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Development: Open Dialogue to Shape Intern""l Economic Relations

The Suns South-North Development Monitor, edited by Chakravarthi Raghavan in Geneva, is published daily by Third World Network. All rights reserved, may not be reproduced, reprinted or posted to any system or service without specific permission from SUNS. Subscription information may be obtained by email: suns@igc.apc.org or by fax (41-22) 740-1672.

China""s WTO Entry may Leave Farmers in the Dust

Los Angeles Times / By HENRY CHU, TIMES STAFF WRITER LAISHUI, China -- Li Jun knows next to nothing about the World Trade Organization, but what little he's heard doesn't sound good.

Same Trade Interests Square Off in UNCTAD Negotiations

By Ranjit Dev Raj BANGKOK, Feb 18 (IPS) - A 'Bangkok spirit' of concessions for the developing world was discernible here Friday on the eve of the end of the UNCTAD X conference, but uncertainty prevailed over the fate of contentious issues in the final documents it will produce Saturday.

WTO: China Very Close to Joining

By JOHN LEICESTER / Associated Press Writer BEIJING (AP) -- The leader of the World Trade Organization said Friday he was "extremely hopeful" that China would this year conclude the last 14 bilateral agreements it needs to become a member of the WTO.

U.S. Trade Envoy Sees China in WTO This Year

GENEVA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. trade official said on Friday the United States expected China to become a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by the end of this year. "China can get in this year. We feel in the United States very confident that it can be done this year," Rita Hayes, the U.S. trade ambassador to the Geneva-based WTO, told reporters.

WTO Chief ""Very Hopeful"" on Chinese Entry

By Benjamin Kang Lim BEIJING (Reuters) - World Trade Organization chief Mike Moore said on Thursday he was "very hopeful" China would become a member of the global trading body in the first six months of this year. "We're very hopeful," he told reporters in Beijing who asked whether China would be able to become a member in the first half.

Security Tight for Appearance of WTO Chief Moore

AP Worldstream / By BUSABA SIVASOMBOON BANGKOK, Thailand -- Security was tightened around a major U.N. trade conference Wednesday for an appearance by World Trade Organization chief Mike Moore. Police thoroughly searched the bags of reporters and delegates attending Moore's speech, the highlight of Wednesday's session of the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development.

Reckonings; An American Pie

The New York Times / By PAUL KRUGMAN Talk about globalization. Michel Camdessus probably knew that his last speech as managing director of the International Monetary Fund might be accompanied by some protests. But he surely did not expect an American activist to follow him to Bangkok and throw a cream pie in his face.

Globalization is in Danger of Collapse, Corporations Told

By PATRICK McDOWELL / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS BANGKOK, Thailand -- Multinational corporations were urged at a U.N. trade conference yesterday to fill the void left by governments struggling to address globalization issues.

Growers Reportedly Plan Suit vs. Cigarette Firms

By STEVEN VAMES / New York Times A group of tobacco farmers is expected to file a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday, claiming the four largest U.S. cigarette makers violated antitrust laws by using their market power to bully farmers into cutting prices for raw tobacco.