WTO-SPECIAL: Protesters Say Reform or Junk the Trade Talks

There may be as many police as protesters outside the venue of the sixth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as it opens on Tuesday.

WTO-SPECIAL: EU Preparing Privatisation Push

The charity Christian Aid has cited leaked documents to say that the European Union (EU) will push developing nations to privatise services such as water, healthcare and banking at the trade ministers meeting in Hong Kong this week.

WTO-SPECIAL: Dispute Settlement Body Offers Forlorn Hope

Two successful rulings secured by developing countries in their battle for a free and fair trade environment are being seen as offering hope for the future, should this week's World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in Hong Kong fail.

WTO-SPECIAL: G20’s Key to Survival – Pragmatic Diversity

The greatest feat of the Group of 20 (G20) developing nations is to have survived as a key actor in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) multilateral trade negotiations, despite its heterogeneous nature and the diverse interests of its members.

WTO-SPECIAL: The Bad Boy of Hong Kong Is French

French opposition to reform the European common agricultural policy is at the bottom of the difficulties the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is expected to face in Hong Kong this week.

WTO-SPECIAL: ‘No Deal Better Than a Bad Deal’

What might be considered a failure at the World Trade Organisation talks this week could actually turn out to be its success, leading non-governmental organisations say.

SOUTH AMERICA: Mercosur – Overly Ambitious?

Many of the hurdles facing South America's Mercosur trade bloc in its attempts to deepen the integration process have to do with the gap between its ambitious aims and the institutions and other instruments that have been put in place to achieve those goals.

WTO-SPECIAL: Free Trade or Fair Trade?

The international fair trade movement is pushing for new rules to protect marginalised producers.

POLITICS: U.S. Losing Clout in South-east Asia to China

The United States is rapidly losing its influence in the South-east Asia region to China, thanks to an overly narrow focus on terrorism and a propensity to place bilateral ties above multilateral relationships, according to U.S. and Chinese analysts.

TRADE: Will Agriculture Reform Work for the Poor?

There is little hope that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial conference set to start next Tuesday in Hong Kong will make significant progress towards the elimination of trade barriers in agriculture, say observers.

TRADE: Poor Countries Demand Action

The African, Caribbean and Pacific group of countries need proof that development truly is at the forefront of negotiators' minds at the World Trade Organisation talks in Hong Kong next week, says a leading European parliamentarian.

WTO-SPECIAL: New Talks, Same (Empty) Promises?

Groups advocating fair global trade say next week's World Trade Organisation talks in Hong Kong will not help lift up poor people in developing nations, as has been promised by officials in industrialised nations and their allies at international financial institutions.

SOUTH AMERICA: Mercosur Opens Doors to Worrying Fifth Element

Venezuela's admission to South America's Mercosur trade bloc - which is not as imminent as was previously announced - is backed by economic sectors keen on gaining access to oil under preferential terms.

TRADE: Activists Take Issue with WTO Decision on Cheap Drugs

A decision by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to make a provisional 2003 agreement allowing poor countries to import affordable generic drugs permanent has drawn criticism from activists.

WTO-SPECIAL: Japan’s Rice Farmers, a Dying Breed

For rice farmer Yuji Koshino, next week’s World Trade Organisation (WTO) summit in Hong Kong can turn out to be a make or break affair, especially in the light of recent concessions made by the Japanese government to the country’s long-controlled agricultural sector.

TRADE: EU Pushed to Do Better

With just days to go before the crucial trade talks in Hong Kong, non-governmental organisations are pushing the EU to do more on trade justice, gender equality, development and the environment.

WTO SPECIAL: Caribbean Hopes Fade on More Aid for Trade

A week before the start of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Hong Kong ministerial meeting, intended to reinvigorate floundering global trade talks, Caribbean countries say they are already losing confidence in the process.

WTO-SPECIAL: Does Foreign Equal Cheaper, Better, More?

"Look at how we live here: the garbage heaps, the sewers, the polythene bags with human waste littered all over the area! There is no adequate running water. This is harmful for our children and us," complains James Isaye, a resident of Kibera.

WTO-SPECIAL: Lack of Size Matters

Small island states have learnt to fear more than a tsunami. They are preparing themselves for being swamped by a tidal wave of devastating imports if world trade ministers cannot come to an agreement that protects their interests.

WTO-SPECIAL: Globalisation Works, Unequally

Driving past the architectural creations in chrome and glass that make up this city, it is easy to believe that globalisation has arrived at this corner in the state of Haryana where, barely a decade ago, farmers tilled and buffaloes grazed.

WTO-SPECIAL: End to Subsidies Would Not End Rural Poverty

Critics of the farm subsidies shelled out to farmers in wealthy nations argue that their elimination would improve the lives of farmers in developing countries. But some small farmers and activists in Latin America suspect that the benefits would only go to a handful of large agribusiness corporations.