal jobs, the US Senate on 4 March approved a measure preventing American companies from using money from certain federal contracts to export jobs overseas. The measure was attached to the "Jumpstart Our Business Strength (JOBS) Act," designed to heal trade ties with the EC. The…
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India, Brazil, South Africa Strengthen South-South Cooperation
The foreign ministers of Brazil, India and South Africa — Celso Amorim, Yashwant Sinha and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma met in New Delhi from 4-5 March. The India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Trilateral Ministerial Forum in India discussed a wide range of topics related to the strengthening of South-South cooperation, including trade, and adopted a plan of action. The…
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Fischler Presents EC Sugar Reform Concept To LDCs
At a Least-Developed Country (LDC) Sugar Conference held in Brussels on 3 March, EC Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler outlined Europe’s main criteria for reforming its protected and subsidised sugar sector. Fischler opened his speech by noting that reform was unavoidable for four reasons. First, the sugar regime is "in complete disharmony" with the overall reform…
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Canadian Pharmaceutical Patent Act Vigorously Discussed
On 8 March, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network made a supplementary submission to the Canadian Parliament on proposed changes to a Canadian law that make it easier for least developed and developing countries to obtain less expensive versions of patented pharmaceutical products. The Canadian government announced in late September that it would amend patent laws…
- In Brief
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In Brief
TRADE IN MEATS GRAVELY AFFECTED BY DISEASE OUTBREAKS According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), one third of global meat exports is affected by bird flu and mad cow disease outbreaks. The resulting loss in trade could rise to US$ 10 billion in lost revenue in 2004 if import bans on the meat…
- 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. ICTSD 17 March, Geneva, Switzerland: WIPO’S NEW IGC MANDATE: IMPLICATIONS FOR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, BIODIVERSITY AND TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE.…
- Resources
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Resources
OIL CRISES & CLIMATE CHALLENGES - 30 YEARS OF ENERGY USE IN IEA COUNTRIES. By the International Energy Agency (2004). This publication examines how energy efficiency and other factors such as economic structure, income, lifestyle, prices, and fuel mix have shaped developments of energy use and CO2 emissions in IEA countries over 30 years. The…