Archive - Sep 2005 - Article

Washington and Brussels will have a try at kick-starting the stalled Doha Development Agenda trade negotiations by presenting some ideas on agricultural market access and domestic supports to the two other members of the so-called 'quad' meeting set for Friday India and Brazil and then bring them to more partners

Among the highlights: Portman agreeing that food aid should be in commodities not cash; Repeated declaration from Administration officials and members of Congress that US needs to 'box shift' domestic support and jack up payment levels in farm bill so as to make for higer baselines; Senate Ag committee chair saying that for Hong Kong 'No Agreementi better than a bad agreement' which in his view means major tariff cuts to allow for more US market access.

The United States will demand other countries make steep cuts in their farm subsidies and tariffs before considering any change to its own programs, the chief U.S. negotiator said on Wednesday as lawmakers mulled how world trade talks could reshape the U.S. farm safety net.

After the decrease of the prices of cotton 'white gold', Egypt is seeing the collapse of farmers incomes and the deterioration of the textile industry.

Facing clear opposition from Congress to bind visa quotas in WTO, the USTR is trundling toward Hong Kong empty-handed.

On 9 September, Saudi Arabia and the US concluded a bilateral deal on Saudi Arabia's accession to the WTO

The meeting of the WTO General Council at the end of July 2005 failed to produce an outcome in terms of 'additional convergence' on a range of issues mainly because of the lack of progress in the negotiations on agriculture among a small group of countries.

The United States will host an informal trade ministerial meeting on October 10 in Zurich to accelerate the flagging Doha trade negotiations ahead of crucial trade negotiations committee and General Council meetings next month

The Hong Kong government has ordered hospitals to stock up on antidotes to cyanide and insecticide in preparation for chemical attacks during the World Trade Organization meeting in December

The Third World Network held a regional Asian workshop on bilateraland regional FTAs on 26-29 August in Kuala Lumpur. Many speakers and participants voiced concerns about how the developed countries are making use of such FTAs to get developing countries to accept issues (such as investment) and rules (such as in intellectual property and services) that oblige them to take on more commitments than they have acepted in the WTO.(M.Khor)