Archive - Oct 2005

The least developed countries in the WTO have made a request to the TRIPS Council to extend the transitional period for their implementing the TRIPS Agreement for a further 15 years after the present transition period expires at the end of this year.

The European Union's offer today to cut its farm tariffs by as much as 60 percent falls short of expectations because the proposal allows exemptions that would block key exports, U.S. officials and industry groups said.

EU has tabled new proposals on agriculture and other areas of the DDA trade talks to its negotiating partners in the 'Five Interested Parties' (FIPs).

The Chair of the WTO agriculture negotiations, Ambassador Crawford Falconer of New Zealand, has warned members that 'material convergence', particularly on market access, was needed by 31 October, otherwise he would have to report that objectives for the Hong Kong Ministerial cannot be met.

The Group of 20 developing countries has presented six new proposals for the WTO agriculture negotiations. The papers were distributed at two informal meetings on agriculture held at the WTO on 21 October.

Many developing countries continued to raise objections to the inclusion of 'numerical targets and indicators' as a negotiating approach in a revised text on services for the Ministerial Declaration for the WTO's Hong Kong conference.

People’s Action will be sending out a biweekly English newsletter to share news about anti-globalization struggles in Korea and updates on preparation of the ‘Korean People’s Struggle Delegation’.

Mr Breton is as ardent as any French minister in arguing that the CAP is essential for Europe's future and must not be sacrificed at the altar of the World Trade Organisation.

G33 proposal in the agriculture negotiations, on the Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) for use by developing countries to protect against import surges.

The WTO issued the second award of the arbitrator regarding the European Communities' implementation of the waiver granted by the Doha Ministerial Conference in relation to its banana regime