World Trade Organization, home to the Doha Round talks (photo, Jared Bloch)
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A long-awaited decision about US subsidies for Boeing is expected at the WTO (World Trade Organization) in Geneva Thursday 31 March.
Depending on who you ask, it will either go badly against the company and the US, which in June 2010 was accused at the WTO of providing up to $20 million in illegal funds to the aircraft maker, or it will be a vindication of the US point of view that Airbus has received even more in government subsidies, reports UPI news agency.
It’s been a rough week at the Doha Round trade talks, with US Ambassador Michael Punke issuing a gloomy statement last Thursday that “in light of this week’s consultations, we share with other members a significant concern that the Doha negotiations have not made the progress we had all hoped they would achieve by now.” He mentioned that “the gaps among members remain wide.”
His optimistic final note was barely enough to cover the gloom: “The United States is fully committed to working hard in coming weeks to find productive ways forward.”
Punke addressed other members at the WTO in equally gloomy tones 29 March, indicating few signs of progress and pointing to continuing major “gaps” in stances for the negotiations.
A tall order for WTO negotiators
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Doha Round talks resumed on the technical level in earnest at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva 14 September after a commitment to conclude the Round by 2010 from ministers from 35 countries meeting in New Delhi, India 3 and 4 September. The Doha Round of trade talks collapsed in July 2008 after trade ministers failed to agree on issues tied to agriculture and industrial import rules.
The blame for the collapse was widely laid on differences between India, China and the US on the special safeguards mechanism, a means to raise tariffs against a sudden surge of imports.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Dalai Lama will be in Lausanne 4-5 August, part of a European tour organized by the Tibetan community, but the Swiss Federal Council (cabinet) will not be sending a delegation to greet him. The highest-ranking Swiss official outside the Cabinet, the head of the lower house of Parliament, Chiara Simoneschi-Cortesi, will instead travel to Lausanne to welcome him as head of a spiritual community. The Dalai Lama is scheduled to hold a public conference Wednesday 5 August on “World peace through inner peace” and this event, plus the other talks at the conference at the Malley sports centre, are sold out.
