Archive - Mar 7, 2006

Trade envoys from some major countries yesterday demanded the circulation of simulation exercise results based on the different tariff-reduction proposals in Doha Development Agenda market access negotiations for farm products and industrials, WTD has learned.

The plurilateral services negotiations that were launched at the WTO on 28 February by the major developed countries (joined by a handful of developing members) are clearly aimed at creating a new negotiating method to more effectively pressurize some emerging developing economies to open up many of their key services sectors to competition from the large multinational service enterprises.

Several collective requests were made on 28 February to selected countries to take part in plurilateral sectoral meetings under the WTO's services negotiations. More requests are expected to be made in the next few days.

The WIPO meeting on a Development Agenda ended on 24 February evening with an agreement that the next session would discuss six major themes with a total of 111 proposals that have been identified for a Development Agenda for WIPO.

The WIPO meeting on a Development Agenda was moving slowly towards how to categorise the many proposals presented by members, so that further discussion can be held on how to treat these proposals.