Services / GATS / TISA

The commodities crisis continues to plague developing countries and international action, particularly by UNCTAD, has to be urgently taken to address it, according to several participants at the UNCTAD Commission on Trade in Goods and Services and Commodities which is meeting here this week.

When the free trade agreement with the United States kicked in a year ago, Bill Rush saw his big chance. His company, Australian Defence Apparel, makes ceramic plates to be worn over bulletproof vests to protect troops against armour-piercing fire. The Australian-owned company has beaten German and Israeli competition to supply the British Army and London Metropolitan Police with its plates. The prospect of a $40 million-plus sale to the US Army beckoned.

The Global Union representing workers in the textile and clothing sector has released a new video drawing attention to the plight of workers in the sector following the liberalisation of trade at the start of 2005.

New Zealand is one of eight governments (US, EC, Japan, Australia, Switzerland, South Korea and Taiwan) pushing a scheme that would require all countries, rich and poor, to lock open a minimum number of their services to foreign firms

Many developing countries have objected to the joint attempt by developed countries to introduce a 'benchmarking approach' or 'complementary multilateral methods' to the services negotiations in the World Trade Organisation.

Developed countries have launched a joint offensive to introduce new methods of getting developing countries to commit themselves to liberalising their services sectors in the WTO

The United States and Saudi Arabia have reached agreement on the terms under which U.S. banks and other service providers will be allowed to operate in Saudi Arabia following its accession to the World Trade Organization.

The Mexican Parliament on Friday passed new legislation to comply with World Trade Organization recommendations over implementation of its telecommunications services

At the WTO's Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) on 28 July, severaldeveloping countries expressed many concerns about the state and substance of the WTO negotiations, as well as the process which theyfound to be not transparent or participatory.(M.Khor)