Archive

Monday 30 November marks the 10th anniversary of the Battle in Seattle, the day in 1999 when 100,000 protesters took to the streets and prevented the World Trade Organisation from launching its millennium round of free trade talks. The WTO is marking the occasion with another ministerial summit, and is understandably nervous – not because it fears another spectacular uprising (the summit is being held in genteel Geneva) but because the future of the WTO as a credible institution once again hangs in the balance.

The Senate Finance Committee did not vote on the nominations of Michael Punke to be Deputy U.S. Trade Representative and Islam Siddiqui to be chief agriculture negotiator at USTR on Saturday, November 21.

A group of 125 non-governmental organisations from 50 countries is calling on the governments participating in the mini-ministerial trade talks in India over the next two days to reject the further liberalisation of food and rather promote policies that will achieve food security and rural development and safeguard farmers’ livelihoods. The organisations, of which 13 are in Africa, argue in a letter to the 36 countries attending the mini-ministerial meeting that the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) policies have resulted in "a failed global agricultural system including extremely volatile commodities markets, a lack of global access to nutritious and affordable food, an increase in hunger, and the erosion of farmers’ incomes.

The much hyped Delhi mini-ministerial ended today with most developing country delegates saying that it was business as usual with negotiations going back to Geneva and Chairs of the Negotiating Committees of the Doha Round. However, Indian Commerce Minister Sharma summarized the meeting by saying that both the G20 and the G33, "were of the view that the texts of December 2008 must form the basis of future work."

Despite the interest in the lead up to the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders meeting in Cairns, the decision to commence trade negotiations barely made a mention in the news in the wake of the meeting.