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Trade news from a sustainable development perspective
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EU, Mercosur Negotiators Aim for "Endgame" in Trade Talks

Volume
21,
Number
41
-
7 December 2017
Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs)

EU, Mercosur Negotiators Aim for "Endgame" in Trade Talks

7 December 2017
Negotiators from the European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur are ramping up their efforts to finalise a trade accord between them, with the hopes of announcing a political deal on the margins of the WTO’s Eleventh Ministerial Conference (MC11) in Buenos Aires, Argentina, next week. The...
Global Economy

Ministers Issue Policy Recommendations to Reduce Steel Overcapacity at Global Forum

7 December 2017
The first ministerial-level meeting of the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity was held last week in Berlin, Germany, as that country’s G20 presidency was drawing to a close, with participants publishing a package of principle-based policy recommendations. These recommendations are targeted to...
Climate Change Governance

In Landmark Shift, New UN Work Programme to Address Agriculture Emissions Under Climate Action Framework

7 December 2017
International agencies and farm leaders have welcomed the decision to launch a work programme on climate and agriculture, which was endorsed by governments at the annual conference of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) three weeks ago in Bonn, Germany. Language in the preamble...
WTO Dispute Settlement

Canada-US Softwood Lumber Row Escalates With Filing of NAFTA, WTO Cases

7 December 2017
The past couple of weeks have seen a series of developments in the long-running US-Canada row over softwood lumber trade. Canada has lately launched cases under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ) and the WTO , respectively, to review new US anti-dumping and countervailing...
Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs)

EU, Mexico Continue Efforts to Clinch Updated Trade Deal by Year's End

7 December 2017
The EU and Mexico have concluded a sixth round of talks to update their existing trade accord, reporting advances on a series of negotiating areas and confirming that they will meet again in Brussels, Belgium, later this month in a bid to wrap up a deal. According to a press statement from the...
Global Economy

Canada, China Pledge to Ramp Up Trade Cooperation, Weigh Possible FTA Talks

7 December 2017
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang finished highly-anticipated meetings in Beijing this week, announcing “new joint partnerships” and a joint statement on climate change, while pledging to continue discussions over whether to launch negotiations for a free trade...
Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs)

Australia, Singapore Trade Pact Revisions Take Effect

7 December 2017
Australia and Singapore now have an updated version of their nearly fifteen-year-old trade pact in force, one year after their top trade officials signed a new amendment to the accord. The original Australia-Singapore agreement entered into force in 2003, slashing goods tariffs between the two Asia...

Events

7 December 2017
Coming Soon 10-13 December, Buenos Aires, Argentina. WTO MC11 (BUENOS AIRES 2017). This event is the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Eleventh biennial ministerial conference, marking the global trade body’s highest level of meetings. The event is slated to see negotiations on a series of areas,...

Resources

7 December 2017
DIGITAL TRADE-RELATED PROVISIONS IN REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS: EXISTING MODELS AND LESSONS FOR THE MULTILATERAL TRADE SYSTEM. By Mark Wu for the RTA Exchange (November 2017). This new paper is published by the RTA Exchange, which is jointly implemented by the International Centre for Trade and...