BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest

Lead Stories
NAMA CHAIR: MEMBERS FINALLY GETTING READY FOR "A REAL NEGOTIATION"	WTO Members are still far from agreement on how to cut tariffs on manufactured goods, the chair of the Doha Round negotiations on non-agricultural market access acknowledged this week.Key countries remain divided on the figures that will determine future manufacturing tariff levels for industrialised and developing nations. However, there is increasing convergence on the 'structure' for the formulae and exceptions into which those numbers would be plugged. Chair Ambassador Don Stephenson (Canada) said at a 14 April session of the negotiating committee that countries were getting ready for a "real negotiation" - after no less than "two years of positioning."
AG: POSITIONS HARDEN ON SPECIAL PRODUCTS, SPECIAL SAFEGUARD MECHANISM	WTO Members are failing to converge on special treatment for developing countries in the Doha Round agriculture negotiations. Countries largely repeated established positions on theses issues earlier this week. The chair of the negotiating committee on 15 April even suggested that the talks were going "backwards."

In Brief	WTO in Brief
US Lawmakers Extend Farm Bill for a Week While Pursuing Compromise ASEAN Signs FTA with Japan

Events        &        Resources
Events	20-25 April. Accra, Ghana. TWELFTH SESSION OF THE UN CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD XII): This Conference, which is the highest decision-making body of UNCTAD, will focus on the theme "Addressing the opportunities and challenges of globalization for development." The conference hopes to enhance coherence at all levels for sustainable economic development and poverty reduction in global policy making, discuss key trade and development issues, and enhance the enabling environment at all levels to strengthen productive capacity, trade and investment.For more information please e-mail: info@unctad.org or visit the conference website at http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Meeting.asp?intItemID=4287&lang=1.
Resources	EXPORT COMPETITIVENESS AND DEVELOPMENT IN LDCs: POLICIES, ISSUES, AND PRIORITIES FOR LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES FOR ACTION DURING AND BEYOND UNCTAD XII. UNCTAD, 1 April 2008. For several decades, the least developed countries (LDCs) have been pursuing wide-ranging economic policies and strategies, mainly in the context of structural adjustment programmes and, more recently, Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. Trade liberalization and integration have remained a central focus and an essential component of development policies and strategies of LDCs. Unfortunately, the extensive policies and measures undertaken by those countries have not yet generated the form and quality of growth required for reversing their continued marginalization in the world economy. Their persistent underdevelopment and, in many cases, long-term decline illustrate how trade and integration may be necessary but not sufficient for development and poverty reduction in LDCs. This is due to the interplay of external and internal development challenges and the problems facing the LDCs. The present study argues that despite the many and complex obstacles, there is considerable scope for many LDCs to join the group of successful exporters, particularly in the field of traditional exports such as oil, copper, coffee, cocoa and groundnuts. It emphasizes three important areas of non-traditional exports with significant growth potential for LDCs: horticulture, fishing and tourism. There could also be dynamic gains particularly in traditional exports and horticulture, notably in the form of technological upgrading, quality control, marketing networks and market connections. The paper is available online at http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/aldc20081_en.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.