WTO takes a wrong turn for development
The US, the EU and other developed countries are expected to make a concerted push for new issues
China bans trade in rhino horns, tiger bones
The Chinese people may resent the restrictions, but the government has to crack down on trafficking in products from rhinos and tigers or else …
Biodiversity or Biotrade?
Competing goals of free trade and environmental protection puts the much-awaited Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety indefinitely on hold
COVID-19 vaccine: WTO chief brushes aside TRIPS waiver
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala offers ‘third way’ to bridge the COVID vaccine shortfall based on more licensing agreements
Menacing US diplomacy
Specialist attachés are strenuously pushing maximalist intellectual property rules worldwide
Forest states want money in lieu of felling
On August 1, 2003, Madhya Pradesh made a plea in the Supreme Court seeking a fund-generating mechanism for forest protection. Earlier, in June, …
Jobs Jobs Jobs
The government is obsessed with economic growth. Employment is bound to follow, it claims. That's a delusion. The swelling numbers of unemployed …
Cancun redux
Reflecting upon the fifth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization at Cancun, a Down To Earth editorial (see: "How not to lose …
Predatory EU pacts
EU is pushing India and Canada to sign free trade agreements that will hurt their generic drugs—and the outrage is global
WTO rules against India's domestic content requirements in solar power
The complaint alleged that the DCR mandate put into place by India discriminated against US exports and favoured Indian manufacturers
Twice Unlucky
In 1962, it was the Indo-Chinese war. Now it is the creation of the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve. Once again, the Bhotiyas, who inhabit the …
Dealing with waste
On the 10th anniversary of the Basel Convention, member states reiterate the need to minimise the generation of hazardous waste
Farming for the future
Despite having the potential to give a green edge to the agricultural market, biopesticides are yet to make a mark in the agro sector. To create …
Acta is trade terrorism
India’s generic medicines export faces a huge threat from the anti-counterfeiting law which creates barriers to global trade
Tribal farmers to harvest second bamboo crop after earning right to sell
Here’s the success story of people in 16 villages of Rajasthan who put up a fight against the district administration to be able to sell …
RCEP deal to make investors stronger, people weaker, says trade group
The deal will affect access to medicines and seeds by raising the standards of intellectual property rights, claims Forum of Trade Justice
Corruption in timber trade fuels deforestation, biodiversity loss
Illegal timber trade also gives rise to conflicts between local communities and logging companies
Draft fisheries subsidies agreement will negatively impact developing nations: Experts
Developing nations have some wins at the Ministerial Conference but developed nations benefit most
Non-profits from 22 countries including India prevented from attending WTO meet
The civil society representatives allege that the move to restrict access for non-profits aims to de-democratise the organisation
Legal wildlife trade
Globally, legal wildlife trade has increased more than five-fold in value in the last 14 years and was estimated to be worth US $107 billion in …
Plant protection authority sets right its potato blunder
A public campaign forced it to revoke registration of PepsiCo’s potato variety, but the agency needs to reset its priorities
Walnut trees: Kashmir lockdown’s other victim
Walnut trees have been the strange casualty of Kashmir’s transition from a state to a Union Territory
‘Globotics could disrupt lives of millions of skilled workers’
Richard Baldwin, professor of International Economics, talks to DTE on protectionism, globalisation and the rise of robotics
‘Bear’ing the brunt
A multi-faceted approach is needed to curtail and manage the rising trend of human-sloth bear conflicts in Odisha
Ensure ethical trade in wild plants, consumers urged
New report highlights how many wild plants used in everyday products are sourced without any consideration to supply sustainability