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WTO members agreed on Friday 20 April to turn to multilateral negotiations at the WTO itself in Geneva as the central method to try and achieve a breakthrough in the organisation's troubled Doha talks.

The chair of the WTO’s Doha agriculture negotiations, Ambassador Crawford Falconer of New Zealand, said Friday that he would be preparing a provocative "challenge" paper at the end of next week that would be a precursor to a revised draft of an agriculture text.

The European Union informed the World Trade Organization on Tuesday that it will raise retaliatory sanctions against U.S. products because Washington continues to distribute anti-dumping funds to its companies in violation of international commerce rules.

Over 100 farmers and civil society organisations on Wednesday signed a memorandum rejecting the potential agreement by the Cairns Group and termed it anti-farmer and anti-Pakistan.

The G4 / G6 meeting in New Delhi (11th

Farmers here on Tuesday took out a protest procession against the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime, terming it lethal for the farming sector in poor countries.

On 1 April, the deadline for American President George W Bush to inform the US Congress of his intention to sign trade agreements under his present fast-track authority expired. He was unable to send any such intention regarding the World Trade Organisation's Doha negotiations.

The mood of despondency is increasing among WTO members as the possibility that the Doha negotiations cannot make headway this year looms larger.

In a stated attempt to 'narrow the gaps' on one of the most contentious issues in the troubled Doha Round agriculture negotiations, Pakistan on 10 April issued a new paper seeking to split the differences between developing countries eager to shield some 'special products' from the full force of tariff cuts and the agricultural exporters that fear diminished commercial opportunities.

A bipartisan majority of U.S. senators called on President Bush April 16 to oppose any further concessions in the World Trade Organization agriculture negotiations, saying that other WTO members have still not done enough in terms of offering enhanced market access for U.S. farm products.