//*********************************************************************** //* APPLICATION : WTO Web Site //* COMPONENT : Current News Arrays - English //* LAST UPDATE : 20/11/2009 //*********************************************************************** // ADD NEWS ITEMS HERE... news_item[1099] = { ni_date:"2009.12.08_14:00:00#2009.12.10_12:00:00", ni_pos:"", ni_embargo:"Y", ni_embargo_langs:"E#F#S", ni_head:"Trade Policy Review: Georgia", ni_intro:"Press release to follow.", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"TPR", ni_country:"GEO", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"Y", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"Press release", nl_url:"/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp324_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" }, { nl_text:"Chairperson’s concluding remarks", nl_url:"", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1115] = { ni_date:"2009.11.20_17:00:00", ni_pos:"1", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"Lamy calls for exit strategies on temporary trade restrictions and subsidies", ni_intro:"Director-General Pascal Lamy, in his annual report on trade and trade-related developments in 2009, said that “although there have been instances of slippage, in general terms the world economy is about as open for trade today as it was before the crisis started.” He called on members “to devise and announce exit strategies to remove trade restrictions and production subsidies that they have introduced temporarily to counteract the effects of the crisis, and start implementing those strategies as soon as domestic economic recovery takes hold.”", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"TRDEV#DGPL#TPR", ni_country:"", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"News item", nl_url:"/english/news_e/news_e.htm#bkmk1115", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" }, { nl_text:"Trade and Trade-Related Developments in 2009", nl_url:"/english/news_e/news09_e/wt_tpr_ov_12_a_e.doc", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"115", nl_kb:"2360", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" }, { nl_text:"Shaping factors for Trade: looking to the future ", nl_url:"/english/news_e/news09_e/wt_tpr_ov_12_b_e.doc", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"39", nl_kb:"403", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1116] = { ni_date:"2009.11.19_17:00:00", ni_pos:"2", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"DSB authorizes Brazil countermeasures in “cotton” case, establishes “COOL” and poultry panels ", ni_intro:"At its meeting on 19 November 2009, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) granted authorization to Brazil to impose countermeasures against the US in the “cotton” case (DS267), and established a single panel to examine complaints by Canada (DS384) and Mexico (DS386) on the US country of origin labelling (COOL), and a panel to examine the US complaint on EC measures on imports of poultry meat (DS389).", ni_image:"/images/img_mews/dsb_icon06.gif", ni_subject:"DISP", ni_country:"BRA#USA", ni_cases:"267#384#386#389", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"Summary of the meeting", nl_url:"/english/news_e/news09_e/dsb_19nov09_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1113] = { ni_date:"2009.11.19_17:00:00", ni_pos:"", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"Appellate Body welcomes new member", ni_intro:"Mr Peter Van den Bossche (EC) was sworn-in on 19 November 2009 as a Member of the Appellate Body at a ceremony at the WTO.", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"AB", ni_country:"", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"News item", nl_url:"/english/news_e/news09_e/ab_19nov09_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1112] = { ni_date:"2009.11.19_17:00:00", ni_pos:"", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"Ireland donates EUR 1.1 million to two WTO development programmes ", ni_intro:"Ireland has donated EUR 1.1 million (about CHF 1.6 million) to the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF) and the Internship Programme for the Mission of Selected WTO Members in Geneva.", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"TECH#DAGTF#PRES", ni_country:"IRL", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"Press release", nl_url:"/english/news_e/pres09_e/pr582_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1111] = { ni_date:"2009.11.19_17:00:00", ni_pos:"", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"The European Communities offer EUR 75,000 to special WTO trust fund for LDCs’ participation in upcoming Ministerial Conference", ni_intro:"The EC donated EUR 75,000 (about CHF 114,000) to the special trust fund established to finance the travel costs for the participation of the least-developed countries’ delegations in the 7th Ministerial Conference, which will take place from 30 November to 2 December 2009.", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"TECH#MN09A#PRES", ni_country:"EEC", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"Press release", nl_url:"/english/news_e/pres09_e/pr581_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1109] = { ni_date:"2009.11.17_17:00:00", ni_pos:"3", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"Geneva Ministerial a “unique occasion” to send strong signals on WTO issues — Lamy", ni_intro:"Director-General Pascal Lamy, in his report to the General Council on 17 November 2009, said that while the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference would not be a negotiating session, it would be “a platform for ministers to review the functioning of this house,” including the Doha Round, and an occasion “to send a number of strong signals to the world with respect to the entire WTO waterfront of issues — from monitoring and surveillance to disputes, accessions, Aid for Trade, technical assistance and international governance”. ", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"GC#DGPL#DDA#TNC#MN09A", ni_country:"", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"Report by the Chairman of the Trade Negotiations Committee", nl_url:"/english/news_e/news09_e/tnc_chair_report_17nov09_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" }, { nl_text:"Audio: Statement by Pascal Lamy", nl_url:"/audio/2009_11_17_gc_lamy_stat.mp3", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"35", nl_kb:"4158", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" }, { nl_text:"Proposed agenda", nl_url:"/english/thewto_e/gcounc_e/meet_nov09_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1108] = { ni_date:"2009.11.13_17:00:00", ni_pos:"", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"Finland offers EUR50,000 for LDC participation in Ministerial Conference", ni_intro:"Finland donated EUR50,000 (about CHF75,500) to the special trust fund established to finance the travel costs for the participation of the Least Developed Countries’ delegations in the 7th Ministerial Conference which will take place from 30 November to 2 December 2009. ", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"TECH#MN09A#PRES", ni_country:"FIN", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"Press release", nl_url:"/english/news_e/pres09_e/pr580_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1107] = { ni_date:"2009.11.13_17:00:00", ni_pos:"", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"Sweden offers CHF300,000 for LDC participation in Ministerial Conference", ni_intro:"Sweden donated SEK2 million (about CHF300,000) to the special trust fund established to finance the travel costs for the participation of the Least Developed Countries’ delegations in the 7th Ministerial Conference which will take place from 30 November to 2 December 2009.", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"TECH#MN09A#PRES", ni_country:"SWE", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"Press release", nl_url:"/english/news_e/pres09_e/pr579_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1077] = { ni_date:"2009.11.11_14:00:00#2009.11.13_12:00:00", ni_pos:"", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"E#F#S", ni_head:"Trade Policy Review: Niger and Senegal", ni_intro:"Further structural reforms would help Niger and Senegal to improve their economic performance, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the countries’ trade policies and practices published on 11 November 2009.", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"TPR", ni_country:"NER#SEN", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"Y", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"Press release", nl_url:"/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp323_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" }, { nl_text:"Chairperson’s concluding remarks", nl_url:"/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp323_crc_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" }, { nl_text:"Audio: Chairperson’s concluding remarks", nl_url:"/audio/tp323_closing_remarks_e.mp3", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"7", nl_kb:"846", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1104] = { ni_date:"2009.11.09_17:00:00", ni_pos:"", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"Lamy sees need for “right global governance” to meet global challenges", ni_intro:"Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a speech at the Bocconi University in Milan on 9 November 2009, said: “The reality is that the end of the cold war caught everyone by surprise. It was the end of a bi-polar world. A new world order was being born. And yet there was not enough thinking and discussion about its governance structures. There was never a Bretton Woods Conference or a San Francisco Conference post 1989. As a result global governance structures did not adjust. And here lies the root of many of today’s problems. Global challenges need global solutions and these can only come with the right global governance, which today, twenty years later, remains too weak.”", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"SPPL#DGPL", ni_country:"ITA", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"Speech", nl_url:"/english/news_e/sppl_e/sppl142_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1110] = { ni_date:"2009.11.06_17:00:00", ni_pos:"", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"30 officials complete advanced course on WTO dispute settlement ", ni_intro:"Thirty officials completed, on 6 November 2009, a five-day advanced course on the rules and procedures of the WTO dispute settlement system. ", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"TRA#DISP", ni_country:"", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"News item", nl_url:"/english/news_e/news09_e/tra_06nov09_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" }, { nl_text:"Activity sheet for the course", nl_url:"/english/tratop_e/devel_e/train_e/activity_sheets_2009_e/tc09-2_e.doc", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"53", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1103] = { ni_date:"2009.11.06_17:00:00", ni_pos:"", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"Industrial goods negotiation concludes intensive week on “non-tariff barriers”", ni_intro:"At the end of an intensive week of meetings, devoted mostly to “non-tariff barriers”, the chairman of the Negotiating Group, ambassador Luzius Wasescha, commended on 6 November the delegations’ “constructive interaction” and asked for updated and refined text-based proposals.", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"NAMA", ni_country:"", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"Y", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"Audio: Chair’s opening statement", nl_url:"/audio/2009_11_06_wasescha_opening.mp3", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"8", nl_kb:"926", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1102] = { ni_date:"2009.11.06_17:00:00", ni_pos:"", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"WTO disputes reach 400 mark", ni_intro:"On the eve of its 15th “birthday”, the WTO earlier this month reached the milestone of having the 400th trade dispute brought to the body’s dispute settlement mechanism. “This is surely a vote of confidence in a system which many consider to be a role model for the peaceful resolution of disputes in other areas of international political or economic relations,” said Director-General Pascal Lamy to mark the occasion.", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"DISP#PRES", ni_country:"", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"Press release", nl_url:"/english/news_e/pres09_e/pr578_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1114] = { ni_date:"2009.11.05_17:00:00#2009.11.06_17:00:00", ni_pos:"4", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"Tobacco and poultry among members’ trade concerns", ni_intro:"At the meeting of the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade on 5-6 November 2009, members discussed 41 specific trade concerns, including 10 new ones. ", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"TBT", ni_country:"", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"News item", nl_url:"/english/news_e/news09_e/tbt_05nov09_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1105] = { ni_date:"2009.11.05_17:00:00", ni_pos:"", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"5th Geneva workshop helps officials use health patent flexibilities", ni_intro:"Twenty-five developing-country officials took part in the fifth workshop designed to help their countries make use of the pharmaceutical patents flexibilities in the WTO intellectual property agreement on 3—5 November 2009.", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"HEAL#TRIP#TRA", ni_country:"", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"News item", nl_url:"/english/news_e/news09_e/heal_05nov09_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" }, { nl_text:"Activity sheet for the course", nl_url:"/english/tratop_e/devel_e/train_e/activity_sheets_2009_e/wto09-3_e.doc", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"66", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1071] = { ni_date:"2009.11.04_14:00:00#2009.11.06_12:00:00", ni_pos:"", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"E#F#S", ni_head:"Trade Policy Review: Southern African Customs Union", ni_intro:"The five member states of the Southern African Customs Union (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland) need deeper integration for more balanced development, according to a WTO Secretariat report on the trade policies and practices of the customs union published on 4 November 2009.", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"TPR", ni_country:"BWA#LSO#NAM#ZAF#SWZ", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"Press release", nl_url:"/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp322_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" }, { nl_text:"Chairperson’s concluding remarks", nl_url:"/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp322_crc_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" }, { nl_text:"Audio: Chairperson’s concluding remarks", nl_url:"/audio/tp322_closing_remarks_e.mp3", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"7", nl_kb:"820", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] }; news_item[1106] = { ni_date:"2009.10.28_17:00:00#2009.10.29_17:00:00", ni_pos:"", ni_embargo:"", ni_embargo_langs:"", ni_head:"Transparency deal emerging for developing nations’ treatment in food safety and related issues", ni_intro:"WTO members have tentatively agreed on procedures to improve information on special treatment for developing countries on food safety and animal and plant health. In the 28—29 October 2009 meeting of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) Committee they accepted draft procedures conditionally. These will be formally approved if no one raises further objections by 16 December, over two years after the first proposal was submitted.", ni_image:"", ni_subject:"SPS", ni_country:"", ni_cases:"", ni_xlinks:"", ni_links:[ { nl_text:"News item", nl_url:"/english/news_e/news09_e/sps_28oct09_e.htm", nl_lang_id:0, nl_pages:"", nl_kb:"", nl_dol:"", nl_image:"", nl_quality:"", nl_display:"Y" } ] };