Issue No. 608, 1-15 January 2016
Developing countries highlight DDA issues, development dimension at WTO

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Address DDA issues, development and SDT are key, say South
Amid continued uncertainty following the Nairobi ministerial meeting over what subjects are to be taken up in the WTO and how, many developing countries have stressed the need to prioritize the outstanding Doha Development Agenda issues while keeping the centrality of the development dimension as well as special and differential treatment.
by Kanaga Raja

WTO flexibilities for African countries must be preserved
At the 10 February HOD meeting, the African Group of countries called for the flexibilities in favour of African states at the WTO and the existing architecture of the WTO agreements to be maintained.
by Kanaga Raja

Don’t sign TPP without committing to human rights, says UN expert
The controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement among 12 Pacific Rim economies was signed in Auckland, New Zealand, on 4 February despite substantial opposition by civil society groups in the participating countries. Adding to the concerns surrounding the TPP, a UN human rights expert had, on the eve of the signing, urged against outright endorsement of the “fundamentally flawed” treaty, as Kanaga Raja reports below.

Rural economic transformation central to LDCs
Economic transformation of rural areas will be key to sustainable development in the world’s least developed countries, says UN agency UNCTAD.
by Kanaga Raja

Opinion: The widening of the rich-poor gap
Over the following two articles, Martin Khor looks at the pressing problem of inequality. In the first of these articles, he writes that the increase in inequality of income and wealth has become a top global issue that must be tackled to avoid economic crisis and political chaos.

Opinion: Tackling inequality, nationally and globally
The growing rich-poor gap is recognized as a major social and political problem, but what measures can be taken nationally and internationally to address this issue?
by Martin Khor

Opinion: TPP – lessons from New Zealand
A recent study on how New Zealand is expected to fare under the TPP fails to give an accurate picture of the agreement’s likely impacts, contends Jomo Kwame Sundaram.