IPS – Governments expressed the will at the seventh ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to finish the Doha Round of trade negotiations as soon as possible. But the Africa Group still deems development to be a more important priority than a speedy conclusion.

Despite the decision of the seventh ministerial meeting to aim for a close to the Doha Round by the end of 2010, Hicham Badr, the ambassador of Egypt and coordinator of the Africa group, stressed that the Africa Group will continue to push for a Doha Round based on a developmental mandate.

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IPS – African countries are ready to conclude the Doha Round on the basis of current proposals, but warn against any attempt to renegotiate them at the seventh ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that opens in Geneva today. Meanwhile, the Africa Trade Network demands a moratorium on the Doha talks.

This ministerial conference is not meant to be a negotiating forum as governments are too far apart and want to avoid another collapse in talks, as has happened several times since the last ministerial meeting in Hong Kong four years ago. http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=49472

IPS – Since before the creation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995, two groups of people have confronted each other: supporters of trade liberalisation, who regard the pursuit of growth as paramount, and opponents of trade liberalisation, who see unfettered trade as the cause of many socio-economic problems.

But since the eruption of the economic crisis last year, a new group is starting to emerge: those who believe that the old model is dead and that the WTO can contribute to poverty alleviation and environmental protection, provided it is reformed. Or, rather, that it returns to its original mandate.

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IPS – The consequences of the Doha Round of trade talks for larger developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa could include job losses and deindustrialisation if a new study forecasting how Kenya is set to be affected is anything to go by.

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The European Union is intercepting big shipments of medicines on their way to poorer countries, according to a new report published Tuesday.

The generic medicines, coming mostly from India and headed for Latin American countries, have been intercepted and blocked on the grounds of alleged infringement of intellectual property rights.

A report produced jointly by Oxfam and the independent Health Action International says the generic shipments are legitimate under WTO rules.

India and Brazil are due to file a complaint against the Netherlands before the World Trade Organisation (WTO) after it seized a shipment of anti-HIV drugs headed from India via Europe to Brazil, Colombia and Nigeria.

“Although in transit, the patent law of the EU member state was called on by the right holder, and this was also the basis of the detainment by Dutch customs,” Sophie Bloemen from Health Action International told IPS by phone from Brussels.

Since late last year Germany and the Netherlands have made customs seizures of 19 shipments of generic medicines bound for developing countries, the report says. Of the last 17 shipments, 16 were from India and one from China.

Of these 17 shipments, five were headed for Peru, four for Colombia, two each for Ecuador and Mexico, and one each for Portugal, Spain, Brazil and Nigeria.

Many of these medicines are urgently needed to treat life-threatening conditions such as AIDS.

The medicines included 30,000 pills that are AIDS inhibitors,100,000 pills of cardiologic medicines, 500,000 pills to treat schizophrenia, and 94,000 pills to help treat dementia, according to customs information made available to IPS by Health Action International.

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