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Ag: FIPs Ministers' Meet Ends Abruptly; EU To Make New Offer On Market Access?
The Doha Round negotiations risk collapse, warned the US and the EU on 19 October, after meetings among major trading powers broke down over farm trade reform. The chair of the WTO agriculture negotiations, Ambassador Crawford Falconer of New Zealand, warned Members on 21 October that if they failed to resolve their major differences within…
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Market Access Flexibilities Up For Discussion In WTO Farm Talks
Even as ministerial-level talks between five influential WTO Members fell apart in Geneva last week (see related story, this issue), trade negotiators continued to hold informal meetings. Market access remains a major point of contention, and not just from countries that would like to see steeper reductions in farm tariffs. The group of African, Caribbean…
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TRIPS Council Remains Divided On Public Health Amendment
WTO Members remain divided on how to formally amend the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) in order to facilitate the export of drugs produced under compulsory licence. No substantive discussions took place on the issue during the 25-26 October meeting of the TRIPS council. Members, whose positions are largely unchanged since…
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UNESCO Overwhelmingly Approves Cultural Diversity Treaty
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) voted overwhelmingly on 20 October to approve a new global convention for the protection of cultural diversity, in spite of staunch opposition from the US. Supporters of the treaty hailed it as a victory for free expression, claiming that it will help governments protect national cultural identities…
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Vacancies
The International Policy Council on Agriculture, Food And Trade is currently recruiting for two positions: President and Chief Executive Officer, and Policy Associate. - The President and Chief Executive Officer will be required to represent the council to stakeholders, direct the organisation’s substantive agenda, and lead its operations. For this position, US citizenship or the right…
- In Brief
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In Brief
AFRICA SUFFERS FROM TEXTILE QUOTA PHASE-OUT, SAYS ILO Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have been the main losers from the end-2004 phase-out of trade quotas on textiles and clothing, according to a new report from the International Labour Organization (ILO). The report suggests that countries such as Lesotho and Kenya, where trade quotas coupled with preferential access to…
- WTO in Brief
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Anti-Dumping Activity Continues Decline: WTO Secretariat
The number of anti-dumping investigations as well as that of anti-dumping measures actually imposed continued a pattern of decline over the first half of 2005, according to the WTO Secretariat. According to the 24 October report, only 96 new anti-dumping investigations were launched between January and June 2005, compared to 106 over the same period…
- 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 : 27 October - 2 November 28 October, Paris, France. TRADE FOR DEVELOPMENT: THE FUTURE OF SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL…
- Resources
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Resources
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN WORLD TRADE LAW. Edited by Dr. Markus W. Gehring and Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger. Kluwer Law International, 2005. This collection of papers aims to demonstrate how sustainable development serves as a unifying concept with the potential to facilitate much-needed respect for international law and the timely implementation of diverse and overlapping international commitments.…