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 …
From time immemorial, like most peoples of the ancient world, Indians have referred to products by the names of their places of origin. They have always known that goods from certain regions have distinct qualities and characteristics, but formal protection for such products is relatively recent.
The G-8 is investing in it, UN agencies are holding international symposia on it and civil society is struggling with it. Food insecurity is on everyone
Is the World Trade Organisation blocking progress in the fight against climate change? This is the question at the origin of this legal analysis. Politicians often invoke the WTO as a powerful supranational institution that prevents them from taking any 'market unfriendly' measures. With this legal analysis we intend to …
As a young agriculture reporter with the Indian Express, Devinder Sharma had covered the success story of Sukhomajri, a village near Chandigarh, where villagers came together to prevent soil erosion and fight for their environment. One of the persons who made that possible was P.R. Mishra. A few years later …
Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno (not their real names) are the frontmen for the Yes Men. They got together to set up parody websites such as www.gwbush.com and graduated to huge anti-corporate, culture-jamming stunts targeting giants such as ExxonMobil and Dow Chemical. Their latest film, The Yes Men Fix the …
Pakistan and Turkmenistan have signed a protocol wherein the two countries agreed to speed up the project for supply of gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan. In addition to this, the Turkmenistan government has also offered export of electricity to Pakistan. The signing of protocol for gas supply and the Turkmenistan's …
U.S. business groups frustrated with the slow pace of nearly 8-year-old world trade talks urged the Obama administration on Monday to remove negotiations on environmental goods and services from the Doha round and pursue them separately. "We don't think that Doha should hold this particular initiative hostage," Jeremy Preiss, vice …
In many ways, 2009 will prove to be a historic year. Against the backdrop of the ongoing financial crisis, the inauguration of a new administration in the USA, the increasing global influence of emerging economies such as India and China, and the much anticipated UNFCCC climate conference to be held …
This paper analyzes biofuels certification within the optic of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and proposes requirements for compliance with the international trading system. The paper explains how the compatibility of a biofuels-certification measure with international trade rules is determined from several perspectives, to determine whether the nondiscrimination rules of …
This paper analyzes biofuels certification within the optic of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and proposes requirements for compliance with the international trading system. The paper explains how the compatibility of a biofuels-certification measure with international trade rules is determined from several perspectives, to determine whether the nondiscrimination rules of …
Germany called a French idea to slap "carbon tariffs" on products from countries that are not trying to cut greenhouse gases a form of "eco-imperialism" and a direct violation of WTO rules. The issue of greenhouse tariffs has met bitter opposition from developing countries such as China and India, who …
India has approached the world trade organization (WTO) to settle a dispute with the European Union (EU). In the past year, the EU seized 16 Indian drug consignments in transit to Peru, Brazil, Columbia and Nigeria at Frankfurt and Amsterdam ports.
As the G8 and G5 today broke the logjam on the Doha talks and agreed to refrain from competitive devaluation of currencies, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has struck notes of caution in his conversations with world leaders here, telling them that the situation is
A plan by G8 industrial countries to boost food security through increased farming investment is important and timely, and should not only focus on production but also on addressing hunger and malnutrition, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Tuesday. Zoellick, speaking by telephone from Geneva, said the World Bank …
One of the main objectives of this Report is to analyze whether WTO provisions provide a balance between supplying governments with necessary flexibility to face difficult economic situations and adequately defining them in a way that limits their use for protectionist purposes. In analyzing this question, the Report focuses primarily …
