World Trade Organization

Making Agricultural Trade Liberalization Work For The Poor

The following is the address delivered by Joachim von Braun, director-general of the IFPRI, at the WTO Public Symposium "Multilateralism at a Crossroads," Geneva, May 25, 2004. The International Food Policy Research Institute seeks sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty.

Improved Dispute Mechanism Discussed

The Ministry of Commerce is considering an amendment on how it responds when anti-dumping charges are slapped on Chinese products. This is being discussed at a two-day national fair trade conference hosted by the ministry, taking place in the capital of southwestern China's Sichuan Province.

Indian Firebrand Extols Organic Farming, Battles Biotech

The sari-wearing firebrand who for two decades has fiercely fought biotechnology in her native India was complaining yet again about the men in lab coats who say they know best how to manage the world's food supply. And the audience was enthralled.

U.S. Decision Would Cut Tariff On Softwood Lumber From Canada

In a preliminary decision hailed by Canada, the Commerce Department has recommended that the United States cut in half steep tariffs on imports of Canadian softwood lumber.

Industrial Nations Urged To Help Less Developed Countries.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development urged industrialized nations on Thursday to continue support for the least developed countries through official development assistance and direct investment, saying liberalization of global trade has not contributed to the economic growth of those countries.

Global Body Moots Farm Trade Reforms

Mumbai, May 26 - TO make global agricultural trade truly liberal so that it delivers benefit to the world's poor, the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has mooted a five-step proposal that envisages action by both developed and developing countries.

Don't Cut the Cheese

One of the world's great sensual experiences, exulted in daily across Europe, is illegal in the United States. That bite you may be about to take into an unctuous and intense young French raw milk cheese oozing off the edges of a chewy chunk of bread is against the law. No raw milk cheese aged for less than sixty days may be imported into this

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.

Fairness Of 'Fair Trade'

Sir, Oliver Kamm (Thunderer, May 19) is in my view correct to question the inherent "fairness" of "fair trade". "Fair trade" is a market distortion that benefits a small, chosen group of poor farmers to the disadvantage of the rest, many of whom are more efficient.