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Nearly four months after suspension, World Trade Organization Chief Pascal Lamy on Friday signaled the need to restart what he called the 'process' of negotiations in all areas of the Doha Development Agenda 'single undertaking'.

As if to pre-empt the warnings that more Democrats meant more protectionism, newly powerful Democratic lawmakers were straight out of the traps yesterday promising bipartisan co-operation on international trade.

The US and Japan may use the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to negotiate and hasten onerous free trade agreements (FTAs) with member-countries to further consolidate transnational corporate dominance over local economies, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.

The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) has adopted decisions on how to proceed on three important issues that have been pre-occupying its General Assembly in the past week.

The WIPO General Assembly has adopted a decision on the protection of broadcasting organizations which goes a few steps backwards on negotiating and finalizing a new treaty on the issue.

Several developing countries cautioned against approving the recommendations of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) to convene a Diplomatic Conference on the protection of broadcasting and cablecasting organizations during discussions on this agenda item on Wednesday at the WIPO General Assembly.

The meetings of the WIPO General Assembly (GA) began on Monday (25 September), with Members generally proclaiming their positions on issues that are expected to be contentious and to dominate much of the debate at this current annual session.

World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy visited some high-ranking officials here Thursday and Friday to plead the case for resuming the long-stalled Doha Development Agenda negotiations - and then left for New York to participate in yesterday's New York City marathon

The World Bank has claimed at an agriculture meeting of the WTO that the use of "special products" and "special safeguard mechanism" which had been proposed by many developing countries in the Doha negotiations could undermine food supply to the world's poor.

Many developing countries have opposed another attempt by the European Union and other developed countries to have the TRIPS Council of the WTO to deal with enforcement of intellectual property rights.