Obama Administration, South Korea Clinch Long-Awaited FTA

Volume

14,

Number

43

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9 December 2010

Obama Administration, South Korea Clinch Long-Awaited FTA

9 December 2010

The US and South Korea last week managed to resolve differences on auto and beef trade that had been bedevilling a long-awaited free trade agreement (FTA) for years, paving the way for a deal that would, if ratified, represent the Obama administration's first such accord. Negotiators from the two...

Climate Talks Looking Up as Ministers Get Down to Business

9 December 2010

As ministers begin their first formal negotiating sessions in Cancun, Mexico, many observers are cautiously optimistic that parties may be able to achieve consensus on a handful of key issues. However, the possibility of the sudden appearance of an insurmountable obstacle remains. Many now say the...

Goods Council Delays Implementation of Trade Concessions for Pakistan

9 December 2010

Meeting on 30 November, the WTO Council for Trade in Goods was unable to agree on a waiver for an EU package of trade concessions for Pakistan, set to enter into force on 1 January 2011. Certain countries requested additional consultations, due to concerns over impacts on their own export sectors...

Ag Negotiators Prepare to Kick-start Doha Talks in January

9 December 2010

After successive breakdowns, Geneva-based trade negotiators are preparing for a new push for an agreement in the WTO's long-struggling Doha Round of trade talks starting January. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy announced last week that governments had signaled that they want to try once again to...

WTO Panel Hands Victory to China in Steel Fastener Dispute with the EU

9 December 2010

A WTO panel last week handed China its first victory in a dispute with the EU, ruling that the anti-dumping duties levied by Brussels on various Chinese screws, nuts and bolts, contravened multilateral trade rules. At issue were duties ranging from 26.5 to 85 percent on Chinese ‘steel and iron...

Early 2010 Sees Major Drop in Anti-dumping Procedures

9 December 2010

WTO members' use of anti-dumping procedures dropped significantly during the first half of 2010 compared to the same period of the year before, according to data released this week by the WTO secretariat. China remains the top object of investigations into whether it is exporting goods below cost...

Future of US Ethanol Subsidy, Import Tax under Review

9 December 2010

US legislators are currently considering a bill that contains elements set to extend a controversial ethanol subsidy as well as double the import tax on ethanol, say observers on Capitol Hill. The omnibus bill, which deals with tax issues more generally, was recently drafted by Senator Max Baucus,...

Events

9 December 2010

Coming up this week 9 December, Cancun, Mexico. GLOBAL PLATFORM ON CLIMATE CHANGE, TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY. Hosted by ICTSD, a series of conferences will take place alongside the upcoming World Climate Summit in Cancun. ICTSD's events include such topics as the role of trade and markets in...

Resources

9 December 2010

FROM COLLISION TO VISION: CLIMATE CHANGE AND WORLD TRADE. World Economic Forum's Ad Hoc Working Group on Trade and Climate Change, November 2010). This discussion paper, launched on 8 December at an ICTSD symposium being held on the sidelines of the UNFCCC's Cancun climate talks, underlines the...