Archive

The links below are the recent WTO documents.

Basic problems and practical difficulties in the attempt by WIPO members to globally harmonise patent laws were highlighted on the second day of the WIPO open forum on its draft Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT) on 2 March.

Several speakers at the opening day of the WIPO open forum on its draft Substantive Patent Law Treaty (SPLT) warned about the dangers of the global harmonization of patent laws that the SPLT is aiming at.

The final day of the WIPO open forum on patents saw heated exchanges on the impact of patents and 'flexibilities' of the system on access to medicines, as well as an interesting debate on whether genes and life forms should be patented.

Trade chiefs of the United States, the European Union, Brazil, India, Australia and Japan are planning a busy two days today and Saturday in an effort to reach some accommodations on the most difficult issues in three central areas of the Doha Development Agenda whose outcome could indicate whether full modalities in the agriculture and industrials negotiations can be wrapped up by the end of next month, WTD was told (WTD, 3/9/06).

The Negotiating Group on Market Access for Non- Agricultural Products (NAMA) at a week-long meeting (ending Friday, 3 March), discussed sectoral initiatives, flexibilities for developing countries and paragraph 24 of the Hong Kong Declaration that calls for a comparably high level of ambition in market access for agriculture and NAMA.

Below are links to two letters from different U.S. textile industry groups. The first one calls for a sectoral on textiles that would provide special treatment for the textile sector by resurrecting protection in the textile and apparel sectors.

The chairman of the World Trade Organization's negotiating group on non-agricultural market access (NAMA) warned March 7 that the window of opportunity was rapidly closing for a deal in the sector which would allow the Doha Round to be completed by the end of 2006.

Senior trade officials of an 11 country group yesterday failed to narrow their differences on how to achieve 'ambitious' market access opportunities in the Doha Development Agenda industrials negotiations a result that could place this weekend's London trade ministerial summit in jeopardy, WTD was told.

Doha Development Agenda nonagricultural market access negotiations chairman Don Stephenson yesterday said members have only a 'small window' for reaching agreement by the end of April on what he called core elements of an agreement a formula, treatment of unbound tariffs and 'paragraph eight' flexibilities for developing countries.