US Upholds Anti-dumping Duties Against Thai And Indian Shrimp	The US-based International Trade Commission (ITC) on 4 November decided not to revoke its anti-dumping duty on shrimp imports from India and Thailand. The Commission decided in April 2005 to review the 10 percent duty imposed in January of this year to light of the impacts of the December 2004 tsunami on the shrimp industries of the two countries (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 21 January 2005, http://www.ictsd.org/biores/05-01-21/story1.htm). In its final ruling, however, the ITC found that revoking the antidumping duty on shrimp imports from India and Thailand would likely injure the US shrimp industry. This decision will be reviewed in February 2006.more
WTO Environment Committee Debates Draft Text For Hong Kong	WTO Members have been convening in informal meetings of the Committee on Trade and Environment Special Session (CTE-SS) to discuss proposed text to be included in the draft Ministerial Declaration of the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in December. Discussions on the draft text brought out underlying divisions over how to identify and liberalise trade in environmental goods and services. more
Development Concerns Raised Over European Chemicals Legislation	The European Parliament on 8 November said that major political groups had come to a compromise agreement on the draft European Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH) legislation that is expected to ease the adoption process in the run up to the 17 November vote on the text. The REACH legislation has been the result of several years of negotiations that have sought to balance European concerns regarding the safety of the environment and human health with the insistence of EU chemicals producers that the new rules inflict the minimum cost and burden on industry in the region (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 16 September 2005, http://www.ictsd.org/biores/05-09-16/inbrief.htm#2). In the run up to the 17 November vote, South African President Thabo Mbeki took the opportunity to point out the potential impact of the new rules on trade and development in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.more
EU, Canada Grant Patents On GURTS	The EU on 5 October and Canada on 11 October issued a patent to Delta & Pine Limited, a US-based biotech company, for a genetic use restriction technology (GURTS) that could be used to make plants sterile. The technology has been dubbed "terminator technology" by environment, farmer and indigenous groups, who warn that inhibiting a plant's ability to reproduce could have adverse effects on rural livelihoods and biodiversity. GURTS provide the means to turn on or off genes, for example genes that control fertility and formation of seed. more

In Brief

WTO Members Scale Back Expectations For Hong Kong Ministerial China Highlights Trade Implications Of EU Ecodesign Requirements

Events    &   Resources
Events	8-15 November, Kampala, Uganda: 9TH ORDINARY MEETING OF THE CONFERENCE OF THE CONTRACTING PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION ON WETLANDS. The Conference of the Parties will review the work of the Convention, plan its the future activities, and advance wetland science and policy and management tools. The conference's focus will be on the effective wetland management for poverty eradication, taking into consideration related priority actions found in Agenda 21, the UN Millennium Development Goals, and the Plan of Implementation adopted at the World Summit on Sustainable Development. For further information contact Dwight Peck, tel: (+41 22) 999 0170; fax: 999 0169; email: peck@ramsar.org
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Resources	THE EU-CHILE ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT: THE FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE SECTOR IN CHILE: ISSUES ARISING. BY Juan Carlos Cárdenas N., Patricio Igor Melillanca and Patricia Cabrera D. (Centro Ecocéanos, September 2005). The 2003 Protocol on Fisheries Investment establishes conditions, on a reciprocal basis, for European investment in the Chilean fisheries sector. Through it, European investors may acquire 100 percent ownership of fishing vessels operating in Chile's EEZ, offering them direct access to the diverse marine resources linked to the fishing quotas and permits of the vessels. Despite the importance of the industry to national economy, and its impressive growth rates, the regulation of the fisheries sector by the Chilean government is weak. The Government recognises that it has the capacity to effectively control only 12 percent of the salmon industry. There is also evidence of widespread abuse of environmental and labour laws. Major steps need to be taken, possibly through existing provisions within the EU-Chile Association Agreement, to change the current situation.
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BRIDGES Trade BioRes is made possible in 2005 through the generous support of the Swiss Agency for the Environment, Forests and Landscape (BUWAL) and the State Secretary for Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment of The Netherlands (VROM). It also benefits from ICTSD's core funders: the Governments of Finland (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Denmark (DANIDA - Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Netherlands (DGIS - Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Sweden (SIDA - Swedish International Development Agency), Switzerland (SDC - Swiss Development Cooperation) and the UK (DFID - Department of International Development); Christian Aid (UK), the Rockefeller Foundation, MISEREOR, NOVIB (NL), Oxfam (UK), and the Swiss Coalition of Development Organisations (Switzerland). ISSN 1682-0843