Development

French President Urges New IMF Chief to Consider Africa

PARIS, March 21 (AFP) - French President Jacques Chirac urged the incoming head of the IMF, Horst Koehler, to pay close attention to developing countries and notably countries in Africa, Koehler said on Tuesday.

Advisory Commission Blasts IMF

By Martin Crutsinger WASHINGTON (AP) -- The 182-nation International Monetary Fund, which was widely criticized for its handling of the 1997-98 global currency crisis, needs to be drastically reformed, a blue ribbon advisory commission is telling Congress.

EU Study Accused of "Pro-Liberalisation Bias"

By Brian Kenety BRUSSELS, Mar 9 (IPS) - A comprehensive critique of a Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA), commissioned by the European Commission, is drawing fire from Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) for failing to take account of significant drivers of trade liberalisation.

WTO Chief Says Rich Must Open Markets to Poor

By Dominic Evans LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - World Trade Organisation chief Mike Moore said on Tuesday that opening up the markets of wealthy nations to exports from the poorest countries was a crucial pillar of free trade.

WTO""s Mendoza Says Members Willing to Make Progress

HONG KONG, March 7 (Reuters) - World Trade Organisation (WTO) deputy director general Miguel Rodriguez Mendoza said on Tuesday member countries were now more willing to cooperate than before the Seattle round of negotiations. "We are moving from the confrontation of the pre-Seattle environment to a much more cooperative affair," Mendoza told a conference in Hong Kong.

Export Credit Agencies: The Hidden Agents of Corporate Globalization

Export Credit Agencies: The Hidden Agents of Corporate Globalization www.eca-watch.org

China to Benefit from WTO Entry - People""s Daily

BEIJING, Feb 28 (Reuters) - In another sign of Beijing's desire to enter the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the People's Daily said on Monday China will benefit rather than lose from memebership.

World Bank Chief says Debt Relief Would "Screw Up" Market

MANILA, Feb 26 (AFP) - Using Christianity's Jubilee year as a platform to press for debt relief for the world's developing countries is "whimsical" and could "screw up the market," World Bank president James Wolfensohn said here Saturday.

Tax Breaks Aren""t Subsidies

The Wall Street Journal By Keith Marsden, an economist based in Geneva. The World Trade Organization badly needs to refurbish its image after last year's debacle in Seattle, and to demonstrate its continuing relevance as an independent arbitrator of rules that promote global trade, free markets and open competition. Stamping out tax breaks is not a good place to start.

Development: All Eyes on How UNCTAD Drives Vehicle for New Order

Bangkok, Feb 21 (IPS/Kalinga Seneviratne) -- At the just-finished tenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) here, the often sidelined UN agency offered itself as the vehicle to kickstart a "new order" of trade negotiations where developing countries have a louder voice. This stands in contrast to how its clout appeared to wane in past years.