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.
May 27, 2008
WTO Services Text Undershoots
The Chair of the WTO Services negotiations released a draft negotiating text overnight. This has not been well received in Washington and EU capitals. With the non-agricultural market access text having gone so far backwards the only hope for some balance to the agriculture concessions expected of the US and EU was a good outcome on services. The current text is still very weak and does not reflect the interests of US and EU industry. A strong and very negative statement is being circulated around services players in OECD capitals for release in the next few hours.