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Fair trade and the lives and livelihoods of billions
of people are at stake at the 6th World Trade Organisation
Ministerial Conference, Dec. 13-18 in Hong Kong. The WTO sees
the Hong Kong negotiations as one of its last chances for
reaching final agreement on the Doha Round before the December
2006 deadline, in the wake of the resounding failure of the
2003 ministerial meet in Cancún, Mexico, and the breakdowns
in dialogue since then. But some developing countries, civil
society and farmers' groups want no deal to be reached in
Hong Kong, saying that the kind of trade liberalisation sought
by the WTO and rich nations undermines the livelihoods of
smaller nations and poor communities.
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