Agriculture

Wto Draft Framework Disappointing: India

Disappointed over the draft Framework for World Trade Organisation negotiations, India on Monday said more work was needed on agriculture to make it acceptable. "We believe that much work will have to be done in making the draft text acceptable," Commerce Ministry on Monday said in a statement.

WTO Compromise In Global Trade Talks Draws Mixed Reaction

Trading nations have given a mixed reception so far to a final attempt by the World Trade Organisation to broker a compromise in deadlocked global trade talks by the end of the month. As informal discussions continued in Geneva, WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi reiterated Tuesday that the compromise text released Friday struck a balance between the 147 member states.

EU Welcomes WTO Proposal As Positive Step

The European Union says a proposed deal to rescue global trade talks is a "step in the right direction." Mediators at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) presented a draft last Friday (Jul. 16) for an agreement on steering the stalled Doha Development Round (DDR) negotiations towards a pact on reforming global trade.

Scientist Calls Decaf Coffee Row Tempest in Teacup

SAO PAULO, Brazil - The Brazilian scientist who recently discovered naturally decaffeinated coffee plants from a collection of wild Ethiopian beans said yesterday reports that he had taken coffee plants illegally from the African country were "nonsense." The spat has underscored the potential money at stake over the rights to

EU Wants to Reform Sugar Subsidy System

The European Union's head office tackled the sticky problem of sugar subsidies Wednesday, proposing price and production cuts to reform a system critics charge hurts farmers in poorer countries and consumers at home.

Officials Cite Increasing Convergence, Continuing Gaps in Agriculture Framework

GENEVA--Top trade officials from the United States, the European Union, Brazil, India, and Australia ended two days of meetings in Paris July 11 claiming some progress in efforts to finalize a framework agreement by the end of July for advancing the stalled World Trade Organization talks on agriculture.

EU Hints At Farm Export Compromise With U.S.

These materials may not be republished without the express written consent of The Associated Press The European Union on Monday backed its trade chief's "strategy and tactics" for forging a global trade deal, while stressing that any concessions on farm support had to be matched by the United States.

Europeans Don't Quaff But Rather Scoff At Bioengineered Beer

Spurned across the continent by food-fastidious Europeans, the biotechnology industry has turned in its quest for converts to the ultimate ice breaker: genetically modified beer.

WTO Postpones Agriculture Meeting From Next Week

The World Trade Organisation has postponed next week's key negotiations on liberalising the trade in agriculture, a trade source said today. A new date for the meeting of trade negotiators, which was meant to be held on July 14-16, will be announced as soon as possible, the source added.