 News Archive 2003
EU plays Scrooge to the world's poor (18 December)
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WTO chair snubs poor countries (15 December 2003)
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EU behaving like 'Santa in reverse' at WTO
Pascal Lamy gives no Christmas cheer to the world's poor (15 December 2003)
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WTO Geneva Meeting: EU and US need to move towards sustainable economies says Friends of the Earth (15 December 2003)
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EU, US threat to trade deal
Failure to conduct substantive talks in Geneva will be due, in large part,
to the intransigence of the EU and the US, says ActionAid.
Lamy's defensive attitude on agriculture and continuing crusade on new
issues could break talks once and for all. (12 December 2003)
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If not now, then when?
Rich countries squandering opportunity to relaunch global trade talks. (12
December 2003)
Wrecker' Lamy warned on trade push
European trade commissioner Pascal Lamy will dash hopes for global trade
talks unless he withdraws new issues which have been rejected by developing
countries.
(11 December 2003)
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UK Parliamentary Report on the WTO Welcomed
CAFOD says members of the World Trade Organisation must take on board a
report by the International Development Committee on the collapse of trade
talks in Cancun. (11 December 2003)
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EU trade ministers told: time to learn the lesson of Cancun
Environment and development civil society groups from across Europe will
demand that European trade ministers meeting in Brussels (2 December) seize
the opportunity to signal a new start for European trade policy. (1 December 2003)
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Aid agencies welcome Chancellor's demand to Cut the CAP
Oxfam and CAFOD on Chancellor Gordon Brown's demand for reform of Europe's Common Agricultural Policy
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Trade talks reach crunch point as developing countries stand firm
WDM today condemned the EU for pursuing a Cancun 'grab what you can' Agenda
in 'stitched up' negotiations as trade talks enter supposed final day.
(14 September 2003)
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Release of draft text causes mayhem - and fury
Acceptance of latest text would 'end any legitimate claims that the current set
of trade talks is a development round' says Christian Aid. (14 September 2003)
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83% of developing country delegates say: "WTO is not democratic"
Survey finds little faith in Cancun negotiations & Doha Round (12 September 2003)
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EU splits in face of call to drop new issues from Cancún
Pascal Lamy's threat to introduce new issues to the negotiating table could
bring down the trade talks at the WTO. (12 September 2003)
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CAFOD welcomes dynamic role of developing countries in Cancun.
In pushing for focus on agriculture and end of subsidies by EU and US
developing countries have learned the lessons of the past and are in a strong
position. (12 September 2003)
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New WTO agriculture text must protect farmers' rights
ActionAid urges WTO working group on agriculture to take full account of food
security and the needs of poor farmers and rural communities.
(11 September 2003)
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WTO Ministerial kicks off in familiar undemocratic style
WDM says Cancun ministerial meeting is set to repeat the abuse of a democratic
process that has become customary in the WTO. (11 September 2003)
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EU's anti-development agenda making a mockery of Cancún
ActionAid say Europe's proposals attack developing countries in every area of the talks.
(10 September 2003)
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Cancun number-crunching undermines claims of WTO democracy
Massive negotiating inequality reinforces rich countries' hand says WDM.
(10 September 2003)
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Seattle Ingredients Present in Cancun
Friends of the Earth say the WTO cannot continue to serve the interests of the
world's big business and hope that no-one will notice. (10 September 2003)
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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the WTO
CAFOD on the opening of the WTO meeting in Cancun (10 September 2003)
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Coldplay Hand Over Oxfam Make Trade Fair Petition to Supachai
Lead singer Chris Martin and guitarist Jonny Buckland handed over a 3.7 million-strong petition to the head of the WTO to ask for an end to unfair trade rules.
(9 September 2003)
CAFOD Director hands over Trade Justice Movement photo album to Secretary of State Patricia Hewitt as she prepares to leave for Cancun.
The album shows campaigners lobbying their local MPs in their constituencies in the Scale Up event across the UK in June. (8 September)
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Trade Union Congress (TUC) says no new issues at Cancun
Union body joins NGOs in call upon WTO to respect workers' rights (6 September)
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Last chance for WTO to deliver for poor says Christian Aid
Christian Aid is taking Secretary of State for Trade Patricia Hewitt to
visit poor rice farmers in Honduras, on her way to leading the UK's
delegation to Cancun. (5 September 2003)
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How failure at Cancun threatens the world's poorest people
Members of the WTO are staring failure in the face on the eve of their
biennial ministerial, says Oxfam in a new report. (2 September 2003)
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Business rules in the WTO: Who pays the price?
With two weeks to go before the WTO Ministerial meeting in Cancun, a new report by Friends of the Earth International, and Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) reveals the 'key role transnational corporations play in shaping the policy of the WTO. (28 August 2003)
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WTO patent rules will still deny medicines to the poor
After two years of intense wrangling, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) appears to have reached an agreement on drug patents. If this deal is confirmed, the result would be a severe disappointment, says international agency, Oxfam. (28 August)
US farm subsidies fuel Mexico corn crisis
MEXICO'S 10,000-year heritage of corn production is being destroyed after just 10 years of rigged "free trade" rules with the United States, says Oxfam in a new report "Dumping Without Borders". (27 August 2003)
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African countries launch counter-attack to EU trade plans at WTO
Majority of developing countries oppose EU push for new trade agreements
(15 August 2003)
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EU-US farm deal will make next to no difference for Cancun
The world's two subsidy superpowers' bilateral agreement on agriculture will do little to advance reforms at the WTO, says Oxfam.
US Takes Next Step in GM Trade War
The US Administration, funded by the biotech giants, is using the undemocratic and secretive WTO to force feed the world GM food, says Friends of the Earth.
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Poor countries demand change at world trade meeting
ActionAid at the 'Olympics' of world trade
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The Cancun democracy challenge
Civil society groups around the world demand democracy, transparency and accountability from the WTO in (28 July 2003)
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Oxfam Respond to Draft Cancun Declaration: Text fails to deliver on
development agenda
(18 July 2003)
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Select Committee report challenges UK government position on trade
A report by an influential committee of MPs, recommending fundamental changes to world trade rules, poses a direct challenge to the UK Government, says Christian Aid and CAFOD (14 July 2003).
WDM says 'cut the corporations out of trade negotiations'
Campaigners launch summer campaign to halt the business-led drive for new free trade agreements at the WTO.(4 July 2003)
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New EU CAP deal on farm subsidies no green light for trade justice
say CAFOD, Christian Aid, and WDM.
Trade Justice Movement makes the Government sit up
The Guardian on Trade Justice campaigning in the run-up to Cancun. 25.06.03
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Campaigners target 500 MPs in 24 hour drive for trade justice
Trade justice campaigners are set to lobby 500-plus MPs this weekend in the biggest simultaneous lobby of MPs this country has ever seen.
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1000s to lobby for trade justice at Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury festival-goers can fax their MPs and join a Trade Parade and Rally as Briitain's biggest festival backs mass lobbying campaign
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Trade Minister papers over differences with trade campaigners
Writing in The Guardian on 23 June, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Patricia Hewitt claimed that the UK Government "fundamentally agrees with the Trade Justice Movement" that trade rules must be reformed to benefit the poor. Surprising words since the Minister fundamentally disagrees with the Trade Justice Movement on our key campaign for Cancun.
The UK Government is leading the push to give the WTO new powers - despite concerted opposition from developing country governments. This weekend, Trade Justice Movement campaigners will be asking their MPs to persuade the Government to drop its crusade for new issues at the WTO
To read more about the fundamental differences between the Trade Justice Movement and the UK Government,
To read Patricia Hewitt's speech on 'Achieving global justice through trade' made at the Fabian Society on 23 June, click here
Africa rejects expansion of WTO powers
African trade ministers, meeting in Mauritius last week, rejected EU and G8 plans to radically expand the powers of the World Trade Organisation. They called for the WTO to focus on addressing their development concerns in the existing WTO agreements on agriculture and intellectual property rights, instead of starting negotiations on new issues such as investment. To find out more, click here
New global investment agreement must be stopped
A new global investment agreement proposed at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) carries huge risks for the world's poorest people says a new report from Action Aid.,
To find out more, click here
Radiohead back Trade Justice Movement
Guitarist Ed O'Brien says, "We want to make sure every MP gets a clear message that British voters want the rules on international trade rewritten to make world trade work for the whole world. I would urge anyone who feels strongly about world poverty to join the Trade Justice Movement MP lobby marathon."
"On 27/28th June we are taking our message to every UK MP in their constituencies. I would urge anyone who feels strongly about world poverty to join the Trade Justice Movement MP lobby marathon."
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Irish Parliament gets the message
A Public Lobby of the Dáil (Irish Parliament) on 14 May has pushed trade justice up the political agenda in Dublin. After more than 60 TDs (Irish MPs) were lobbied, Parliamentary Whips agreed to hold a Dáil debate on the forthcoming WTO Ministerial. The Debate will take place in mid-June.
WTO news
Lamy ready to subscribe to code of conduct in WTO negotiations
European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy has recognised that developing countries are sometimes put under unacceptable pressure in WTO negotiations.
At a conference organised by development NGOs in May 2003, Lamy stated that the EU categorically rejected these methods and that he would support the EU subscribing to a code of conduct if other WTO members were also prepared to sign.
For more information, click here
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