10th Ministerial, Nairobi 2015 Ministerials

How Sitharaman Served Up India Instead of Using WTO High Table to Block US Agenda

Manicandan — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 20:27:33 +0000

25 December, 2015

THE WIRE

Biraj Patnaik the Principal Adviser in the Office of the Supreme Court commissioners on the Right to Food narrates, how Sitharaman Served Up India Instead of Using WTO High Table to Block US Agenda.

25 December, 2015 (All day)

Don't buy the spin: The WTO talks in Nairobi ended badly and India will pay a price

Manicandan — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 20:13:12 +0000

24 December, 2015

Scroll.in

Don't buy the spin: The WTO talks in Nairobi ended badly and India will pay a price India's Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, invited into a select group to negotiate the final text of the Nairobi agreement, let the rich countries have their way.

Article by Biraj Patnaik and Timothy A Wise

24 December, 2015 (All day)

For Press: Trade Union & NGO Experts' Contacts for MC10 WTO Ministerial meeting in Nairobi, Kenya December 15 – 18, 2015

Manicandan — Mon, 14 Dec 2015 15:54:25 +0000

14 December, 2015

Please find contact information for civil society representatives in attendance at WTO MC10, working in coordination with Our World is Not For Sale (OWINFS) global network and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).

14 December, 2015 (All day)

Major Summit Could Put World's Poorest Inhabitants on Corporate Chopping Block

Manicandan — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 20:35:33 +0000

13 December, 2015

ALTERNET

Last week, 453 civil society groups including trade unions, farmers, environmentalists, public interest groups and development advocates from over 150 countries wrote an urgent letter to members of the WTO to “express extreme alarm about the current situation of the negotiations in the WTO.” This is the largest number of endorsers on a letter about the WTO in the last decade and is a signal of the dire situation

13 December, 2015 (All day)

U.S. civil society groups back India’s stand at WTO

Manicandan — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 19:57:44 +0000

13 December, 2015

The Hindu

India’s demand that the World Trade Organization (WTO) take steps, on a priority basis, to safeguard the interests of poor farmers as well as the food security programmes in developing countries has received support within the U.S.

13 December, 2015 (All day)

India’s time to lead at the WTO

Manicandan — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 20:06:05 +0000

12 December, 2015

DownToEarth

USA’s price suppression and market distortions in cotton is threatening Indian and African producers.

As we approach the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial on December 15-18 in Nairobi, India is leading a group of developing countries insisting that the development goals promised in Doha in 2001 be achieved. On the other hand, the US, European Union (EU) and Japan have called for a “recalibration” of that agenda, one that leaves agriculture largely off the table. India is right to lead the fight for reforms in developed countries’ agricultural policies.

Cotton should be at the centre of those reforms. A recent study suggests that US subsidies under the 2014 Farm Bill will continue to suppress global cotton prices. Recognising this threat, Africa’s so-called Cotton 4 (or C-4) – Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad – tabled a proposal in October calling on the US and other WTO members to make good on the longstanding commitment to address the cotton issue.

12 December, 2015 (All day)

SSM blocked by US, EU, Australia and Brazil

Manicandan — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 19:15:56 +0000

30 November, 2015

TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Nov15/20)

The United States, the European Union, Australia, and Brazil on Tuesday (24 November) blocked a major deliverable concerning the special safeguard mechanism (SSM) for the developing countries at the World Trade Organization's tenth ministerial meeting in Nairobi beginning on December 15, several trade envoys told the SUNS.

30 November, 2015 (All day)

US trying to scupper Nairobi outcome on food security

Manicandan — Mon, 18 Jan 2016 19:06:32 +0000

12 November, 2015

Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Nov15/09)

The United States, the European Union, Australia, and other countries have nearly scuppered an outcome for the proposed permanent solution for public stockholding programs for food security purposes as demanded by 47 developing countries at the upcoming ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Nairobi next month, several trade envoys told the SUNS.

12 November, 2015 (All day)

Food security: US, EU rule out permanent solution for public stock holding programmes

Manicandan — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 03:32:54 +0000

7 November, 2015

live mint

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for an outcome on public stockholding programmes for food security at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) ministerial meeting next month in Nairobi has almost been spiked after the US, the European Union, Canada and Australia ruled out any change from the existing interim arrangement.

7 November, 2015 (All day)

The long arms of trade

Manicandan — Sat, 07 Nov 2015 02:47:01 +0000

4 November, 2015

India Together

As the countdown for the tenth Ministerial Conference of the WTO to be held in Nairobi, Kenya through 15-18 December commences, Shalini Bhutani emphasises the need for a cautious deliberation on how trade rules affect key sectors and all stakeholders.

4 November, 2015 (All day)

Unconditional 17-year exemption from pharmaceuticals patents agreed

Manicandan — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 07:35:11 +0000

3 November, 2015

TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Nov15/02)

The United States and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) at the World Trade Organization have reached agreement ad referendum on a pharmaceutical patent exemption for a duration of 17 years, according to trade diplomats. With this exemption, the world’s poorest nations will not be obliged “to implement or apply” or “to enforce” patents as well as test data protection for pharmaceutical products until 1 January 2033.

3 November, 2015 (All day)

Away from the Glare, a Push for More Stringent IPR Protection at the WTO

Manicandan — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 11:11:20 +0000

2 November, 2015

The Wire

The United States and Switzerland want the right to file complaints for loss of trade ‘benefits’ even against countries whose intellectual property rights laws are fully consistent with international agreements

2 November, 2015 (All day)

Envoys cry foul as US seeks to protect its farm export credits

Manicandan — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 05:40:25 +0000

2 November, 2015

Live Mint

The US has demanded ‘safe harbor’ protection for its controversial farm export credit programme from the disciplines underpinning the World Trade Organization’s agreement on subsidies and countervailing measures despite denying such a flexibility to India and other developing countries for public stockholding programmes for food security last year.

2 November, 2015 (All day)

‘Indian and African leaders must not fail to protect interests of locals at upcoming WTO meet'

Manicandan — Wed, 04 Nov 2015 10:15:58 +0000

28 October, 2015

Down To Earth

In a join civil society statement Indian and African CSOs called upon Indian and African leaders not to fail to protect interests of locals at upcoming WTO meet.

28 October, 2015 (All day)

“Unconscionable and indefensible” – U.S. 10-year offer to LDCs for pharmaceutical patent waiver

Manicandan — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 07:31:01 +0000

21 October, 2015

TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Oct15/14)

The United States’ offer to least developed countries of a 10-year transition period to grant pharmaceutical patents is “unconscionable and indefensible”, according to six influential US non-governmental organisations (NGOs). In a letter dated 19 October to President Barack Obama, the NGOs conveyed this strong criticism in view of the public health and other developmental challenges facing least developed countries (LDCs).

21 October, 2015 (All day)