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New Zealand is one of eight governments (US, EC, Japan, Australia, Switzerland, South Korea and Taiwan) pushing a scheme that would require all countries, rich and poor, to lock open a minimum number of their services to foreign firms

World Trade Organization members must reach agreement on key agriculture 'numbers' at this December's ministerial meeting in Hong Kong to move the talks into 2006

Despite growing fears that World TradeOrganization protests may be stifled, Hong Kong's foreign domestic helpers' Asian Migrants Coordinating Body has begun 'intensifying' a campaign to mobilize its constituents to protest against deregulation policies.

Many developing countries have objected to the joint attempt by developed countries to introduce a 'benchmarking approach' or 'complementary multilateral methods' to the services negotiations in the World Trade Organisation.

This year's WIPO General Assembly, which begins Monday 26 September and will run to 5 October, will have a full agenda, with many decisions to be taken that will have significant effect on the future of the organization.

The United States and the European Union on Friday asked Brazil and India to agree to a 'Swiss' formula with two coefficients one for the industrialized countries and one for the developing countries to cut industrial tariffs

Trade chiefs of the new 'quad' grouping of nations the United States, the European Union, Brazil and India failed to make headway in reconciling their positions in agriculture

Paris 'Quad' trade members from the United States, the European Union, Brazil and India were able here last Friday to conclude their meeting on an optimistic note after an exchange of figures by the United States and the European Union to be eventually plugged into a tariff-cutting formula in the market access pillar of Doha Development Agenda

The differences among members on these issues were as wide as before the WTO's summer break, with the countries reiterating their known positions