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Agriculture: Geneva Negotiations Turn To Concrete Numbers
During the week and a half since high-level talks among key WTO Members in Paris from 22-23 October (see BRIDGES Weekly, 28 September 2005), Geneva-based agriculture delegates, joined by capital-based officials, have been engaged in intense negotiations on different ’scenarios’ for cuts in tariffs and domestic support. The EU and the US tabled ideas for…
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WIPO Members Create New Forum To Discuss Development Agenda
Members of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have agreed to establish a "Provisional Committee" to continue discussions on proposals to mainstream a ‘development agenda’ into all of WIPO’s work. The WIPO General Assembly (GA) specified that this committee would hold two one-week sessions and report any recommendations to the next GA in September 2006.…
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Rules: Anti-Dumping, Fisheries Discussed; Still No Clarity On HK Expectations
WTO Members focused on anti-dumping (AD) and fisheries subsidies during meetings of the Negotiating Group on Rules from 26-30 September. Delegations considered several new submissions on AD, spending most of their time discussing a proposal that would require Member governments to consult with potentially-affected sectors of their economies before imposing AD duties. They also debated submissions…
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IFIs Describe Textiles Assistance And Country Conditions At WTO
The fallout in least-developed countries (LDCs) resulting from the elimination of quotas on textiles and clothing trade might not have been as severe as originally anticipated, according to presentations made to the 29 September meeting of the WTO Sub-Committee on LDCs. Attempting to address concerns raised in a 28 June WTO Secretariat report on least-developed…
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Working Group on Trade, Debt, Finance to Simply Renew Doha Mandate?
Chair Ambassador Kweronda Ruhemba of Uganda suspended the 3-4 October formal session of the WTO Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance (WGTDF) on its second day, after the group was unable to reach consensus on the language of the draft text of the report that it is supposed to submit to the General Council…
- In Brief
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In Brief
TECHNICAL DISCUSSIONS DOMINATE US-THAI FTA ROUND The US Trade Representative’s office is touting significant progress in the latest round of free trade agreement (FTA) talks with Thailand held from 26 to 30 September in Hawaii. However, the Thai negotiating team indicated more modest progress, largely in relation to technical barriers to trade, as well as an…
- WTO in Brief
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Informal Consultations Continue on LDC, African S&D Proposals
At an informal 27 September consultation hosted by Committee on Trade and Development Special Session (CTD-SS) Chair Faizel Ismail of South Africa, developed countries commented on 14 proposals from the group of African WTO Members to improve the provisions for special and differential treatment (S&D) in particular WTO agreements. Members agreed that there was little…
- 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 us. Upcoming : 6 October - 12 October 6 October, Washington, D.C.: US IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WTO COTTON CASE. Women in…
- Resources
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Resources
FOOD SOVEREIGNTY: TOWARDS DEMOCRACY IN LOCALIZED FOOD SYSTEMS. By Michael Windfuhr and Jennie Jonsén. Foodfirst Information & Action Network, 2005. This paper asserts that the rules that govern food and agriculture at all levels — local, national and international — are designed a priori to facilitate international rather than local trade. This reduces diversity and…