WTO Process Issues

Sparking the Process in Geneva

28 July, 2005
Washington Trade Daily
General Council Chair Amina Mohamad will announce a 'rigorous and regimented' work program leading to an ambitious outcome at the World Trade Organization Hong Kong ministerial conference this December

?Make or Break' Re-Launch in September

28 July, 2005
Washington Trade Daily
Key members of the World Trade Organization yesterday vowed to launch a make-or-break next phase of Doha Development Agenda consultations starting in September to arrive at full modalities in agriculture, market access for industrial products and services

Stop rushing to a bad WTO deal, say Greenpeace and ActionAid

3 May, 2005
ActionAid International and GreenPeace International
ActionAid International and Greenpeace International warned that governments are rushing to complete a trade deal without considering the impacts on poor communities and the environment.

Japan hopes to break tariffs deadlock

10 April, 2005
By Mariko Sanchanta (<a href='http://news.ft.com/cms/s/18a50f28-aa26-11d9-aa38-00000e2511c8.html'>news.ft.com</a>)
Shoichi Nakagawa, Japan's trade minister, yesterday pledged to push ahead with informal meetings with other World Trade Organisation members ahead of the next official round of trade talks in December.

Progress Made on WTO Trade Deal

10 April, 2005
<a href='http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/ap/2005/04/11/ap1935651.html'>Associated Press</a>
World Trade Organization members are inching closer to a preliminary free trade agreement ahead of the body's December ministerial meeting in Hong Kong.

WTO General Council Convenes, With Little Progress And Wide Gaps

14 December, 2003
TWN Report by Martin Khor, Geneva
'We have witnessed little real negotiation, gaps remain wide and there does not seem to be a sense of urgency,' the chairman, Carlos Perez del Castillo, told the meeting.

Trade And Competition Policy In The WTO

13 September, 2003
Cecilia Oh, TWN Briefings 5, www.twnside.org.sg
In Cancun, one of the most important decisions for Ministers will be whether or not to launch negotiations on new WTO agreements on investment, competition, transparency in government procurement, trade facilitation.

International Civil Society Sends Letter to Governments Opposing Proposed “Trade in Services Agreement (TISA)”

Today, as governments meet in Geneva to negotiate a proposed Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), 345 organizations representing hundreds of thousands of people from nearly every developing and developed country, called on governments to abandon the talks. Among the endorsers were 42 major international and regional networks such as Public Services International (PSI), UNI Global Union, the European Federation of Public Services Unions (EPSU), the IndustriALL Global Union, the International Union of Food and Allied Workers (IUF), and the ATTAC European network. The letter was organized by the OWINFS network.

SNR Coalition Statement on the Doha Round Negotiations

Stop the New Round Coalition (SNR)
The Stop the New Round Coalition (SNR) joins peoples’ organizations and movements across the globe in calling for the rejection of the WTO Doha Round and we demand that the Philippine government turn around and walk away from these unfair and unjust negotiations.

WTO Turnaround 2013: Food, Jobs and Sustainable Development First – Statement

After many failed Ministerial meetings and nearly twelve years of negotiations, the Doha Round of WTO expansion is at a crossroads. Developed countries have pushed aside agreements to negotiate on key developing country issues intended to correct the imbalances within the existing WTO, which formed the basis of the development mandate of Doha. Even worse, developed countries appear to be re-packaging the same liberalization and market access demands of their corporate interests to create a “new trade narrative” towards gaining agreements at the upcoming 9th Ministerial in Bali. In this statement with specific demands Our World Is Not for Sale (OWINFS) network asserts that in addition to a long-term transformation of the global trade and economic architecture, immediate changes must be made to WTO in order to provide countries more policy space to pursue a positive agenda for development and job-creation, food security, sustainable development, access to affordable healthcare and medicines, and global financial stability.

Indian Farmers Oppose Peace Clause on G 33 Proposal in WTO and Call for Permanent Solution

Alarmed over mounting international pressure and the “take it or leave it” interim text on the peace clause solution on the G-33 proposal being considered for the 9th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference (MC9), 3-6 December 2013, Indian Farmers has called on the Government of India to reject the current PC proposal and demanded a permanent solution to protect farmers’ livelihoods and access to food for all.

Information Technology Agreement (ITA) - Global Unions and International Civil Society Express Concerns

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) together with 163 other trade union and civil society organisations are raising concerns over a proposed expansion of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA II) being negotiated at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In a joint letter to the WTO members, they argued that the proposed expansion, would lead to erosion of manufacturing potential in developing countries and called for a comprehensive impact assessment of ITA I before taking a decision on ITA II.