Archive - 2009

June 3rd

WTO trade talks machine revs up after U.S. visit

20 May, 2009
A visit by U.S. trade chief Ron Kirk this month to the World Trade Organization has transformed the political atmosphere of long-running global commerce talks, kick-starting the negotiations, trade sources said on Wednesday.

URGENT ACTION: UN Conference on Financial Crisis

Send a letter to your head of state encouraging them to go to the UN Conference, and come yourself!

New Report: Europe and U.S. bear special responsibility for food crisis

19 May, 2009
Key steps identified to shift course and create a just and sustainable global food system

Chamber Fears Climate Talks Could Set the Stage for TRIPS Changes

15 May, 2009
Global climate change negotiations could become the battleground to hammer out a second clarification of intellectual property protection rules in the World Trade Organization to strengthen developing countries rights to use patented technology without authorization of rights holders, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

June 2nd

Letter to the Presidents and Heads of State: Latin America and the Caribbean

Your presence and the active participation of the governments that you head in this Conference, which will bring together all of the United Nations members states – the “G192” – are necessary in order to achieve urgent and concrete responses that are in keeping with the seriousness of the global systemic crisis now confronting humanity. A crisis unleashed in the center of the system of economic and political power whose unsustainable and irresponsible model of consumption and production continues to asphixiate the entire planet, deepening day after day the social, climate, food, and energy crises with untold consecuences for billions of people, nature, and indeed life itself.

SIGN-ON LETTER CALLING FOR REPAYMENT OF CLIMATE DEBT

Dear Friends, As the the climate negotiations intensify on the road to Copenhagen, a key issue that has occuppied much attention is the issue of mitigation and the burden-sharing between developed and developing countries.

Letter to the Presidents and Heads of State: Latin America and the Caribbean

We are writing to you in regard to the upcoming celebration in New York, on June 1 to 3, of the United Nations’ Conference on the Economic and Financial Crisis and its Impact on Develoment. We urge you to give this Conference the priority it deserves and to participate, in your capacity as Heads of State, leading a delegation from your country of the highest level including the participation of relevant ministries and civil society organizations and movements involved in addressing the impacts and building alternatives in the face of this crisis.

Lula Calls on Saudis to Join Brazil in Creating Petrochemical Powerhouse

18 May, 2009
Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said this Sunday, May 17, at the end of a two-day trip to Saudi Arabia, that he called on king Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for the two countries to jointly seek reciprocal investment opportunities.

Mideast leaders defend free market at economic forum

17 May, 2009
Despite capitalism's recently damaged reputation, participants at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East this weekend agreed that minimal regulation was key to growth.

EU stumbles on Canada's internal barriers: Talk ramp up

15 May, 2009
The historic free-trade negotiations between Canada and the European Union were launched to much fanfare this month, but reaching a deal between the 27-country economic bloc and the provincially dominated federation of Canada will not be a walk in the park.