Archive

U.S. restaurants, food retailers and processors have joined with agriculture producer groups in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil to form a coalition to lobby for reduced farm tariffs and subsidies at the World Trade Organization headquarters here and in world capitals.

At the negotiations over non agricultural market access (NAMA), there wasa heated debate over the modalities on the tariff reduction formulaand other aspects such as the treatment of unbound tariffs.(M.Khor)

The Special Session on agriculture, mainly involving negotiations onmaket access issues (the tariff reduction formula and special products and special safeguard mechanism) took place on 30 May to 3 June at the WTO.(M.Khor)

At the WTO agriculture session on 30 May to 3 June, the Groupof 33 (comprising 42 countries, mainly developing countries, whichare concerned about food security, livelihood security and ruraldevelopment needs) submitted two papers on special products (SPs)and special safeguard mechanism (SSM), in which the G33 spellout in greater detail their proposals on these two concepts.(M.Khor)

Negotiations aimed at producing a new global trade pact are moving very slowly on trade in services

With the World Trade Organization 6th Ministerial Conference just six months away, foreign governments are increasingly nervous about security preparations for the meeting amid worries that anti-globalization protesters could seek to disrupt the high profile talks.

A session of mainly informal negotiations took place at the WTOon agriculture issues on 30 May to 3 June. One of the key issues discussed was market access, especially the nature of the 'tiered formula' for tariff reductions.(M.Khor)

The Group of 33 developing countries is upbeat about its chances that World Trade Organization members will accept its proposal on the implementation details of special and differential treatment in protecting staple farm products.

'NO countries will remain sovereign and advance if they keep depending on their food needs externally!

At the June 2-3 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Cheju, Korea, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Portman and Trade Ministers from the 20 other APEC economies unanimously endorsed a strong statement advancing an ambitious outcome to the WTO Doha negotiations and spurring further progress toward free and open trade and investment in the Asia Pacific region.