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WTO Members Still Battling Over TRIPS And Health
As BRIDGES Weekly went to press, negotiations were still going on in the WTO Council for Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) over paragraph 6 of the Doha Declaration on the TRIPs Agreement and Public Health. While most WTO Members had expressed their willingness to approve the Chair’s…
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Trade And Development Committee Unable To Bridge Gaps On S&D
After numerous sessions held between 12 and 20 December — including a marathon session on 19 December with Heads of Delegation — Members at the Special Session of the WTO’s Committee on Trade and Development (CTD) were unable to bridge the gaps that remained on the mandate to strengthen…
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WTO: Harbinson Circulates 'Overview Paper', EU Presents New AG Proposal
On 18 December, Stuart Harbinson, chair of the negotiating session of the Committee on Agriculture (CoA), circulated a long-awaited ‘overview paper’ that outlines the current status of negotiations on establishing numeric targets, formulas and other ‘modalities’ for countries’ commitments by 31 March 2003. The paper was released in accordance…
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EU Fisheries Talks Marked By Sharp Disagreement
EU fisheries ministers, scheduled to complete talks on fishing quotas on Thursday, 19 December, struggled in drawn-out meetings to find a compromise deal. While scientists warn that cod and other key species are on the verge of becoming extinct and should be protected, fishermen and nations with significant fishing fleets are fighting to save jobs…
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WTO Working Group On Trade, Debt And Finance Discusses Coherence With IMP And World Bank
Meeting in Geneva on 17 December, the Working Group on Trade, Debt and Finance focussed on the issue of coherence between the multilateral trading system and international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF. Participants considered a background paper entitled "toward greater coherence" (WT/WGTDF/W/17, accessible…
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WTO Resources
Several end of year WTO-related documents have been posted on the ICTSD website. The documents available are: Agriculture Chair’s overview paper of ‘modalities’ proposals, 18 December 2002. European Commission paper on EU agriculture proposal, presented 16 December 2002, not yet internally adopted. TRIPs Council Chair’s most recent draft recommendation on TRIPs and Public Health…
- In Brief
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In Brief
EU APPROVES FARM ANIMAL HORMONE BAN EU Ministers, meeting for the Agriculture and Fisheries Council on 16- 19 December, reached political agreement on the Commission’s proposal related to the ban of hormones as growth promoters for farm animals. The proposal aims to amend Directive 96/22/EC, thereby making the current temporary legislative ban permanent. The European Parliament,…
- WTO in Brief
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US DSU Proposal Receives Mixed Reactions
At a 16-18 December negotiating session of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), the US and Chile submitted a joint proposal aimed at providing parties to a WTO dispute with more flexibility and control over the process. The proposal would allow members more control of the content of Appellate Body (AB) reports as well as…
- Events
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Events
For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable development, please refer to ICTSD’s web calendar at: http://www.ictsd.org/cal/index.htm. If you would like to submit an event, please email events@ictsd.ch. Coming Up In January 2003 2-7 January, Hyderabad, India: ASIAN SOCIAL FORUM. The main themes of the forum are the following: Peace and Security; Debt, Development…
- Resources
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Resources
If you have a relevant resource (books, papers, bulletins, etc.) you would like to see announced in this section, please forward a copy for review by the BRIDGES staff to resources@ictsd.ch. Submissions of publications to ICTSD’s documentation centre would also be welcomed (see mailing address below). FREE TRADE AND THE ENVIRONMENT: THE PICTURE BECOMES CLEARER. NAFTA…