BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest

Lead Stories
AG, NAMA CHAIRS RELEASE DRAFT AGREEMENTS, POINT WAY TO DOHA COMPROMISE	WTO Members will need to drop longstanding demands and agree to deeper subsidy and tariff cuts for there to be any hope of an accord in the troubled Doha Round of trade talks, according to the terms set out in draft agreement texts issued on 17 July by the chairs of the agriculture and industrial goods negotiations. That further concessions are necessary for a deal is hardly news. What is different this time is that the chairs have identified specific figures for the cuts that they think could form the basis for an acceptable agreement, enabling a comparison between, say, potential constraints on US farm spending and India's future industrial tariff rates.
BRAZIL LAUNCHES WTO CASE AGAINST US FARM SUBSIDIES	Brazil has launched a WTO case against the legality of a broad range of US farm support programmes. The request for consultations, dated 11 July, is the first step in WTO dispute settlement procedures. Closely mirroring a complaint made by Canada earlier this year, it comes at a time when hopes for a Doha Round agreement - and with it new caps on agriculture subsidies - are diminishing.
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DELAYS VOTE ON TRIPS AMENDMENT, PENDING NEW SUPPORT FOR AFFORDABLE DRUGS	The European Parliament has delayed the ratification of an amendment to WTO intellectual property rules aimed at easing poor countries' access to patented drugs, demanding that EU member states first take concrete steps to help developing nations manufacture and import medicines at affordable rates. The parliament's international trade committee announced on 17 July that promises of monetary and political support from the EU's 27 member governments remained insufficient.
NO CONSENSUS ON FISHERIES SUBSIDIES AS DELEGATES BREAK FOR SUMMER	Convergence on fisheries subsidy disciplines continued to elude delegates to the WTO Negotiating Group on Rules at the committee's last gathering before the global trade body's annual August break. Discussions at the 10 July meeting focused on two new proposals on special and differential treatment (S&DT) for developing countries, and artisanal and small-scale fisheries. The papers, from Indonesia (TN/RL/GEN/150) and Brazil (TN/RL/W/212), followed appeals by the chair for a clearer definition of these issues, which Members have struggled to outline over recent months.

In Brief	WTO in Brief
Panama Approves FTA with US WIPO Committee on Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge Extended Once More	US Requests Dispute Panel on Chinese Subsidies

Events        &        Resources
Events	2 - 27 July, Geneva, Switzerland. ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (ECOSOC) 2007 SUBSTANTIVE SESSION. The 2007 Substantive Session for ECOSOC will be organised as follows: high-level segment (2-5 July 2007); dialogue with the Executive Secretaries of the regional commissions (6 July 2007); coordination segment (6-10 July 2007); operational activities segment (10-13 July 2007); humanitarian affairs segment 16-18 July 2007); general segment (19-26 July 2007); and conclusion of the work of the Council (27 July 2007). For more information, email ecosocinfo@un.org. internet: http://www.un.org/docs/ecosoc/meetings/2007/
Resources	CONCLUDING EPA NEGOTIATIONS: LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES. European Centre for Development Policy Management. July 2007. The Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and the six African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) regions are due to be concluded by 31 December 2007. While all parties are currently committed to the timely conclusion of the EPA negotiations by the end of the year, some ACP regions may not find themselves in a position to do so. The negotiations have been marred by delays, with numerous issues remaining to be addressed by the negotiators. In this context, this study reviews the legal commitments and institutional arrangements necessary for the timely conclusion of the EPA negotiations. It also considers the legal and institutional consequences of the failure by an ACP country or EPA regional grouping to sign an EPA by the end of 2007 or to later ratify it. The report is available at http://www.ecdpm.org/Web_ECDPM/Web/Content/Navigation.nsf/index2?readform&http://www.ecdpm.org/Web_ECDPM/Web/Content/Content.nsf/0/F0B2592B42141909C1257308005011A1?OpenDocument.
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.