| US: Farm Groups Nix US Bid for Deeper WTO Cuts: Sources REUTERS May 30th, 2006 The Bush administration sought agreement from U.S. farm groups for a 70 percent cut in their most trade-distorting subsidies as a way to save world trade talks but was rejected, industry sources said on Tuesday. |
| ECUADOR: Bush administration breaks off free trade talks with Ecuador by Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press May 16th, 2006 The Bush administration said Tuesday it had broken off negotiations on a free trade agreement with Ecuador following the South American government's decision to annul an operating contract with Occidental Petroleum Corp. |
| AFRICA: U.S. Farm Subsidies Hurting Africa's Development by Joyce Mulama, Inter Press News Service (IPS) April 15th, 2006 In a renewed campaign, African trade ministers have urged the United States to remove agricultural subsidies that are hurting African farmers. |
| EU: Europe Defends Stance on Genetically Altered Foods by Paul Meller, The New York Times February 8th, 2006 The European Commission defended its current practices on screening genetically altered foods in the wake of a report from the World Trade Organization that criticized its past action in restricting the entry of modified products into the European Union. |
| PHILIPPINES: No new mining permits by Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. , Blanche S. Rivera, Philippine Daily Inquirer February 4th, 2006 PRESIDENT Macapagal-Arroyo has offered to suspend the issuance of new mining permits to try to appease Roman Catholic bishops strongly opposed to the country's new Mining Act, a top Malacanang official said yesterday. |
| THAILAND: Thai Farmers Fear Free Trade Deal With US by Marwaan Macan-Markar, Inter Press Service January 12th, 2006 When United States negotiators fly into Thailand to thrash out a bilateral free trade deal next week, they will be greeted with jeers rather than this country's famed smile of welcome. |
| GLOBAL: World Bank Gets Cold Feet on Bird Flu Drug Patent by Marwaan Macan-Markar, Inter Press Service November 4th, 2005 The World Bank has decided that it is not in keeping with its mission to get involved in the emerging global debate on the Tamilfu patent held by the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche and that could be broken under the 'compulsory licencing' rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). |
| WORLD: From Bad to Worse: IFC Safeguards Bretton Woods Project June 13th, 2005 Devastating impacts of IFC-supported projects on people and the environment, and irresponsible company practises continue to highlight the serious shortcomings of the institution's environmental and social safeguards. |
| INDIA: Spice Farmers in Misery by Sunil Raman, BBC news May 13th, 2005 Thousands of spice farmers in India are in the midst of a major crisis, threatening one of the country's best known trades. |
| EUROPE: Loses Sugar Appeal at W.T.O.
by Tom Wright, New York Times April 29th, 2005 The World Trade Organization's highest court issued a final ruling Thursday ordering the European Union to stop illegally dumping subsidized sugar on global markets or face punishment. |
| LATIN AMERICA: AIDS Patients See Life, Death Issues in Trade Pact
by Marla Dickerson and Evelyn Iritani, LA Times April 22nd, 2005 Under CAFTA American pharmaceutical giants would gain a five-year edge on the development of new drugs by low-cost competitors. Generic versions of name-brand drugs are the main weapon for battling the AIDS pandemic in the developing world. |
| LAOS: Massive Dam Project Could Backfire by Emad Mekay, IPS April 8th, 2005 A new dam funded by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and hailed as a windfall for Laos may end up doing more harm than good to one of the world's poorest nations and its vulnerable farmers, several independent development groups say. |
| LATIN AMERICA: Banana Producers Go to WTO by Raphael Minder and Frances Williams , Financial Times March 30th, 2005 Ecuador and four other Latin American banana producers sought World Trade Organisation arbitration on Wednesday in their dispute with the European Union, raising the prospect of another long trade battle over the EU's banana import regime. |
| BOLIVIA: Not A Drop To Drink by Kelly Hearn, The American Prospect February 25th, 2005 In parched Latin American countries, the battle over water is ready to explode. |
| EU: WTO gives U.S. the Byrd by Agencies, Times Online U.K. August 31st, 2004 The World Trade Organisation (WTO) backed the EU and seven other WTO members in their demand to punish a US failure to revoke an anti-dumping law -- the so-called Byrd amendment -- declared illegal under international trade rules. |
| CHINA: China Vows To Protect Markets by Mure Dickie, Financial Times July 5th, 2004 China wants to make greater use of World Trade Organisation market protection measures, including the use of anti-dumping cases against foreign companies, as its economy and domestic industries adjust to increased competition brought by membership of the WTO. |
| UK: Oxfam Hopes To Stimulate Taste For Fair Trade by Simon Bowers, Guardian May 14th, 2004 The charity, backed by a loan from Glasgow-based coffee supplier Matthew Algie, yesterday said it hoped consumers' appetite for fair trade-certified coffee will attract new customers and draw others away from the mainstream chains. |
| Iraq: Amec Deal Saves UK from Embarrassment by Terry Macalister, Guardian (London) March 25th, 2004 Amec has won part of a $1bn (550m) contract to rebuild water and sewerage networks in Iraq. The deal is the biggest so far by a UK company for reconstruction work in the war-torn country, but otherwise British firms have lost out. |
| Nigeria: Shell Revamp to Cost Jobs BBC News March 22nd, 2004 The oil company Royal Dutch Shell has said it plans to cut jobs in Nigeria, so it can invest more money in better production methods. The aim is to raise output by 500,000 barrels a day within two years, says the head of Shell's Nigeria operations, Chris Finlayson. |
| EU: Microsoft's Last-Ditch Offer Is Rejected by Daniel Dombey, Financial Times March 18th, 2004 The European Commission said it had been unable to reach a settlement with Microsoft after considering the software group's last-ditch offer to end the long-running antitrust battle. |