After US deal, India to push for Doha agenda at WTO in 2015
The Economic Times, 18 December, 2014
It is always a clinical surgery at WTO where a patient can die if you miss the target, says its Chief Roberto Azevedo, which probably explains why the 20- year-old global body could seal its first major trade pact in 2014 after a never-seen-before deal between India and the US. More…
Members prepare for 200-day push on GI register portion of post-Bali programme
WTO News, 12 December, 2014
WTO intellectual property negotiators said they were committed to meet the July 2015 deadline for laying down plans on how to complete the Doha Round talks – in their case on how to set up a geographical indications register for wines and spirits. But speakers on both sides of the debate said in a 12 December 2014 informal meeting that hard talking would have to wait until a clearer picture emerges in other key subjects. More…
Azevêdo says rise in trade restrictions “cause for concern”
WTO News, 08 December, 2014
Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, in introducing his annual report “Developments in the International Trading Environment” to the Trade Policy Review Body on 8 December, said that “the stock of trade restrictions introduced by WTO members since 2008 continues to rise”. He said that “in a climate of economic uncertainty the continued accumulation of trade-restrictive measures poses a clear risk”. More…
Azevêdo: Africa set to benefit from WTO breakthrough on Bali
WTO News, 03 December, 2014
Director-General Roberto Azevêdo, in his address to the African Union Conference of Ministers of Trade on 4 December in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said that African nations stand to benefit from the recent WTO decisions on the Bali agreements, including on the Trade Facilitation Agreement, which would support “your efforts at regional integration in a very practical way”. He urged African members to “engage even more” in the WTO. “We are coming to a defining period in our work when it will be crucial that your voices are heard in full,” he said. More…