Agriculture

Non-tariff barriers will hit South Asia’s agri exports

26 December, 2006
Ashok B. Sharma, www.financialexpress.com
South Asian countries exporting agri products may not benefit much from the proposed tariff reduction in developed countries in accordance with the Doha Round of negotiations.

Make changes in Seed Bill, urge farmers?

3 December, 2006
Ashok B Sharma, Financial Express
NEW DELHI, DEC 3:

EU to back India’s farm interests at WTO talks

17 November, 2006
The Financial Express
The European Union on Friday indicated that it would support India

World Bank stance on SPs, SSM assailed at WTO meet

1 November, 2006
TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Nov06/05)
The World Bank has claimed at an agriculture meeting of the WTO that the use of "special products" and "special safeguard mechanism" which had been proposed by many developing countries in the Doha negotiations could undermine food supply to the world's poor.

NEW Report Critical of Gates/Rockefeller and FAO’s "Green Revolution for Africa"

19 October, 2006
Institute for Food and Development Policy
The Institute for Food and Development Policy, also known as Food First, today released a report that is highly critical of the Rockefeller and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations' $150 million 'Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa' (AGRA).

India moots dispute mechanism at WTO

18 October, 2006
The Deccan Herald
India next week will ask the World Trade Organization to establish a dispute settlement panel against Washington over its

Economists in plea to open up food markets

9 October, 2006
Philip Thornton, The Guardian
About 100 professional economists have called on rich countries to kick-start the stalled world trade talks by opening up their food markets.

Report 3 on UNCTAD meetings: Doha talks should resume but on development basis

9 October, 2006
By Martin Khor, TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Oct06/04)
The World Trade Organisation's Doha negotiations should resume as soon as possible, and on the basis of the development mandate and principle so that the developing countries will really benefit, according to many developing countries individually or through their groupings.

Transcript of press conference by US representatives in Cairns - Sept. 21st

26 September, 2006
IATP
A link to the transcript of the press conference Susan Schwab and Mike Johanns gave in Cairns meeting.

Europe to review US offer on farm deal

22 September, 2006
Joseph Kerr and Ian Gerard, The Australian
EUROPEAN trade negotiators have agreed to consider a new offer from the US to cut its generous subsidy schemes for its own farmers.

Cairn Group's 20th Anniversary Ministerial Meeting Communique

21 September, 2006
Cairns Group Website
We, the Ministers of the Cairns Group, met in Cairns, Australia from 20-22 September, on the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of our Group, to review the current impasse in the Doha negotiations and to discuss how we can contribute to their successful resumption.

GM Alert: US Using WTO to Push GM Food into India

3 September, 2006
By Forum for Biotechnology and Food Security, New Delhi
Both notifications assert that these regulations are trade restrictive for countries like the US planning to export GM products to India.

US may cut farm subsidies, says Das

29 August, 2006
By Ashok B. Sharma, Financial Express
(Bhagirath Lal Das) says the WTO negoiations are likely to resume in September and conclude in time to enable the US fast track authority to approve of the decision before June 2007.

WTO General Council officially suspends talks indefinitely

26 July, 2006
Agence Europe
In Geneva, on Thursday, at the request of WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, the ambassadors of the 149 WTO member nations, meeting in General Council, officially agreed to suspend Doha Round talks indefinitely after the stalled meeting on 24 July when the major G-6 trading powers (EU, United States, Brazil, India, Australia and Japan) were unable to reach a compromise on the modalities (figures and other provisions) for trade liberalisation in agricultural products and non-agricultural manufactured articles (NAMA).

ACP submits wide-ranging paper on agriculture modalities

21 June, 2006
By Martin Khor, TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues
On the eve of the issuance of a draft modalities paper on agriculture by the Chair of the WTO's agriculture negotiations, the ACP Group has submitted a paper updating its position on various issues in agriculture modalities.

Draft Modalities on Agriculture and NAMA

21 June, 2006
TIP-IATP
The Draft Modalities on Agriculture and NAMA are now available on the WTO website.

Uphill battles for South in WTO's end-June process

20 June, 2006
By Martin Khor, TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues
The 'end of June' process at the WTO is expected to start in earnest on Wednesday (21 June) with the issuance of two papers - the draft modalities on agriculture and on non-agricultural market access (NAMA).

On the right path to development: African Countries Pave the Way

16 June, 2006
By Carin Smaller and Sophia Murphy, IATP
The June 7 proposal by the African Group (an alliance of 41 African countries) to the WTO on managing trade in agricultural commodities is a refreshing way forward for addressing poverty and improving living standards in rural areas in the context of the Doha Agenda.

New papers on Agriculture from Canada and Australia

7 June, 2006
Carin Smaller
Links to three new submission in relation to agriculture market access.

Deadlines and the DDA Ag Talks

6 June, 2006
Washington Trade Daily
A senior US agricultural trade negotiator in the Doha Development Agenda commented yesterday that he has not seen so much 'negotiating enthusiasm' in Geneva for months - but not enough to create a 'level of ambition' that would lead the way to an eventual conclusion (WTD, 6/6/06).