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Appellate
Body Issues Annual Report
January 30, 2008
The Appellate
Body, on 30 January 2008, released its
Annual Report for 2007. This Annual Report
provides a summary of the activities
undertaken in 2007 by the Appellate Body and
its Secretariat.
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Disciplines
on Domestic Regulation Pursuant to GATS
Article VI:4
January 23,
2008
This revised draft
of possible regulatory disciplines pursuant to
Article VI:4 of the General Agreement on Trade
in Services (GATS) is based on the extensive
discussions of the 18 April 2007 draft that
have taken place between June and December
2007.
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WTO Deal Still
Possible
Ohio Farmer,
January 21, 2008
However, Fisher
Boel believes that won't be a problem if a new
WTO deal is introduced. "TPA will be needed to
get an agreement in WTO, but I've been ...
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Developing
countries need both trade and aid, says new UN
study
UN News Centre,
January 18, 2008
A study by the UN
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
shows that both trade and aid are crucial to
developing countries. Especially for the group
of least developed countries (LDCs), the new
paradigm "aid for trade" is a vital aspect.
The study recognises that trade preferences
per se are not sufficient to generate supply
capacity and economic growth in the LDCs, but
that aid is first needed to make the
preferences, and trade itself work for
development.
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New UNCTAD
study on erosion of trade preferences
UNCTAD, January 18, 2008
The study,
entitled Erosion of trade preferences in the
post-Hong Kong framework: From "trade is
better than aid" to "aid for trade", examines
which products and countries have benefited
the most from existing preferences granted by
the United States, Japan and the European
Union and what the likely effects will be of
preference erosion.<<More>>
The GATT/WTO at
60: What have they achieved and where have
they fallen short of their objectives?
WTO Forum, January 2008
Julio Lacarte Muró,
former chairman of the WTO's Appellate Body
and Uruguayan trade negotiator for five
decades and John Weekes, senior trade policy
adviser with Sidley Austin and former Canadian
ambassador to the WTO, discuss what the World
Trade Organization and its predecessor, the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, have
achieved and where they could have done
better. The moderator is WTO spokesperson
Keith Rockwell.<<More>>
Has Lamy got
it wrong?
Business Standard, January 08, 2008
In mid-December,
the General Council, the decision-making
body of the WTO, closed the year on an
optimistic note. Its tenacious
director-general, Pascal Lamy, who is also
chairman of the Doha trade negotiating
committee, even declared, “Today, I believe
that we are closer to achieving the major
goal we all share — establishing modalities
in Agriculture and NAMA which, in turn,
would pave the way to the conclusion of the
Round.” A confident Lamy went on to say the
beleaguered Doha Round would conclude by the
end of 2008.<<More>>
Chairperson’s
working documents November 2007–January 2008
WTO January 04, 2008
Ambassador
Crawford Falconer, chairperson of the
agriculture negotiations, sent members eight
new working documents — on market access —
on 4 January 2008, bringing the total since
November to 16. After the chairperson
circulated his revised draft “modalities”
paper in July and August, the talks entered
their most intensive phase so far. The
working documents reflect the progress made.
They are designed to focus the discussions
and help the chairperson prepare the next
revised draft “modalities” paper.<<More>>
India-Brazil-South Africa call
Financial Express, January 01, 2008
The leaders of
India, Brazil and South Africa (Ibsa), at a
summit meeting at Tshwane in South Africa,
have reaffirmed their commitment to carry the
Doha Round of trade negotiations at the World
Trade Organization (WTO) towards an outcome
that is “fair and acceptable to all”.
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