This report identifies options that negotiators and policy-makers could pursue in order to reach a permanent solution at the World Trade Organization (WTO) to the problems some developing countries say they face when buying food at government-set (or government-administered) prices under their public stockholding programs for food security purposes. The …
This article attempts to estimate how India’s trade in agricultural products will be affected by tariff reductions according to the tiered formula of the 2008 draft modalities in the Doha round of the World Trade Organisation. The estimates indicate that the reductions in agricultural tariff rates will lead to an …
Third complaint against Chinese companies flouting rules filed. Probe underway. The trade dispute between the US and China over renewable energy equipment is growing shriller. The Wind Tower Trade Coalition (WTTC), a coalition of producers of wind towers in the US, has filed a complaint with the US Department of …
It is very sensible not to delay any more the answers to the question of strengthening the food and agricultural supply chain. If anything is holding back the sustainability of a 9 per cent growth rate it is wage goods inflation. I get misunderstood when I say that the seasonal …
Plan To Transfer 500MW From Amritsar, Surplus Diesel From Bathinda Refinery New Delhi:India and Pakistan are strengthening business links in 2012, with the stage set to start trading in electricity and petroleum products. Officials from the two countries have decided to trade in electricity through a specially-built high voltage direct …
Reed Beall and Randall Kuhn describe their findings from an analysis of use of compulsory licenses for pharmaceutical products by World Trade Organization members since 1995. Original Source
Actors at the local, national and global level, through their policies, institutional structure and processes, influence livelihood decisions irrespective of geographical setting. The introduction of intellectual property rights (IPR) under the WTO regime demonstrates how decisions taken at an international level affect millions of livelihoods across the globe. This has …
New Delhi India stuck to its position of opposing the emissions trading scheme (ETS) of the European Union even as the EU’s highest court upheld the union’s right to impose its cap-and-trade carbon trading scheme on international airlines that use European airports. Rejecting a suit brought by North American airlines, …
The General Agreement on Trade in Services does impose limits on many developing countries’ ability to regulate the financial sector. A response to the article “Regulatory Freedom under GATS: Financial Services Sector” which argued otherwise.
Countries protect their renewable energy equipment. Exporting nations see it as trade barrier. The world is witnessing an increase in trade disputes in the renewable energy sector. Countries are trying to strengthen their renewable energy base by preferring indigenous products over imports. This is an obvious dampener for countries with …
International trade is a key component of sustainable development. This brochure offers a set of messages on sustainable development and trade that may be pronounced at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (commonly known as Rio+20), which will take place in Brazil in June 2012. The brochure looks at …
The objective of this report is to catalyse thinking about the ways in which agriculture – which has a vital role in global food security, development and natural resources use – can and must be fully integrated into national strategies and a consensus-based multilateral framework to address the challenges of …
The Congress party’s political leadership today backed the government’s decision to allow 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail. Armed with this support, the government tonight braced itself for a face-off with the opposition at the all-party meeting tomorrow. And hoped that it could get its allies …
China's Commerce Ministry on Friday announced an investigation into U.S. government policy and subsidy support for renewable energy, after a U.S. decision earlier this month to probe sales of Chinese-made solar panels in the United States. The announcement comes after China's solar industry association said on Tuesday that Chinese solar …
Warns US of retaliatory measures. China has reacted sharply to the inquiry launched by the US Department of Commerce into the alleged unfair trade practices adopted by China in the United States for selling solar cells and panels. The Coalition for American Solar Manufacturing (CASM) had filed a petition with …
China and other developing countries are resisting a U.S. proposal to cut tariffs on environmental goods, casting doubt on one of President Barack Obama's goals for a Pacific Rim summit he hosts next week. The U.S. has been pressing for years, with little success, to liberalize trade on "green" goods, …
The 2011 Review of Maritime Transport, published by the UNCTAD highlights challenges of adapting maritime transport to the impacts of climate change, primarily sea-level rise, and provides an update on the development of measures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from maritime transport. A chapter on developments in sea-borne trade …
Twenty-six nations are expected to lodge a formal protest on Wednesday against a European Union law to make airlines pay for carbon emissions -- adding to transatlantic tension on an issue that has triggered a tit-for-tat bill in the Congress. Under EU legislation, from January 1 all flights to or …
Canada warned on Sunday it will "defend its interests" if the European Union (EU) goes through with a proposal to rank Canadian oil sands as a highly polluting fuel. In a letter to EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger, Canadian Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver also said the European Commission's Fuel …
Historic it may be—even if watered down. The unanimous adoption of a “political declaration” by the UN on the need to fight the rising tide of non-communicable diseases (NCD) is a singular development and, as analysts have been reminding us, it is only the second time a health issue has …
Last week just as Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Novartis was set to begin its final arguments in the Supreme Court against the rejection of a patent for its cancer drug Glivec (see ‘Evergreen Novartis’, Down To Earth, September 1-15) there were two swift and stunning developments. A letter was written by …
