World Trade Organization negotiators are seeking to rescue a global accord by setting a six-week timetable to cut import duties on commodities and industrial goods ranging from corn and computers to cars.
India is unilaterally opening up its doors for imports of wheat at a time when the issues of special products (SPs), special safeguard mechanism (SSM), farm tariffs and bound rates and the role of state trading enterprises are not yet settled in the WTO.
The United States has submitted its position on a Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) in the WTO agriculture negotiations that would provide only a very limited use by developing countries of what they consider to be a crucial mechanism to safeguard against adverse effects of liberalization of their agricultural imports.
In early April 2006, Ambassador Crawford Falconer, chairperson of the agriculture negotiations, circulated a set of reference papers for the last week of agriculture negotiations before the 30 April deadline for 'modalities'.
Oxfam has abandoned its support for the current talks on a new trade deal, saying Europe and the US have failed to live up to their promises to use trade to cut poverty in the world's poorest countries.
Director-General Pascal Lamy told journalists on 24 April 2006 that 'we may have missed the deadline but we are not in deadlock'. Earlier, in a statement at an informal meeting of heads of delegations, he said that 'genuine and important progress has been made, but not fast enough to allow us to reach agreement on modalities by the end of the month'.
The Appellate Body, on 18 April 2006, issued its report regarding the case 'United States - Laws, Regulations and Methodology for Calculating Dumping Margins ('Zeroing')' (DS294), which was brought by the European Communities to the WTO.
