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TRIPS Council Meeting Suspended In Effort To Meet Public Health Deadline
Public health and biodiversity issues were again the items sparking the most discussion at the meeting of the WTO Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) on 8-9 March 2005. Members were unable to reach consensus on how to formally amend Article 31 of the TRIPS Agreement in order to facilitate the export…
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Agriculture Week Kicks Off On High Note
A week of agriculture negotiations at the WTO started with two days of informal meetings from 14-15 March. Members discussed domestic support, and also took stock of progress on the conversion of ’specific’ agricultural tariffs based on quantities into ‘ad valorem’ equivalents (AVEs), i.e., tariffs based upon the price of the product. Key Members gathering in…
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Blair Commission For Africa Calls For Fairer Trade
The Commission for Africa established in 2004 by British Prime Minister Tony Blair issued its report on 11 March, calling for "more and fairer trade" for the continent. The 450-page study highlights the challenges facing Africa and outlines recommendations on how they can be addressed by both Africa and the developed world. The report particularly focuses…
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WTO SPS Committee Focuses On Regionalisation, S&D
At its 9-10 March meeting in Geneva, the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) considered the issue of recognising regions — both within and across national borders — for the purposes of applying health-related measures. However, WTO Members were unable to agree on guidelines for the implementation of such regional recognition; discussions on…
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NAMA Week Underway, Members Look At New Proposals
WTO Members resumed negotiations on non-agricultural market access (NAMA) with a 14 March meeting of the Negotiating Group on Market Access. Discussions focused on new proposals addressing issues including the erosion of trade preferences, dealing with unbound tariffs, the elimination of low tariffs, and special and differential treatment (S&D) for developing countries. In an effort to…
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Call for Applications
ICTSD is urgently seeking to establish a roster of experienced editors and copy-editors interested in freelance work on reports and other ad hoc publications on a range of issues related to trade policy. Mother-tongue level of English required. Please contact Deborah Vorhies for further details at dvorhies@ictsd.ch. …
- In Brief
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In Brief
EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE UPHOLDS NEEM PATENT REVOCATION IN BIOPIRACY CASE In the first conclusion of a biopiracy case in its history, the European Patent Office (EPO) on 8 March upheld a 2000 decision to revoke a patent on a fungicidal product extracted from seeds from the Indian neem tree (see…
- WTO in Brief
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WTO In Brief
WTO PANEL ISSUES MIXED RULING IN GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS CASE A WTO panel has upheld US and Australian claims that certain provisions of a 1992 EU framework regulation governing geographically-linked names of certain agricultural products violated WTO non-discrimination rules. According to the panel’s ruling, released to the public 15 March,…
- Events
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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. Coming Up: 17 - 23 March 17-18 March, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOP ON TRADE FACILITATION IMPLEMENTATION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC. This workshop, organised by the…
- Resources
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Resources
"Decoupling EU Farm Support: does the new single payment scheme fit within the Green Box?" By Alan Swinbank and Richard Tranter. THE ESTEY CENTRE JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND TRADE POLICY, Winter 2005. Recent reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has led to reducing the link between support and production. The new Single…