Trade : JSIs lack legal status, fragments WTO (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Washington DC)
The proponents of the Joint Statement Initiatives (JSIs) on 6 May touted the benefits stemming from these non-mandated initiatives but failed to answer to the legal issues as raised by India, South Africa, and Namibia at the World Trade Organization.

Trade : WTO members welcome US decision on TRIPS waiver (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Washington DC)
Many members, at the WTO's General Council meeting on 5 May, welcomed the Biden-Harris administration's decision to support a short-term TRIPS waiver to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and to participate in text-based negotiations, SUNS has learned.

United Nations : Food commodity prices continue to rise, says FAO (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
The international prices of a basket of key agricultural food commodities rose for the eleventh consecutive month in April, mainly driven by strong increases in prices for sugar, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has said.