Archive

The mood at the World Trade Organisation headquarters turned even more sombre Wednesday 19 April as many delegates have become convinced that it would be impossible to agree to modalities for agriculture and non-agricultural market access by the 30 April deadline set by the Hong Kong Ministerial.

In this final week of negotiations on non-agricultural market access (NAMA) before the end-April deadline for modalities, WTO members remain polarized over the key issues of the formula for making tariff cuts and flexibilities from the formula for developing country members.

The publication of a compilation of references to trade and trade-related issues by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

African Trade Ministers have expressed their serious concern that some developed countries are making use of the process of reform of the United Nations to target the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in order to erode its mandate or even its institutional existence.

The African Union Trade Ministers' Conference, held in Nairobi on 12-14 April, adopted a Nairobi Ministerial Declaration on the Doha Work Programme, detailing Africa's position on the current WTO negotiations.

The African Union Trade Ministers' Conference, held in Nairobi on 12-14 April, adopted a Nairobi Ministerial Declaration on the Doha Work Programme, detailing Africa's position on the current WTO negotiations.

African Trade Ministers have expressed their serious concern that some developed countries are making use of the process of reform of the United Nations to target the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in order to erode its mandate or even its institutional existence.

African Trade Ministers have declared that the WTO modalities on agriculture and non-agricultural market access (NAMA) that are scheduled to be concluded at the end of April must be 'all-inclusive' and indicated that they would not accept 'partial modalities' that leave out issues of concern to African countries.

Peter MandelsonPeter Mandelson, trade commissioner for the European Union, on Friday labels the US the biggest single block to the faltering Doha round of trade negotiations.

The WTO Director-General, Pascal Lamy, made a bold statement at the 28th March meeting of the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC), in which he called on Trade Ministers to come to Geneva for the last week of April and early May to finalize modalities for the Doha Agenda.