Archive - 2005 - Article

The dollar plunge and records-high trade deficit has created an opening ofr those who object to US membership in the WTO.

The Islamic Development Bank is strengthening its efforts to prepare the OIC member states for membership of the WTO.

'I don't believe we can force American withdrawal, but once every five years we get to vote on it,' said Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore. 'And I think we can have a very vigorous debate.'

The paper, titled 'Establishment of a Partnership Program in WIPO' states that WIPO already has a 'robust development agenda' in all its work, and it clearly ignores and sidesteps the demands of the proponents of a 'development agenda' in WIPO.

The US has informally circulated a draft paper containing its views and proposals for the meeting in WIPO on a Development Agenda.

Civil society needs to increase support for the development calls of the south and increase pressure on the big trading powers.

The opportunities will be in eight major areas of the services sector, under the General Agreement on Trade and Services, a senior official told Daily Times on Tuesday.

Members of the WTO formally adopted a work program for the new WTO subcommittee on cotton.

Many developing countries also strongly opposed the suggested trade-off between acceptance of an aggressive formula and their being able to use the 'flexibilities'.

At the latest WTO negotiations on NAMA, the major developed countries put great pressure on the developing countries to accept drastic cuts in their industrial tariffs.