Articles

G-33 Upbeat WTO Members Will Accept Special Treatment Offer

12 June, 2005
Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
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.

Statement and Demands From Indonesian Farmer Organisations and Non-Governmental Organisations to the Delegations of the G-33 Ministerial Conference

11 June, 2005
Bonnie Setiawan, IGJ
'NO countries will remain sovereign and advance if they keep depending on their food needs externally!

Food aid and state trading exercises

9 June, 2005
C. Smaller, IATP
Title

APEC Ministers Agree on WTO Tariff-Cutting Formula for Industrial Goods; USTR Portman Visits China to discuss bilateral trade issues

9 June, 2005
Office of the United States Trade Representative
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.

NAMA WEEK: APEC DECLARATION SAID TO INDICATE 'SOME CONVERGENCE'

8 June, 2005
Carin Smaller, IATP
Senior trade officials from the US and Australia had welcomed the agreement, with Australian Trade Minister Mark Vaile saying that it would 'inject new momentum' into the talks at the WTO.

US Moves NAMA Forward

8 June, 2005
Washington Trade Daily
Part of the push came from the strong support for an ambitious NAMA approach tabled earlier this week by Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministers, who met last week in South Korea.

For Bolivia, Neoliberalism is Not an Option

8 June, 2005
Grethen Gordan, Citizens Trade Campaign, CommonDreams.org
As the Organization of American States completes its three-day session debating the role of free trade and neoliberalism in fostering democracy for the continent, the country of Bolivia is on the brink of a civil war over that very question.

United Nations Children's Committee Warns Nicaragua About CAFTA Threats

6 June, 2005
source unknown
Nicaragua was warned last Friday by a United Nations Human Rights Body that Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations should not undermine the State

Bolivia's Poor Indigenous Population Rises Up to Demand Nationalization of their Nation's Energy Resources

5 June, 2005
Scott Harris, Between the Lines
Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Jim Schultz, executive director of the Democracy Center in Cochabamba, Bolivia, who analyzes the roots of the nation's popular resistance to U.S.-backed neoliberal economic policies and their connection to the wider progressive movements across Latin America.

Chamber of Deputies unanimously approves parliamentary bill to free Aids drug patents

3 June, 2005
Ministry of Health, Brazil
The Constitution, Justice and Citizenship Commission of the Chamber of Deputies (CCJ) unanimously approved a Bill modifying Article 18 of the Brazilian Patents Law thereby freeing Aids drugs from patent coverage.

Inside U.S. Trade, ATTORNEYS GENERAL SEEK CLOSER CONSULTATION IN SERVICES TALKS

2 June, 2005
Sara Johnson
Attorneys general from 29 states called on the Bush Administration this week to consult with them more closely when formulating positions on the services negotiations in the Doha round.

Divisions emerge as WTO members begin sensitive farm product talks

2 June, 2005
Inside US Trade
Significant differences emerged this week between the U.S. and other agricultural exporters and the EU and other importers of farm commodities as World Trade Organization members for the first time discussed how to treat...

Summary of the EU?s revised services offer in the Doha negotiations

1 June, 2005
FoE Europe
Summary of EU's revised services offer in the WTO negotiations.

Latin America may flex

1 June, 2005
By Jeremy Smith, Reuters
World trade talks could slip up over bananas at a key meeting in December if Latin America digs its heels in over a row with Europe that has simmered all year

RNM Newsletter, June 2, 2005

1 June, 2005
Communications Division, Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery
Prepared by the Communications Division of the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM), this electronic newsletter focuses on the RNM, trade negotiation issues within its mandate and related activities.

Lawmakers Press U.S. Trade Negotiators To 'Stand Firm' on U.S. Trade Laws at WTO

30 May, 2005
By Gary G. Yerkey, International Trade Daily
A bipartisan group of some two dozen members of Congress May 27 called on U.S. negotiators to 'stand firm' against efforts to weaken U.S. trade laws in talks at the World Trade Organization scheduled to be held the week of May 30.

Stakes for RP High as WTO Services Talks Nears Deadline

29 May, 2005
By Jennifer del Rosario-Malonzo, IBON Features Vol XI No 16
The Philippines has not much to gain except on Mode 4 and a great deal to suffer from liberalizing its services sector

RP Officials Urged To Shun Bid in WTO Services Talks

29 May, 2005
IBON Foundation, Inc.
Independent think-tank IBON Foundation urges Philippine trade negotiators to the World Trade Organization (WTO) not to submit any offer on the services talks without substantially improved Mode 4 offers from developed countries like the US.

Sensenbrenner, Conyers Push for Portman Commitment on Visas

26 May, 2005
Inside US Trade
The chairman and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee this week demanded that the new U.S. Trade Representative renew a vow that the Bush Administration will not agree to additional changes to U.S. immigration or antitrust laws

Government Concedes that Water Does Not Belong in Trade Agreements

26 May, 2005
Public Interest Advocacy Centre
The (Australian) Government