Archive - Apr 2006

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.

Links to a G-33 Letter to the Chair of the TNC, Pascal Lamy, as well as a Press Statement. Apologies if you have already received this.

The latest is a paper on the special safeguard mechanism, circulated on 26 April.

The World Development Movement (WDM) today welcomed criticism by the House of Commons International Development Committee (IDC) of the UK's Presidency of the EU on trade issues and called for the collapse of talks at the WTO.

Link to the latest progress report from the chair of the NAMA negotiations, Ambassador Stephenson, which includes possible language for modalities.

The EU's tough negotiating stance could derail talks aimed at liberalising world trade, a group of MPs has warned.

Link to a new paper from Jacques Berthelot calculating the extent of EU dumping of meat.

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.

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'.

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'.