Archive - Article

décembre 5th, 2009

Action Press Release: The European Union Must Stop False Solutions to Climate Change

25 November, 2009
Eleven days before the fifteenth Conference of the Parties under the United Nations’ Climate Change Convention that will be held in Copenhagen between the 7th and the 18th of December, an issue which remains controversial is the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the European Union and the Indonesian government, designed to support trade liberalisation between the two region as well as increase cooperation in the mitigation of climate change, in part through the provision of 550 million Euros of funding.

Time to kill off Doha, Pascal Lamy is wrong: the Doha round of talks offers nothing to the world's poorest countries. The WTO has failed to deliver

25 November, 2009

Monday 30 November marks the 10th anniversary of the Battle in Seattle, the day in 1999 when 100,000 protesters took to the streets and prevented the World Trade Organisation from launching its millennium round of free trade talks. The WTO is marking the occasion with another ministerial summit, and is understandably nervous – not because it fears another spectacular uprising (the summit is being held in genteel Geneva) but because the future of the WTO as a credible institution once again hangs in the balance.

Inside U.S. trade - Finance Fails To Vote On USTR Punke, Siddiqui Nominations

25 November, 2009
The Senate Finance Committee did not vote on the nominations of Michael Punke to be Deputy U.S. Trade Representative and Islam Siddiqui to be chief agriculture negotiator at USTR on Saturday, November 21.

septembre 4th

"Mini-Ministerial Meeting Should Change WTO Tack on Food"

3 September, 2009
A group of 125 non-governmental organisations from 50 countries is calling on the governments participating in the mini-ministerial trade talks in India over the next two days to reject the further liberalisation of food and rather promote policies that will achieve food security and rural development and safeguard farmers’ livelihoods. The organisations, of which 13 are in Africa, argue in a letter to the 36 countries attending the mini-ministerial meeting that the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) policies have resulted in "a failed global agricultural system including extremely volatile commodities markets, a lack of global access to nutritious and affordable food, an increase in hunger, and the erosion of farmers’ incomes.

India Betrays Farmers and Workers by Endorsing WTO December Texts; Mini-Ministerial Results in More US Demands

4 September, 2009
The much hyped Delhi mini-ministerial ended today with most developing country delegates saying that it was business as usual with negotiations going back to Geneva and Chairs of the Negotiating Committees of the Doha Round. However, Indian Commerce Minister Sharma summarized the meeting by saying that both the G20 and the G33, "were of the view that the texts of December 2008 must form the basis of future work."

août 29th

Rising tide of trade to sink Pacific

Despite the interest in the lead up to the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in Cairns, the decision to commence trade negotiations barely made a mention in the news in the wake of the meeting.

juillet 3rd

UN: North's bailouts destroyed trading system's playing field, says Stiglitz

29 June, 2009

New York, 26 Jun (Bhumika Muchhala) -- The bailouts given to companies in developed countries have destroyed the framework of the multilateral trading system for a level playing field, according to the Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz.

 

Speaking at the UN conference on the global financial and economic crisis, Stiglitz said that the massive bailouts and stimulus programmes of the rich countries have "destroyed the framework for an international and multilateral global playing field for trade."

 

Africa: Deeper regional integration needed in response to crisis

26 June, 2009

Geneva, 25 Jun (Kanaga Raja) -- The global economic crisis, which has reached the African continent, requires the re-examination of existing approaches to international development, with one important response being deeper regional integration to address the long-standing structural weaknesses of African economies, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said Thursday.

 

UN Economic Conference to receive agreed outcome draft text

25 June, 2009

New York, 24 Jun (Meena Raman) -- The UN Conference on the "World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development" opens Wednesday morning with speeches by UN dignitaries and some political leaders that have gathered here to discuss ways and means to address the crisis.

However, the main event will be whether a Main Committee decides to adopt a draft outcome document that has been transmitted to it by diplomats who have been negotiating intensely in the past few months.

European Union urged to reconsider its role in Central America

1 July, 2009

Versión española abajo.

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH INTERNATIONAL
MEDIA ADVISORY
For immediate release: Wednesday July 1, 2009

*****
EUROPEAN UNION URGED TO RECONSIDER ITS ROLE IN CENTRAL AMERICA
*****