BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest

Lead Stories
AG CHAIR RELEASES SECOND INSTALMENT OF 'CHALLENGES' PAPER, SPARKING VARIED REACTIONS	The chair of the WTO agriculture negotiations on 25 May released the second instalment of his paper outlining parameters for a plausible deal on some issues in the talks, sparking a range of reactions from trade diplomats. Like the first one, it sought to 'challenge' WTO Members to depart from long-held bargaining positions in order to find consensus. New Zealand Ambassador Crawford Falconer's document covered issues which, in the words of one delegate, "aren't on the radar screen every day" -- unlike the hotly-debated overall tariff and subsidy cuts and exceptions he addressed in the first part. It dealt with the functioning of the 'special safeguard mechanism' (SSM) which developing countries could use to protect farmers from import surges, an issue that has divided import-sensitive Members from those fearing impeded export opportunities.
ANTIGUA ASKS OTHER COUNTRIES TO PRESSURE US IN GAMBLING DISPUTE	Antigua and Barbuda has appealed to other WTO Members to help make it harder for the US to avoid complying with dispute rulings against Washington's restrictions on foreign-based internet gambling. WTO dispute panels and the Appellate Body have, in a series of decisions, agreed with Antigua's complaint that the US' multilateral commitments to liberalise its "recreational services" sector prevent it from legally shutting its borders to overseas-based internet gambling operators. The US has insisted that it would continue to maintain the barriers, prompting Antigua to question the efficacity of WTO dispute settlement for small economies.
INDIA TRADE POLICY REVIEW LAUDS GROWTH BUT CALLS FOR FURTHER REFORMS	India's robust economic growth since 2001 is largely attributable to unilateral trade and structural reforms, especially in services, according to a new WTO Secretariat report on the country's trade policies. The economic expansion has been associated with reduced poverty and infant mortality. However, for this performance to be sustained, the report said that deeper reforms will be necessary, particularly to address infrastructure bottlenecks in transport and power as well as to improve productivity in agriculture.

In Brief	WTO in Brief
Marine Scientists Appeal to WTO to Halt Overfishing Timber Council Tackles Persistent Illegal Logging, Trade in Threatened Species	Ag Consultations 'Pretty Good' But Not Enough, Says Falconer US Asks for Panel to Investigate Indian Tariffs on Wine and Spirits

Events        &        Resources
Events	3-5 June 2007, Lusaka, Zambia. INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON STRENGTHENING AND WIDENING MARKETS AND OVERCOMING SUPPLY SIDE CONSTRAINTS FOR AFRICAN AGRICULTURE. This seminar, hosted by the International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council, will convene farm policy and private sector leaders, trade experts, academics, and the donor community to address improving the competitiveness of African agricultural markets, and the continent's ability to engage in local, regional, and global markets. For more information, email agritrade@agritrade.org. internet: http://www.agritrade.org/events/strengthening_african_markets.html.
Resources	PACIFIC ISLAND COUNTRIES, THE GLOBAL TUNA INDUSTRY AND THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE REGIME -- A GUIDEBOOK. Forum Fisheries Agency (April 2007). Pacific Island nations that trade their fisheries products internationally must negotiate a complex network of trade rules and regulations. This guidebook, which outlines the major trade-related elements of the tuna fishing industry in the Western Central Pacific Ocean, is meant to help tuna industry operators and fisheries and trade officials better understand the requirements of international and regional trade agreements and how they relate to the fisheries sector. The report may be accessed at http://www.ffa.int/node/891.
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.