February 2, 2006

Special Report: "WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration Sustains Doha Round, Greater Risk and Opportunity Ahead in 2006"

The latest edition of the "WTO and International Trade" bulletin from the law firm of Bryan Cave reviews and analyzes the results of the December 12-18 WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Meeting.  The bulletin points out that, while the Ministerial saw incremental progress in the Doha round services negotiations and the other major areas under negotiation, critical decisions, particularly those related the agriculture negotiations - were delayed until April 2006.  
 
For services negotiations, the declaration issued at the close of the Ministerial sets a target date of July 31, 2006 for a second round of revised services offers, and October 31, 2006, as the deadline for final draft services schedules.   The text also calls for the submission of plurilateral requests by February 28, 2006. 
 
Click here for a copy of the full report. 

For further information, please contact Mark Nguyen at Bryan Cave at mark.nguyen@bryancave.com.