Archive - Dec 1, 2006 - Article

Developing countries face challenges and problems in providing universal access to services to their people, and these were brought up in an expert meeting on "Universal Access to Services" organised by UNCTAD last week.

In the past week, several informal meetings have been taking place at the WTO which seem like a prelude to re-opening negotiations for the Doha Work Programme.

At an UNCTAD expert meeting on universal access to services held last week, the diplomats of several developing countries voiced opposition to the inclusion of the 'necessity test' principle in disciplines being negotiated for domestic regulation in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the WTO.

The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and the Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) lambasted the Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc. (Tadeco) in Mindano, Philippines for causing the pesticide poisoning of at least 79 people, mostly school children at that, from Tanglaw Elementary school in Braulio Dujali town in Davao del Norte.

Amid indications that WTO talks could resume by January next year, India has said there was a possibility of reaching a global trade deal by March 2007.