Issue
No. 550 (1-15 Aug 2013)
TPPA threatens to narrow governments’ policy space
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What
to expect in the TPPA talks
The
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) currently under negotiation
would impose onerous obligations on member state governments and impinge
on their policymaking capacity in a broad range of economic areas.
by
Martin Khor
Critics
warn Pacific pact could jack up drug costs
The
availability of affordable medicines could come under threat from
strict intellectual property provisions proposed for the TPPA.
by
Jared Metzker
Resolution
on access to medicines adopted
The
UN Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution on access to medicines
which has been described as a step forward in addressing this issue
within the framework of the right to health.
by
K.M. Gopakumar
Agri
chair reports on consultations on G33, G20 proposals
Consensus
continues to elude WTO member states regarding developing-country
proposals for decisions at the forthcoming WTO Ministerial Conference
on public stockholding for food security and on farm export subsidies,
the chair of the agriculture talks has reported.
by
Kanaga Raja
Unacceptably
high unemployment in G20, say ILO/OECD
Unemployment
in many of the world’s major economies is unacceptably and persistently
high, according to the International Labour Office and the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development, which are calling for a
combination of supportive macroeconomic policies and employment, labour
market and social protection policies to improve the jobs outlook.
by
Kanaga Raja
Are
middle-class protests fallout from poverty alleviation?
Thalif
Deen investigates whether it is poverty reduction efforts that
have produced a growing middle class now at the forefront of political
protests in parts of the developing world.
OECD
proposes plan to curb international tax avoidance
The
world’s leading economies are considering a new blueprint for tackling
international tax avoidance, but economic justice groups say this
fresh proposal takes inadequate account of the plight of developing
countries which are major victims of corporate tax dodging.
by
Carey L. Biron
