BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest

Lead Stories
DOHA: DRAFT AG TEXT MEETS LUKEWARM RESPONSE, NAMA LIKELY TO BE CHILLIER	WTO Members are in agreement that the parameters for a potential Doha Round agriculture deal identified last week by the chair of the negotiating committee constitute a "good starting point" for further talks in September. However, they appear to agree on little else, at least in public: at a 23 July meeting organised for them to provide initial reactions to the draft negotiating text, most suggested that the outline would be greatly improved if revised in the direction of their respective bargaining positions.
RWANDA BECOMES FIRST COUNTRY TO TRY TO USE WTO PROCEDURE TO IMPORT PATENTED HIV/AIDS DRUGS	Nearly four years after WTO Members agreed on a procedure for poor countries to import generic versions of patented medicines that they are unable to produce themselves, Rwanda has become the first country to notify the global trade body that it intends to use it. The notification (IP/N/9/RWA/1), filed on 19 July, is the first in several steps that will have to be taken before the affordable drugs reach patients in the African country.
STEADY PROGRESS ON TRADE FACILITATION, THOUGH DEVELOPING COUNTRIES RUFFLE FEATHERS	WTO Members are making "steady progress" on reducing red tape and other obstacles to the movement and transit of goods, the chair of the WTO negotiations on trade facilitation said at the end of a week of talks on 20 July. Chair Ambassador Eduardo Ernesto Sperisen-Yurt (Guatemala) said that particularly valuable work had been done with regard to identifying countries' trade facilitation needs and priorities, development aspects, cost implications, and inter-agency cooperation.

In Brief	WTO in Brief
UNCTAD: Poorest Nations Must Focus on Technology	EU Backs Off Challenge to Indian Wine, Spirits Tariffs CTE: No Movement Until Progress on Ag, NAMA

Events        &        Resources
Events	26-29 July, Ravello, Italy. 11th INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGIES: NEW FRONTIERS AND PRODUCTS - ECONOMICS, POLICIES AND SCIENCE. Topics that will be discussed at this conference include the impact of agricultural biotechnology on international trade, biotechnology and developing countries, and regulation of biotechnology. The conference is being organised by the International Consortium on Agricultural Biotechnology Research (ICABR), Catholic University of Leuven, CEIS- University of Rome, Rutgers University, and the Economic Growth Center, Yale University. internet: http://www.economia.uniroma2.it/conferenze/icabr2007/
Resources	NEGOTIATING THE REVIEW OF THE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT UNDERSTANDING. By Thomas Zimmerman. Cameron May, 2006. This study analyses recent negotiations to reform the WTO's Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU). The study offers an overview and analysis of the negotiating process, as well as a detailed review of specific proposals on stage-specific and horizontal issues of the dispute settlement mechanism. The author also explores the difficulties faced by negotiators in completing the DSU review, and makes policy recommendations for further negotiations. The study is intended to serve as a point of departure for other researchers who wish to explore further specific aspects of the DSU review. To this end, references available on the DSU review exercise are comprehensively documented. The report is available at http://www.zimmermann-thomas.de/publikationen/zimmermann_2006_book_dsu.pdf.
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.