Trade : USTR plans to visit Geneva to discuss TRIPS waiver (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Washington DC)
As global pressure escalates in favour of the proposed TRIPS waiver in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States has adopted a non-committal stance for entering into text- based negotiations, as being demanded by more than 100 developing countries at the World Trade Organization, said people familiar with the development.

Trade : CSOs call for transformation of WTO that "puts people first" (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Washington DC)
More than 200 international civil society organizations (CSOs) have issued a clarion call "for the transformation of the World Trade Organization into a completely new framework for international trade that is fit for the 21st century - which means it puts people and the planet first."

Trade : WTO DG indifferent to Doha TNC mandate? (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Washington DC)
World Trade Organization director-general Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala wants the "coordinators of the Joint Statement Initiatives to provide their reports and assessments" at the informal Doha Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) meeting on 3 May, in what appears to be a violation of the rules of the TNC, said people familiar with the development.

UN : New programme to foster economic participation in care industry (PRIV)
(IPS, Bangkok)
Bangkok, Thailand, 3 May (IPS/Eugenia Shevchenko, Lotte-Marie Brouwer and Minji Kwag*) -- The lockdowns and illnesses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic have dramatically increased the need to care for children, the elderly and the sick.