Water

Government Security And Trading Systems - From Cancun To Sao Paulo

ORGANISED by CUTS International, a Jaipur-based civil society organisation, a three-day seminar in Delhi titled "From Cancun to Sao Paulo: The Role of Civil Society in the International Trading System", was attended by researchers, officials from international institutions (such as WTO, UNCTAD) and governments, representatives of NGOs from many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

USDA Responds to Mix Up on Canadian Beef

A top USDA official confirms that processed beef from Canada made its way into the United States despite rules that such product should not allowed for import.

WTO Web Casting On May 25

As you may know the World Trade Organization will host a public symposium from 25 to 27 May 2004 on the challenges the WTO and its Members face in ensuring a successful completion of the Doha Development Agenda. The first day of the symposium will be webcast live. Details are available

Biotech Crops/Little Benefit For World's Poor

Of all arguments in support of genetically modified crops, perhaps the most compelling is their potential to ease global hunger. In a world where 800 million people are chronically without enough to eat, shouldn't bio-engineered plants be given a chance to make a difference? Shouldn't this life-or-death question trump doubts about unseen health effects, potential

Ban On Meatpacker Ownership Of Livestock Upheld

A federal appeals court today overturned a lower court ruling that Iowa's ban on meatpackers owning livestock was unconstitutional. The appeals court's decision also sent the legal question about the constitutionality of the Iowa law back to federal court in Iowa's southern district to be re-tried.

USDA Allowed Canadian Beef In Despite Ban

The Agriculture Department allowed American meatpackers to resume imports of ground and other "processed" beef from Canada last September, just weeks after it publicly reaffirmed its ban on importing those products because mad cow disease had been found in Canadian cattle.

Losing Touch With the World

Along with the rising human, financial and political costs of occupying Iraq, the United States will soon be paying the price of neglecting other parts of the world. The most important case is Asia, where America is on the verge of going AWOL--absent without leave. This is particularly true when it comes to the economic issues that are of such great concern to the region.

Lula Seeks Strategic Brazil-China Alliance

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva starts a visit to China on Sunday in a bid to forge an alliance that will lead developing nations to international economic prominence. The two have already had some success against the world trading powers and Lula, a champion of the poor and oppressed, said "this is perhaps the most important visit of my mandate."

Developments In India Affect Talks On Market-Access Formula

Indian elections and subsequent political developments have come as a glitch to the process of evolving a new proposal on the contentious farm sector negotiations at WTO.

GM Sweetcorn Given The Go-Ahead As Europe Bows To The US

A SIX-YEAR moratorium on imports of genetically modified foods was lifted by the European Commission yesterday as it bowed to pressure from the United States. Brussels approved the import and sale of tinned and frozen GM sweetcorn from crops produced by the Swiss firm Syngenta, so long as it is clearly labelled as a bio-engineered product.