Issue No. 650, 1-15 October 2017
Continuing divisions mark countdown to MC11

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Talks in final stretch with limited time before MC11, says agri chair
WTO meetings on 10 and 13 November revealed continued divisions among member states on key issues of agricultural trade reform with only a month to go before the WTO’s eleventh Ministerial Conference.
by Kanaga Raja

US cherry-picking MC11 outcomes, holds members hostage
The fate of the WTO ministerial meeting will hinge to a large extent on the US, which has thus far been determinedly selective on the subjects to negotiate and advance for Buenos Aires.
by D. Ravi Kanth

No outcome likely at MC11 on domestic regulation in services
A proposed Buenos Aires outcome to discipline domestic regulation of services trade has met with widespread opposition from countries concerned, among others, that it would undermine their right to regulate.
by D. Ravi Kanth

US transparency proposal criticized at WTO Goods Council
Several WTO members have expressed concern over a US proposal which envisages punitive action against countries that run afoul of notification requirements at the trade body.
by Kanaga Raja

US doubts WTO’s pre-eminence in multilateral trade liberalization
In ongoing talks on drafting the outcome document for MC11, the US has questioned the prime role of the WTO in furthering multilateral trade liberalization.
by D. Ravi Kanth

Sharing national experiences in use of compulsory licences
An October meeting of the WTO’s intellectual property body heard calls for balancing IP protection with the public interest, including through recourse to compulsory licensing of patents.
by Kanaga Raja

Opinion: Finance following growth
The relationship between financial development and economic growth is far from clear-cut, explain Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram, and there may even be a danger of “too much finance”.