Posts in October 21, 2005

Not since the hunger crisis of 1984 in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa has the issue of “feeding the […]

The US proposal on Agriculture seen as source of momentum The Doha negotiations, which only a few months ago was characterized as stalled over many areas of disagreements among Members, are now back in motion. This is the common refrain from heads of key negotiating committees-Agriculture, NAMA, and Services-in a series of lobby meetings with social movements and NGOs in Geneva. This was also the assessment expressed at the meeting with the Brazilian Mission and the meeting with the G90 yesterday.

GENEVA (15 0CTOBER 2005)- trade activists numbering over 3,000 massed up in front of the WTO headquarters here this afternoon to open the weeklong activities centered around the upcoming WTO General Council Meeting. After a brief program that featured fiery speeches from European, Latin American and Asian activists, the crowd of mostly trade unionists, farmers and NGOs proceeded to march along lake Geneve singing songs, shouting slogans and carrying banners against the WTO and its agenda of corporate globalization. The action ended with another program at Place Nueve.

We are here today to exchange views on a subject that carries dramatic implications on the world's economic well being, particularly that relating to the developing world. We have a good cross section of the civil society here, and I look forward to a candid exchange of views later on. Today's gathering is very much part of the constructive dialogue that we intend to have with the civil society which has become an integral part of the World Trade Organisation fabric.

Over 1,000 non-government firms have been accredited for the World Trade Organisation’s 6th Ministerial Conference to be held in Hong […]

Non-governmental organisations can express their views on the World Trade Organisation’s Sixth Ministerial Conference at an October 16 roundtable forum, […]

A Call to Action to Social Movements, Mass Organizations and All Civil Society Groups October 17, 2005 No Deal in […]

The U.S. for the first time this week set out conditions on how sensitive agricultural products not subject to formula tariff reductions should be treated under a new World Trade Organization agreement, according to Geneva sources. The ideas were floated at an informal Oct. 4 meeting of the agriculture negotiating group in Geneva. The U.S. is calling for an expansion of tariff-rate quotas on any products designated as sensitive that are currently covered by a TRQ. In-quota tariffs should be reduced to zero and out-of-quota tariffs should be halved, according to the U.S., while the quotas should increase in size by 7.5 percent of annual market consumption of that product.