Articles

Farmers’ Group Hit DA, DAR, DENR For Onerous RP-China Deals

7 February, 2007
IRDF
The Task Force Food Sovereignty (TFFS), a network of farmer organizations and peasant support NGOs and individuals which campaigns

Protest at US embassy as Malaysia-US FTA talks proceed

6 February, 2007
Chee Yoke Heong
As Malaysia and the US engaged in another round of bilateral talks to finalise a free trade agreement (FTA), a group of citizens staged a peaceful protest outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

G33 defends position on SP and SSM

6 February, 2007
By Goh Chien Yen, TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Feb07/04)
A number of G33 ministers present at Davos had issued a statement on behalf of the grouping emphasizing that any convergence on Special Products (SPs) and Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) must not 'subvert the development goals and aspirations of the vast bulk of small, poor and vulnerable producers of developing countries.'

NAMA Group concludes four days of consultations

6 February, 2007
Kanaga Raja, TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Feb07/03)
The WTO Negotiating Group on Market Access for Non-agricultural Products (NAMA) concluded on Thursday 25 January four days of consultations in different formats to advance the technical work in the negotiations. The consultations to advance technical work covered areas such as Ad Valorem Equivalents, Non-Tariff Barriers, Recently Acceded Members and sectorals.

G-20 Criticizes U.S. Farm Bill Proposal, Calls for Doha Agriculture Deal by Summer

6 February, 2007
Daniel Pruzin, BNA
The Group of 20 developing country alliance has criticized the Bush administration's proposal for reforming U.S. farm subsidy programs, arguing that the changes would not lead to any real cuts in actual spending.

Globalization bigger threat than global warming in worsening food shortage

5 February, 2007
IBON Foundation
Globalization, not global warming, is the bigger threat to the country

US FARM BILL 2007 - Setback for developing world as US will extend support to farmers?

4 February, 2007
Ashok B Sharma, Financial Express
Consistent with the game being played by developed countries, the US has begun the process of shifting its subsidies under Amber and Blue boxes to Green box through its 2007 Farm Bill proposals.

A NAMA Caucus

31 January, 2007
Washington Trade Daily
The chair of the Doha Development Agenda negotiations on nonagricultural market access Don Stephenson has created what he calls a NAMA caucus of some two dozen key World Trade Organization members to accelerate work on all core issues.

Real progress needed on NTBs and sectorals, says NAMA Chair

29 January, 2007
By Kanaga Raja, TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues
The Chair of the WTO Negotiating Group on Market Access for Non-agricultural Products (NAMA), in his first open-ended consultations of the new year, encouraged members to work harder on  the issues of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and ‘sectorals’.

Thai Human Rights Commission attacks FTA with US

29 January, 2007
By Sanya Smith, TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues
The free trade agreement that Thailand has been negotiating with the United States will violate the human rights of Thai people and affect the country's sovereignty; thus negotiations should not resume until a thorough review of its impact is undertaken.

Nath’s offer of room on special products irks farmers

28 January, 2007
Ashok B Sharma, Financial Express
The issue of special safeguard mechanism (SSM) and special products (SPs) in agriculture has assumed importance in discussions for WTO talks resumption. This was after commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath

Demo Held against EU trade rules

24 January, 2007
Nation Reporter
Thousands of demonstrators yesterday paralysed operations of the European Union office in Nairobi accusing the trading bloc of exploiting African Countries.

African Ministers want to explore "all alternatives" in EPA talks

23 January, 2007
Martin Khor, TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues
African Trade Ministers at their recent meeting in Addis

Argentina, Brazil Join Canada’s WTO Complaint Against U.S. Corn Subsidies

22 January, 2007
BRADLEY S. KLAPPER, Associated Press Writer
South American agricultural powers Argentina and Brazil have joined Canada in a complaint against the United States over what they claim are illegal government handouts to American corn growers, trade officials said Monday.

The EU approach to FTA talks with ASEAN, India, Korea

22 January, 2007
Marc Maes, TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues
On 6 December 2006, the EU Commission announced that it had finalised three draft mandates for negotiating bilateral free trade agreements with ASEAN, Korea and India, together with two mandates for negotiations with Central America and the Andean Community.

US and EU near agriculture trade deal

20 January, 2007
By Eoin Callan and Alan Beattie, Financial Times
Trade negotiators from the US and European Union are edging a deal that could restart stalled world trade talks, according to people familiar with the discussions.

WTO plans threaten sea life: Greenpeace

18 January, 2007
By Daniel Wallis, Reuters
Pirates and licensed trawlers are pillaging the world's oceans, while proposals on the table for trade ministers meeting in Switzerland next week could prove the final blow to sea life, Greenpeace said on Friday.

Free trade means empty oceans: Greenpeace reveals evidence that trade liberalization could devastate fisheries

18 January, 2007
Greenpeace International
The world

China says int’l (WTO) IP rules will apply in domestic trials

18 January, 2007
Washington Trade Daily
International intellectual property rights laws will take precedence whenever they are applied in Chinese domestic trials even if they differ from domestic laws, a senior judicial figure told a national conference on IPR-related trials according to the China Daily newspaper

Water Privatization & Investment Disputes: The Case of Biwater v. Tanzania

17 January, 2007
CIEL, LEAT
The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and the Lawyers