Archive - Jun 2006 - Article

Affiliates of the International Metalworkers' Federation in Africa have just released a statement on the current proposals of the WTO arguing that they will have a negative impact on developing countries and undermine development, in particular in Africa and, in turn, will increase the pressure on workers in the more industrialised nations.

World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy yesterday circulated a revised list of issues designed for discussion by the 30-plus trade ministers that arrive here this week in an attempt to conclude negotiating modalities for the Doha Development Agenda trade in agriculture and nonagricultural market access.

Trade chiefs of the Group-of-Six nations will meet Thursday in a 'last-ditch' effort to resolve all the remaining issues in the trade-distorting domestic support and market access pillars of Doha Development Agenda farm trade negotiations

Key members of the World Trade Organization yesterday sharply differed over what constitutes the level of political 'ambition' in the Doha Development Agenda modalities for agriculture and market-opening for industrials challenging whether 'real cuts' and 'new market access' are part of the overall mandate

This week's ministerial meetings in Geneva aimed at settling on negotiating modalities for agriculture and nonagricultural market access are 'make-or-break' for the World Trade Organization's Doha Development Agenda trade round, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said yesterday

More than 100 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) opposed to trade liberalisation on Tuesday demanded the WTO's troubled Doha round be 'buried' as ministers prepare to fly to Geneva in a bid to revitalise it.

The stage is set for a week or more of intense negotiations at the WTO as Ministers of some 40 to 50 countries are expected to arrive in Geneva in an effort to boost the flagging Doha negotiations.

The paper on draft modalities for non-agriculture market access (NAMA) that will serve as the basis for WTO negotiations in the next ten days contains little in the form of agreed text, and more in terms of comments on the areas of present disagreement among the WTO members.

The two papers on draft possible modalities for agriculture and non-agricultural market access (NAMA) for the WTO negotiations were issued on Thursday (22 June) at lunch-time, a day after they were expected to be sent to Members. A meeting on Friday morning will allow members to give their comments on the agriculture paper.

In a letter sent today to Trade Ministers at the WTO, more than 100 civil society groups from around the world denounced the legitimacy of an exclusive Ministerial meeting in Geneva this week, and urged trade ministers to develop a new approach to the multilateral trading system. The signatories represented civil society groups from more than 30 countries, including the big WTO players - US, EU, Japan, Canada, Australia and India - as well as smaller countries like, Senegal, Uganda, Nigeria and Bolivia.