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Members strike deal on trips and public health; civil society unimpressed
WTO Members agreed on 6 December 2005 to amend the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to allow countries with insufficient pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity to import generic versions of drugs still under patent (see BRIDGES Weekly 4 September 2003. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy hailed it as confirmation that "Members are determined to…
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WTO members endorse draft Hong Kong text after spat over services
Following hours of discussions on 2 December, the WTO General Council agreed to endorse a revised version of the draft declaration text for the 13-18 December Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong — albeit with some additional modifications in response to a disagreement over its language on services. Along with the text, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy…
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Ministerial Chair John Tsang: Development Package Must Not Be "Bargaining Chip"
With a comprehensive Doha Round pact increasingly unlikely at the WTO’s 13-18 December Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong, more and more governments are looking to reach an agreement there on a number of development-related issues such as aid for trade and duty- and quota-free market access for exports from least-developed countries (LDCs). However, several developing…
- In Brief
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In Brief
BRAZIL AND INDIA TO G-7: WILL CUT NAMA TARIFFS IF EU, US CUT AG TARIFFS AND SUBSIDIES Brazil and India surprised representatives from the Group of Seven (G-7) rich countries at a 2-3 December summit in London when they unexpectedly offered to expand access to their industrial goods and services markets — if the US and…
- WTO in Brief
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Ministerial Chair John Tsang Announces Facilitators For Hong Kong Summit
Hong Kong Commerce, Industry and Technology Secretary John Tsang, who will chair the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference, announced on 2 December a slate of six ministers who will help him facilitate negotiations at the summit. At WTO ministerial summits, such facilitators play a role somewhat similar to that played in Geneva by the chairs of the…
- 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. ICTSD 12 December, Hong Kong, China: COTTON DAY: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE HONG KONG MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE? This event, organised…
- Resources
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Resources
INTERNATIONAL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS AND POVERTY REDUCTION: THE WHITE PAPER ON COTTON. Edited by Eric Hazard. Enda Prospectives Dialogues Politiques, 2005. In 2001, US cotton subsidies, and to a lesser extent European ones, contributed to the biggest collapse in world cotton prices in constant terms since 1793. The cotton-producing countries of West and Central Africa, already…