BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest

Lead Stories
WTO AG CHAIR ANNOUNCES REVISED TEXT IMMINENT	The chair of the WTO agriculture negotiations has told Members that he would circulate a revised blueprint deal by 16 May, or early the following week. The long-awaited draft setting out formulae and figures for subsidy and tariff cuts would not be "the final text", Ambassador Crawford Falconer New Zealand) warned delegates at a 9 May meeting of the negotiating committee. Further iterations would still be required, as delegates continue to work out the details of a potential accord on the 'sensitive products' that will be shielded from full liberalisation, and the 'tropical products' on which tariffs will be reduced more quickly.
WIPO MEMBERS CHOOSE FRANCIS GURRY TO BE NEXT DIRECTOR-GENERAL	Francis Gurry has been nominated to be the next director-general of the World Intellectual Property Organization. WIPO members on 13 May voted by the narrowest of margins for the Australian national to succeed current Director-General Kamil Idris (Sudan) in October.
RWANDA SHOULD RECEIVE CUT-PRICE HIV/AIDS DRUGS IN SEPTEMBER, FIVE YEARS AFTER 30 AUGUST DECISION	In July 2007, Rwanda became the first country to announce its intention to use WTO procedures to import a cheap generic version of a patented HIV/AIDS medicine from Canada. Nearly ten months have passed since then, but not a single tablet of the lifesaving drug has yet been delivered to the African country. The delay appears to be the combined result of complexities in the WTO rules, the Canadian implementing legislation, and Rwandan government practice. In any event, the wait may soon be over.

In Brief	WTO in Brief
EU, South Korea Hold Seventh Round of FTA Negotiations Thai-Indian Free Trade Agreement in Sight: Nath	Senior Officials Discuss Services With Lamy

Events        &        Resources
Events	20 May. New York. ECOSOC SPECIAL MEETING ON GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS. Leo Merores, the president of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Léo Mérorès, is convening this meeting on the global food crisis in an attempt to identify short-term emergency measures that can be taken at national and international levels to feed the hungry and to bring prices down; and to enhance regional and international cooperation to address both the causes and the consequences of high food prices and to work towards greater price stability. For more information, please see internet: http://www.un.org/ecosoc/GlobalFoodCrisis/index.shtml
Resources	RESPONSIBLE ENTERPRISE, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT AND INVESTMENT PROMOTION. By Annie Dufey, Maryanne Grieg-Gran, Halina Ward. International Institute for Environment and Development, April 2008. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is widely considered to be a key factor in economic development in middle and low income countries. Positively, it can be associated with the introduction of new technologies, job creation, access to new markets and improvements in the competitiveness of host countries. But too often, FDI has been associated with environmental degradation, increased inequality, and lack of integration with the local economy. This book brings together a series of papers identifying opportunities for host government investment promotion agencies (IPAs) to attract FDI that is associated with positive contributions to sustainable development and good corporate social responsibility practices. For more information, please see http://www.iied.org/pubs/display.php?o=15511IIED.
Vacancy	The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), a Canadian-based not-for-profit organisation with personnel in more than 30 countries, is seeking an experienced Senior Economist (Climate Change, Energy and Trade) to participate in research and projects within IISD, and to provide advice to the Swiss government on the links between climate change, trade, finance and economic development. The position is based in Geneva, Switzerland, at IISD's European office. Successful candidates would have a solid understanding of the international and European climate change regimes, their objectives and functions. Applicants must have a few years' experience and knowledge of international trade law and policy, particularly negotiations within the World Trade Organization as well as the regional and international investment systems. They must also have strong written and oral communication skills in English and French, with the ability to read German. Please send a CV (no longer than 2 pages including the names, phone numbers and email addresses of 2 referees) as well as a covering letter (1 page) to Fariba Di Benedetto - fdibenedetto-achtari@iisd.org. For more information please see http://www.iisd.org/about/employment.asp. The deadline for applications is 31 May. IISD is grateful for all applications, but regrets that it shall only acknowledge those of shortlisted candidates.
BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest is made possible through the generous support of the Government of the United Kingdom (DFID) and ICTSD's core donors including the Governments of Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden; Christian Aid (UK) and NOVIB (NL). BRIDGES Weekly also benefits from support for the BRIDGES series of publications from donors including the Rockefeller Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.