WTO : DG espouses reforms based on Northern priorities inimical to South (PRIV)
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva)
As countries are finalizing their positio ns on the deliverables for the WTO's 12th ministerial conference (MC12) scheduled for 12-15 June, the World Trade Organization's director-general has stepped up her campaign to reform the 164-member intergovernmental, member-driven, and rules-based multilateral trade organization ostensibly to address the 21st century challenges.

Trade : Turkey resorts to arbitration procedure in pharmaceuticals dispute (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Taking into account that the WTO's Appellat e Body is not presently able to hear an appeal, Turkey has informed WTO membe rs that it has initiated arbitration proceedings under Article 25 of the Dispu te Settlement Understanding (DSU) to review the findings of a WTO dispute pane l in a dispute raised by the European Union over certain measures imposed by Tur key concerning the production, importation and marketing of pharmaceutical prod ucts.

Trade : WTO DG's proposed solution unsuitable for global public health crisi s (PRIV)
(Sangeeta Shashikant, London)
Non-voluntary licenses or compulsor y licenses as they are commonly known, form the core of the proposed solution that is only targeted at "vaccines" and for "eligible members", that Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), is expected to be introducing to the WTO membership in the coming days.