Archive - 2005 - Article

The World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Body formally adopted March 21 a landmark ruling against U.S. subsidy programs for cotton.

Completing the tariff conversions is considered by many WTO members as a precondition for negotiations on the tariff formula.

The negotiations have attracted strong opposition and raised concern among many Thai social advocates, trade union and NGO activists, as well as academics and armers.

Civic groups plan a series of activities to counter the upcoming negotiations on free trade area (FTA) agreement between Thailand and the United States in Pattaya early next month.

The European Union should not press poor countries to accept rules governing investment, competition and government procurement in return for continued special trade access to European markets.

Planned trade deals between the EU and the world's poorest countries must be radically rethought to allow poor nations to liberalise markets at their own pace and in their own time, the UK will demand today.

A new policy paper from the UK Department for Trade and Industry intervenes in a controversy over proposed economic partnership agreements (EPAs) the EU is negotiating with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

The EC in last week's NAMA negotiations (14th – 18th March 2005) unveiled its ambitious proposal to cut drastically all members' tariffs in order to gain 'real market access.'

Planned trade deals between the EU and the world's poorest countries must be radically rethought to allow poor nations to liberalise markets at their own pace and in their own time, the UK will demand today.

The Declaration of the G-20 Ministers called for the elimination of all export subsidies in agriculture within five years.