Archive

As 2007 starts off as a make-or-break year for the languishing Doha Development Agenda trade negotiations, the chair of the current agriculture negotiations - New Zealands Crawford Falconer - feels strongly that a deal is do-able despite many unresolved issues.

The European Union (EU) hides itself behind the so-called WTO constraints to impose on the poorest countries in the world, the ACP countries (ACPs) in which Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) accounts for 94% of the population, the drastic remedy of a bilateral free trade under the pretext that 34 years of non reciprocal trade preferences did not prevent them from becoming poorer.

South Asian countries exporting agri products may not benefit much from the proposed tariff reduction in developed countries in accordance with the Doha Round of negotiations.

European commissioners are set to clash over plans for an import tax on products from energy-intensive industries aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

An open letter to WTO director general Pascal Lamy and the ASEAN Heads of State Cebu City, Republic of the Philippines, 9 December 2006

Korea and the United States hit a deadlock in three of the most sensitive areas in talks for a free trade agreement, raising doubts about meeting a March 2007 deadline in concluding the negotiations.

The World Health Organization's Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (IGWG), at its meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, held discussions on the elements of a global strategy and plan of action in relation to intellectual property, health R&D and public health.

Free trade negotiations with the United States broke down on Wednesday after South Korean negotiators walked out of three committee meetings.

The World Health Organization's Intergovernmental Working Group on Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (IGWG) began its first session on Monday where procedural issues dominated much of the discussions.

The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) represents the first attempt at regional integration that is not based primarily on trade liberalization but on a new vision of social welfare and equity.