Archive

June 17th, 2006

On the right path to development: African Countries Pave the Way

16 June, 2006
The June 7 proposal by the African Group (an alliance of 41 African countries) to the WTO on managing trade in agricultural commodities is a refreshing way forward for addressing poverty and improving living standards in rural areas in the context of the Doha Agenda.

June 16th

US will take 'tough decisions' at trade talks

15 June, 2006
President George W. Bush said on Thursday that the Doha round of world trade talks had reached 'a critical moment' and that he would press for further progress when he meets European Union leaders in Austria next week.

Angry responses to Developed Countries' latest NAMA proposal

15 June, 2006
Several developing countries have responded with anger and even outrage to the latest proposal in the WTO's non-agricultural market access (NAMA) negotiations by a group of developed countries that there be a difference of only five points in the two coefficients for developed and developing countries in the 'Swiss formula' for cutting tariffs.

Agriculture: Talks on Chair's papers on Blue and Green Box subsidies

15 June, 2006
An informal open-ended agriculture meeting at the WTO Thursday 1 June discussed the Chair's latest reference papers on Blue Box and Green Box subsidies where members appeared to show some flexibility on the technical details but failed to converge on the major points, according to trade officials.

Positions remain unchanged in TRIPS/CBD consultations

15 June, 2006
An informal consultation held on 6 June at the WTO on the relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) ended with positions among members remaining unchanged on the issue of disclosure of the source of origin of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge.

Agriculture: Divisions evident in debate on Chair's market access paper

15 June, 2006
WTO members held a first discussion on Monday (12 June) on a paper suggesting modalities on agriculture market access issues that was issued by the chair of the WTO agriculture negotiations, Ambassador Crawford Falconer of New Zealand.

June 13th

Malaysians protest against free trade talks with US

12 June, 2006
As Malaysia and the United States began their first round of talks on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), they were confronted by a group of Malaysian protesters concerned that the agreement will cause the country more harm than good.

June 9th

New PANAP/PCFS Report Online: Bilateral Free Trade and Investment Agreements and the US Corporate Biotech Agenda

8 June, 2006
Bilateral free trade agreements are seen by the agricultural biotechnology industry as an important conduit for spreading genetically modified organisms (GMOs) around the world.

U.S. Negotiators Boxed into a Corner at WTO

8 June, 2006
A new economic simulation of the U.S. agriculture proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) confirmed what NGOs and developing countries have been saying for months: the proposal has so many loopholes it may actually increase the allowable amount of domestic agriculture spending in the U.S. The new simulation exposed not only the emptiness of the U.S. proposal, but also the limited space that U.S. negotiators find themselves in as the Doha Round moves forward.

June 8th

New papers on Agriculture from Canada and Australia

7 June, 2006
Links to three new submission in relation to agriculture market access.