. a) The draft ministerial text, that will form the basis of negotiations at the 6th WTO Ministerial in Hong Kong, is out!

This can be found online at

6. b) The Impacts of GATS on Agriculture: Conventional wisdom on the World Trade Organization negotiations has it that there will be a trade-off between concessions made by
industrialized countries in agriculture and concessions made by developing countries in services. What is often overlooked are the linkages between the two sectors, especially the impacts on agriculture of the liberalization of crucial services sectors.

At first glance it might seem that the GATS has little to do with agriculture. Its list of 160 service sub-sectors makes little direct reference to agriculture and food: they include just "Services incidental to agriculture, hunting and forestry," "Services incidental to fishing" and "Veterinary services," all within the broad category of "Business Services."

Yet the agriculture and food economy around the world has been massively transformed by services. Farmers are increasingly integrated into global food supply chains that strongly influence their production and marketing decisions. Small land holding farmers are especially dependent on the efficient and equitable provision of services that enable them to participate in these supply chains on affordable terms. Consequently, the liberalization of those services can have a major impact on agriculture especially in developing countries. This paper focuses on the services sectors that have the closest link to agriculture and in which several developed countries have made requests for further liberalisation towards developing countries: Distribution services, Financial services, Infrastructural services, especially water and energy, which are often more difficult to supply in rural areas.

Link to the English version

6.c. Reminder: WTO Wirodhi Bharatiya Jan Abhiyan (Indian Peoples Campaign against WTO) National Convention on the Hong Kong Ministerial in the Speaker’s Hall, Constitution Club, Behind Reserve Bank of India, New Delhi, on 3rd December (Saturday) 2005, from 2-30 pm to 5-30 pm

6.d) The latest focus video released, WTO: why is it REALLY BAD for you. For copies contact the address below. You can also download it from : http://www.focusweb.org/content/

Focus on the Global South - India, A-201, Kailash Apartments, Juhu Church Road, Juhu,
Mumbai – 400 049. India, Tel: +91-22-5582 1141 / 51, Telefax: +91-22-2625 4347.
Email: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it / This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , WEBSITE: http://focusweb.org/india

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