Archive - Article

It dealt with eight regular items today, including TRIPS andhealth, special and dfiierential treatment, small economies,implementation issues, budget committee.

On the eve of the WTO General Council meeting (which starts on 27 July), there does not appear to be any last minute breakthroughs on the main issues of agriculture or non-agricultural market access (NAMA).

Bilateral and plurilateral meetings on fisheries and antidumping (AD) dominated the work of the 11-15 July session of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Negotiating Group on Rules

Negotiations on agriculture in the World Trade Organisation have been taking place in a small group involving 14 WTO member countries (known as the extended FIPs, five interested parties)

The chairman of the Doha round's services negotiating group this week told the Trade Negotiations Committee that offers now on the table provide few if any new commercial opportunities to services companies.

The final working week of July, starting 25 July, will see a spurt of activity at the World Trade Organisation as members try to reach as much agreement as possible on a number of issues.

The United Nations' top poverty adviser said Monday that African countries should refuse to begin negotiations on a new round of world trade talks if rich nations do not cut farm subsidies and tariffs.

The recent G8 Summit in Gleneagles has been proclamed to be proofof the G8's new commitment to development. However the outcome was mixed, with some progress in aid and debt.

WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi warned that that'progress is nowhere near sufficient in terms of our critical path to Hong Kong,' andthat 'these negotiations are in trouble.'(M.Khor)

At the wrap-up of the latest informal trade ministerial meeting conducted by the World Trade Organization yesterday, Deputy US Trade Representative Peter Allgeier made a strong case for a two-coefficient simple 'Swiss' formula to cut industrial tariffs.