World Trade Organization Notices for Feb 22-23
The World Trade Organization posted the following notices for February 22-23, 2011 (may have to click twice on source documents for proper viewing):
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- Acceleration of Doha talks. WTO Director-General Lamy says that a major acceleration at all levels -multilaterally, plurilaterally and bilaterally - is needed for the Doha Round negotiations. (here)
- Thailand cigarette dispute. Thailand notified the Dispute Settlement Body of its decision to appeal the panel report in "Thailand - Customs and Fiscal Measures on Cigarettes from the Philippines" (DS371), to which the U.S. is a third-party. (here)
- China's 2010 trade policy review. The WTO has posted minutes from China's May 31-June 2, 2010 Trade Policy Review, including China's answers to questions by the U.S. and others. (here)
- Vietnam rules of origin. Vietnam informed WTO members that as of December 1, 2009, it has applied new preferential rules of origin under the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA) and ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AIFTA). (here)
- African agriculture trade. In a speech on African agricultural trade, WTO's Lamy cited a recent publication which states that Africa needs to increase agricultural productivity, promote regional trade, improve infrastructure, and work to conclude the WTO Doha Round of trade negotiations to improve its trade in agriculture. (here)
- 2011 Chairpersons. The General Council has listed the 2011 chairpersons of WTO bodies and committees. (here)
- Medical patents. The WTO, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and World Health Organization (WHO) held a symposium on February 18, 2011 on how to determine if a medicine, vaccine, diagnostic kit or other medical product is patented in various countries, which is a complex challenge for organizations trying to develop new products and to manufacture and supply them. (here)