DEVELOPMENT: Textile Proposals Strip Poor Countries of Hope

EU proposals to improve competitiveness in the clothing and textiles industry before trade quotas run out offer little comfort to developing countries, civil society groups say.

DEVELOPMENT: EU Asked to Delay Sugar Reforms

The European Commission's current proposals for the sugar regime could have severe consequences for developing countries, says the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of countries.

TRADE: No Extension for Textile Quota Elimination Deadline

The Jan. 1, 2005 deadline for the liberalisation of the textile and garment trade will not be modified, because a proposal to extend it failed to win the necessary consensus in the WTO.

TRADE-CAMBODIA: WTO Entry Far From Being Rosy

Cambodia's entry as a full member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) tests the groundwork on whether poor countries in the world would be better off or worse by becoming new members of the global free trade body.

TRADE: EU Produces a Bitter Sweet Pill

Sugar producing countries and civil society groups have cautiously welcomed a WTO ruling against the European Union's controversial sugar regime as a "triumph" for most developing countries, but warn that poorest sugar producers could be hit hardest.

TRADE: U.S. Defies WTO Ruling on Duties

The United States says it will continue to slap duties on countries it claims dump their goods on the U.S. market, despite a World Trade Organisation ruling Tuesday that authorises seven nations and the European Union (EU) to impose sanctions against Washington's anti-dumping law.

DEVELOPMENT: New EU Aid Chief to Target 0.7 Percent

One of the first tasks of new EU development commissioner Louis Michel will be to persuade member states to contribute 0.7 percent of GNI to external aid.

TRADE: EU Sugar Decision Not so Sweet for Caribbean

For the small, developing economies of the Caribbean, the world trade body's preliminary ruling against European Union sugar comes as more bad news for a beleaguered sector, and highlights a seeming paradox these countries often face in the global trade arena.

TRADE: Brazil Deals Another Blow to Farm Subsidies

The Brazilian government and farmers celebrated a third triumph so far this year against the farm subsidies shelled out by the industrialised North after the World Trade Organisation (WTO) handed down an interim ruling Wednesday that found that the European Union (EU) is illegally dumping millions of tons of subsidised sugar on the world market.

TRADE: WTO Report Jolts EU Sugar Producers

Civil society groups have hailed a World Trade Organisation ruling against the European Union's sugar subsidies as a triumph for developing countries.

TRADE: Agreement Still a Long Way Off

While top trade officials are commending themselves on breathing new life into the stalled Doha Round of trade talks over the weekend, interest groups say the negotiations have a long way to go before a satisfactory deal is reached.

TRADE: Indian Farmers Have Little to Cheer For in WTO Deal

Agriculture and trade experts in India - a country with 650 million farmers - are not sharing the euphoria of the government at having, supposedly, pulled off a favourable farm deal at the just concluded World Trade Organisation (WTO) framework negotiations in Geneva.

TRADE: WTO Talks Overshadow Labour Concerns

International trade negotiators are ignoring the plight of millions of workers, according to leading trade union groups.

LABOUR-HAITI: Workers Fight for Rights in Free Trade Zone

When some 300 workers lost their jobs at factories in northeast Haiti last month, the two sides in the struggle pitting a clothing maker against a young union only dug in deeper.

TRADE-EU: A Summer of Discontent Begins

European Union trade officials are set to face a scorching summer as they aim to resolve faltering multilateral trade negotiations.

TRADE: Let the Game Begin

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) will almost certainly approve this month the draft document it needs to keep the Doha Round of multilateral trade talks going, but the content could be quite watered-down in the end, many delegates agree.

TRADE: EU Welcomes WTO Proposal as Positive Step

The European Union says a proposed deal to rescue global trade talks is a "step in the right direction."

TRADE: Caribbean Bitter at EU Sugar Reform

Caribbean sugar producers are growing bitter at their treatment at the hands of other producer nations worldwide, with officials pointing an accusing finger at Europe for the latest problem confronting the sector.

TRADE: WTO Proposal to Save Doha Round Termed ‘Disappointing’

The fate of the Doha Round of trade talks remains uncertain after the presentation Friday of the draft document that is to serve as a framework for keeping the multilateral negotiations on track to the Dec. 31 deadline for completion.

TRADE: US, West European Publics Like the Idea Not the Practice

Most U.S. and West European citizens strongly back the concept of more international trade, but show a lot less support for specific trade agreements and mechanisms, according to a major new survey on aid and trade released Tuesday by the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

TRADE-EU: Optimism Survives Another WTO Setback

The European Union and the United States remain optimistic that an agreement over global trade talks can be reached before the end of July, in spite of a further breakdown in negotiations over the weekend.