BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest

Lead Stories
DAVOS MEET URGES NEW PUSH FOR DOHA DEAL, AMIDST ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY	Some of the world's leading economies have called for another push for a deal in the long-running Doha Round of global trade negotiations, motivated this time by growing anxiety about the world economy. Meeting on 26 January in the Swiss alpine resort of Davos, trade ministers from the US, the EU, Brazil, India, and a dozen other countries called for a 'mini-ministerial' meeting in March or April to strike a framework accord on cutting tariffs and farm subsidies, paving the way for concluding the struggling talks by the end of the year.
DIVISIONS PERSIST ON ANTI-DUMPING DRAFT TEXT	Longstanding divisions appear to be persisting in the Doha Round negotiations to modify WTO rules on the use of anti-dumping measures, following discussions last week on a set of potential amendments tabled in November by the chair of the negotiating group.
GHANA TPR: ADDITIONAL REFORMS WOULD FURTHER BOOST GROWTH	Tariff cuts and structural economic reforms have contributed to Ghana's improved growth rates and macroeconomic fundamentals since 2001, according to a new report by the WTO Secretariat.

In Brief	WTO in Brief
Canada Concludes FTA Negotiations with Peru, EFTA	WTO Committee Clears Path for Ukraine Membership EU Initiates WTO Dispute Proceedings Against Thai Customs Practices WTO Members Adopt Panel Ruling on EU-Norway Salmon Dispute

Events        &        Resources
Events	4-5 February, Geneva, Switzerland: UNCTAD COMMISION ON ENTERPRISE, BUSINESS FACILITATION, AND DEVELOPMENT-12TH SESSION. The Commission will examine the policy options available to developing countries for improving the competitiveness of their small and medium-sized enterprises through improved integration into global value chains. Discussions will include reducing transport costs and enhancing connectivity to global transport networks through trade and transport facilitation measures, thereby increasing their enterprises´ access to global markets. Internet: http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Meeting.asp?intItemID=1942&lang=1&m=14641&year=2008&month=1
Resources	BOOM OR BUST: HOW COMMODITY PRICE VOLATILITY IMPEDES POVERTY REDUCTION, AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT. By Oli Brown, Jason Gibson and Alec Crawford. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2008. Commodity price volatility is a serious issue, but not a hopeless one. The basic economic tools necessary to help commodity producers get more predictable incomes are well-known and better understood than ever before. This publication synthesizes a sizeable body of work to investigate the experience, problems and promise of five different types of economic tools: supply management, national revenue management, market-based price risk management, compensatory finance and alternative trade initiatives. This document (soon available in French and Spanish) can be downloaded at http://www.iisd.org/publications/pub.aspx?pno=930.
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.