TRADE: Old Ways in New Language

A new trade policy statement from the British government might just sound more right than it is.

ECONOMY-AFRICA: Be Careful What You Wish For

The 79-member grouping of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries known as the ACP bloc wrapped up its latest summit in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, this week, with delegates expressing a willingness to kick start stalled global trade talks.

TRADE: Company Challenges U.S. for Safeguarding Environment

A Canadian company will be nearly one billion dollars richer if it becomes the first firm to win a trade challenge against Washington under the investment section of North America's free trade deal, but experts say a victory would deal a serious blow to any government's ability to pass laws to protect health and the environment.

TRADE: Convergence on Agriculture Matters

The ''convergence'' achieved by the informal group that has been dubbed the ''Five Interested Parties'' (P5) - the leading actors in international agricultural trade - marks historic progress, says Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.

TRADE: ‘Incoherent’ Rules Put Poor Nations at Disadvantage

Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali have achieved high quality cotton production at lowest cost, but what was supposed to be a success turned into a catastrophe because of the "incoherence" of international trade.

AGRICULTURE: Trade Negotiations Head to Brazil

Agricultural trade talks this week at the World Trade Organisation reflected an attitude of compromise but differences remain quite marked, said a negotiator from a developing country.

TRADE: Big Players Making Moves For Doha

Influential players are making new moves to advance the stalled Doha Development Round.

TRADE-U.S.: Opponents Predict Defeat for Central American Deal

The Bush administration will sign the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with five developing nations Friday, but opposition Democrats and civil society groups predict the deal will fail in Congress.

TRADE: For Now, Civility Rules the WTO Negotiations

The World Trade Organisation negotiations are now occurring in a climate of civility, but results are taking a long time to emerge and the fate of the "Doha Round" remains in danger, negotiators from developing countries said Tuesday.

DEVELOPMENT: UNCTAD Meet Could Put Troubled Trade Talks on Track

The 11th sessions of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), to take place next month in Sao Paulo, will be a political event that could help get international trade talks back on track says the conference's secretary-general Rubens Ricupero.

TRADE: Conditional EU Offer Cautiously Welcomed

What is being seen as a conditional offer by the EU to drop subsidies for agricultural exports has been conditionally welcomed by independent organisations.

TRADE-BRAZIL: Cotton Ruling Strengthens the G20

The World Trade Organisation ruling against U.S. cotton subsidies strengthens Brazil's leadership of the Group of 20 (G20), a bloc of developing countries, at a key moment in several trade negotiation processes.

ECONOMY: Caribbean, EU Vow to Gear Trade to Development

Caribbean experts say a new trade accord with the European Union (EU) will give the two sides another chance to put trade at the service of development, unlike former and current agreements with the region's second largest trading partner.

TRADE: EU Woos Latin America over Subsidies

The EU is reportedly planning a deal with a Latin American trading bloc this week to win support for agricultural subsidies.

ECONOMY: IMF to the Rescue of Global Trade

The International Monetary Fund is trying to coax developing countries, wary of western-dictated "free trade", to shelve protection of their own industries and embrace global trade liberalisation.

TRADE-EU: India Wins WTO Battle

India's victory over the EU at the World Trade Organisation Wednesday is being claimed to be a triumph for all developing countries.

TRADE: U.S. Complains that Many Partners Erecting Barriers

The Bush administration is warning it might act against trading partners that continue to impose barriers on U.S. goods and services, but the Democratic opposition calls the threat a bluff.

TRADE: Activists Assess Post-NAFTA Progress

A decade ago, activists from both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border joined hands - many for the first time - to fight a proposed free trade deal that, to little surprise, was adopted by governments in the two countries, plus Canada.

GLOBALISATION: Dairy Farmers Pit ‘Jamaica Hope’ Against Subsidies

Aubrey Taylor's dairy farm has made him all-island Champion Farmer many years running, but these days he struggles to stay in business.

DEVELOPMENT: Agricultural Subsidies Lock-In Coffee Farmers – Report

The World Bank is blaming over-supply from coffee producing countries and protectionism in rich nations for complicating a worldwide coffee crisis that has dealt a blow to some 20 million farmers globally.

TRADE-EU: Sugar Reforms Turning Bitter

A group of developing countries is asking the EU to increase limits on duty-free sugar imports over the next ten years.