This blog was dedicated to the monitoring of latest developments in Central, Regional and Local politics from its base in New Zealand's capital city, Wellington. The blog was run by a team with unique insights into latest developments. The Hive was not politically aligned, but did support policy that was best for the growth of business and the economy. Given the obvious interest from our readership The Hive from time to time delved into the politics of other countries or regions.
Dec 15, 2007
International Trade Law Conference Ends
Our informant advises that the head of the MFAT Trade Law group Clare Fearnley attended today's closing sessions of the New Zealand Centre for International Economic Law Conference in Wellington. This was good as MFAT was underrepresented on the first day. The highlight today was a recorded presentation from New Zealand's WTO Ambassador Crawford Falconer. Falconer gave a good overview of the GATT and WTO's history and his assessment of where it is heading. His view of the future suggests that the days of the WTO as the place where trade liberalisation is negotiated may be over. He was relatively upbeat on chances of achieving an outcome to the current Doha negotiation but would not say by when, or how big an outcome, though he suggested that the Uruguay Round had been the watershed for the WTO, with the current round essentially a tidy up.