TRADE: Asia the Engine Behind South-South Growth

Trade between developing countries was the driving force behind the growth in international trade in general over the past decade, but the phenomenon was largely concentrated in Asia, according to a new World Trade Organisation (WTO) report.

TRADE: Rich Countries Stake Bets on Industry

The trade leaders of the industrialised world hinted Tuesday at their strategy for the upcoming WTO ministerial conference in Mexico by requesting dramatic tariff cuts for non-agricultural imports. Developing countries are wondering what this will mean for farm trade.

TRADE: A Month from Cancun, WTO and Critics Rev Their Engines

International trade negotiations this week enter the final stretch before the Fifth WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun, Mexico, with the first signs of progress in the otherwise troubled agricultural talks and announcements of new mobilisations by groups opposed to the multilateral trade system itself.

TRADE-AFRICA: Growth Depends on Access to Market, Not Aid

As the next round of trade talks gets underway in Cancun, Mexico next month, it has emerged that Africa would benefit far more from the better access to the European Union and the United States markets than it does from aid.

DEVELOPMENT: Poorest Countries Highlight Issues for Cancun Meeting

Ministers from some of the world’s poorest countries are determined to make their voices heard at next month’s conference of the World Trade Organisation.

TRADE: Agriculture a Persistent Thorn in Global Talks

Agriculture has been playing second fiddle to industry for decades and represents a tiny portion of the global economy, but is solidly at the centre of dispute in international trade negotiations, usually pitting the developing world against industrialised countries.

TRADE: EU and U.S. Move Ahead on Farm Talks

The EU and the U.S. have taken cautious steps towards achieving a common ground on liberalising global farm trade.

TRADE: Anti-WTO Protesters Claim Victory Despite Massive Arrests

Chanting anti-WTO protesters surged onto downtown Montreal streets Tuesday, claiming victory over globalisation forces even though their own numbers were down sharply due to a wave of arrests the day before.

TRADE: The Trans-Atlantic Subsidies Game

In a seemingly endless cycle of finger-pointing, United States and the European Union trade officials are insisting that the success of upcoming global talks in Mexico will hinge on the other party's commitment to cut billions of dollars in farm subsidies.

TRADE: Activists Ready Protest ‘Artillery’ for WTO Cancun Meet

Delegates from groups opposed to the prevailing globalisation model are already gathering in the Mexican resort city of Cancún, preparing forums and mobilisations to protest the World Trade Organisation ministerial conference to take place there Sep. 10-14.

TRADE: Health Problems Afflict WTO on Way to Cancun

Poor countries' access to low-cost medicines has become, alongside farm trade, a make-or-break issue in what has been dubbed the Doha Round of negotiations, under the auspices of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

TRADE: Mexico Exhorts US and EU to Avert WTO Fiasco in Cancun

Mexico is placing the onus on the United States and the European Union to prevent the failure of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial conference to take place in September in the Mexican resort city of Cancún, says the host country's trade negotiator Sergio Pérez Motta.

ECONOMY: Hong Kong, Singapore, U.S. Top “Economic Freedom” Index

Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States rank first, second and third, respectively, in the latest edition of the 'Economic Freedom of the World' annual report by the Cato Institute and more than 50 other libertarian think tanks around the world.

TRADE-ASIA: EU Farm Reforms Get Feeble Cheers

A European Union (EU) attempt to sound magnanimous over its recent reforms in agricultural policy has still to draw loud cheers across Asia, whose activists say they know a charade when they see one.