Posts filed under 'WTO'
March 5th, 2007 at 03:18pm
In its Trade Policy Review for Australia, TPRB/279, issued March 5, the WTO Secretariat noted that unilateral trade liberalization and increased transparency in economic policymaking were critical factors in the average 3.2% annual rate of Australian GDP growth over the last five years. The Secretariat report added that further macroeconomic reforms, particularly in Australian infrastructure, were critical to sustaining solid economic growth. For the full reports of the Secretariat and the Australian government, see here: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp279_e.htm.
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March 4th, 2007 at 08:18pm
From February 16th to the 20th, leading figures of government, business and civil society, from countries of all development levels, were brought together in Salzburg, Austria, in a retreat aimed at putting the Doha negotiations into a global perspective. The talks and presentations addressed the gains and costs of the negotiations, and the solutions available for solving current differences, which could bring the Doha round to its conclusion.
For further information, and access to the presentations, please click here.
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February 27th, 2007 at 07:38am
On February 21, 2007, the Norwegian Government announced its CHF2 Million donation to the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF) for 2007, becoming the second biggest contributor to the Fund. This donation will finance technical assistance programmes and training activities for developing and least-developed countries.
For further information, please click here.
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February 13th, 2007 at 07:51am
In its Trade Policy Review for Argentina issued February 12, the WTO Secretariat reported that Argentina had recovered strongly from its 2003 recession, but noted that continued development required containing inflationary pressures by attracting foreign investment. The Secretariat report, TPRB 277, emphasized that Argentina’s support for the Doha Round would catalyze the creation of such an economic environment. For more details, see here: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp277_e.htm.
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February 9th, 2007 at 09:37pm
Japan’s eighth Trade Policy Review took place between January 31 and February 2. According to the report, Japan’s economic situation has improved since the previous Trade Policy Review in 2005; however, the report indicates that further structural reform is needed in the financial, corporate and public sectors, and that increased trade liberalization is required particularly in the agricultural sector.
For further information, please click here.
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February 9th, 2007 at 09:34pm
On January 30, the WTO issued the report of the panel examining anti-dumping measures imposed by the U.S. on shrimp from Ecuador. The panel concluded that the U.S. acted inconsistently with the Anti-Dumping Agreement in imposing the disputed measures, and thus nullified or impaired Ecuador’s benefits under the agreement. Finally, the panel recommended that the Dispute Settlement Body of the WTO request the U.S. to bring its measures into conformity with its obligations under the Anti-Dumping Agreement.
For the full report, see here.
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January 22nd, 2007 at 06:55pm
In a Trade Policy Review issued January 22, the WTO Secretariat noted that Chad had experienced growth, but needed broad trade policy reform in order to encourage the investment required for diversification of its economic base and effective redistribution of large profits from new oil exports. The report found that reductions in both currently high tariffs and administrative restrictions were particularly critical to encouraging investment in Chad. For the report of both the Secretariat and the Chadian government, see here: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp275_e.htm.
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January 9th, 2007 at 05:42pm
The WTO Appellate Body ruled January 9 that so-called “zeroing” procedures used by the United States in administering anti-dumping measures violated the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement. The Appellate Body held that US sunset trade reviews employing zeroing, whereby any differentials by which prices in the United States exceed those in home markets are not factored into anti-dumping price ratios, also violate the agreement and encouraged the Dispute Settlement Body to request that the US change its procedures. The full ruling in the case, DS322, can be found here: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/322abr_e.pdf.
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January 4th, 2007 at 03:23pm
On January 4, 2007, at the Annual Conference of the Norwegian Confederation of Industries, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy emphasized the importance of the Doha Round to world trade, and specifically the benefits Norway would obtain from a genuine agricultural reform. Lamy indicated that the main objective of the Doha Round is to correct some of the remaining imbalances in the current trade rules through a strengthening of rules and commitments to correct and prevent restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets.
For the complete speech, click here.
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December 17th, 2006 at 06:49am
The WTO General Council agreed on December 14 to implement a provisional transparency mechanism with regard to regional trade agreements (RTA). Under the new regime, members will make both early announcements of RTA negotiations and early notifications of concluded RTAs. The WTO Secretariat will then make a factual presentation of the RTA to WTO members for their consideration consideration. To examine the mechanism in its entirety, see http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news06_e/rta_15dec06_e.htm.
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