Archive - Jun 2006

The two papers on draft possible modalities for agriculture and non-agricultural market access (NAMA) for the WTO negotiations were issued on Thursday (22 June) at lunch-time, a day after they were expected to be sent to Members. A meeting on Friday morning will allow members to give their comments on the agriculture paper.

The Dance of the Seven Veils appears pedestrian when compared with the strip-tease currently being performed by the world's trade negotiators in Geneva. They are slowly and finally revealing their concessions to open global trade - just in time.

The Draft Modalities on Agriculture and NAMA are now available on the WTO website.

The draft texts released today by the WTO on trade rules for agriculture and industrial products reflect the broad divergences that remain between WTO Members over the Doha Round, according to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. The possibility for concluding the Doha Round this year is becoming increasingly remote.

On the eve of the issuance of a draft modalities paper on agriculture by the Chair of the WTO's agriculture negotiations, the ACP Group has submitted a paper updating its position on various issues in agriculture modalities.

New proposals on global trade rules on agriculture and industrial goods (Non Agricultural Market Access or NAMA) released today show a deadlock in negotiations that could spell failure for the Doha round of trade talks.

Global civil society should not be lulled into complacency by gloomy media reports about the deadlock in the Doha Round negotiations.

Several WTO members submitted draft texts last week to the Chair of the Negotiating Group on NAMA for his preparation of the draft modalities paper, which is to be issued this week. Among them were the NAMA-11 and the small and vulnerable economies.

The 'end of June' process at the WTO is expected to start in earnest on Wednesday (21 June) with the issuance of two papers - the draft modalities on agriculture and on non-agricultural market access (NAMA).

The Chair of the negotiations on Non-Agriculture Market Access (NAMA) at the WTO has reported that he would be working on a text that would reflect members' positions on modalities for the consideration of Ministers at a meeting expected to take place later this month in Geneva.