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Permanent People’s Tribunal will session in Mexico
9-May-2012 RMR
“Free trade, dirty war, impunity and peoples rights” is the title of the new national chapter of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) that aims to expose “structural violence” in Mexico as a result of the implementation of free trade agreements.
Right to be troubled about secret partnership
9-May-2012
Getting lawyers to agree on anything is notoriously difficult. So when 100 retired judges, prominent legal academics, lawmakers and leading practitioners from New Zealand and overseas put their names to something, it’s time to sit up and take notice.
Sin nuevo sistema aduanero listo, arranca TLC con EE. UU.
8-May-2012
Gobierno reconoce que el sistema estaría listo en octubre, aunque el acuerdo con EE. UU. entra en vigor en ocho días.
Secrecy blankets trade talks
8-May-2012 IPS
The latest round of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), potentially the largest free trade agreement to be signed by the United States, began Tuesday with a blanket of secrecy over their content.
Taiwan-New Zealand free trade talks to begin
7-May-2012 Focus Taiwan
Taiwan and New Zealand have completed a joint feasibility study into a bilateral economic cooperation agreement (ECA) and will officially start free trade talks in the near future, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang said Saturday.
Corporations win big in battle against investment regulation
7-May-2012 IPS
In a world where governments are increasingly subservient to global finance capital, multinationals are gaining ground in the fight against state regulations that aim to protect the environment, public health or social policies.
US Model BIT (2012)
7-May-2012 USTR
USTR and State complete three-year review and unveil 2012 model BIT
7-May-2012 Focus on Regulation
The State Department and the US Trade Representative (USTR) unveiled last week the new US Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT)
It’s advantage Tokyo in India-Japan economic pact
7-May-2012 Financial Express
Though it is too early to arrive at definite conclusions, the trend signals Tokyo successfully using tariff cuts to penetrate deeper into the Indian market for goods.
Ankara, Kiev sign deal to boost cooperation
6-May-2012
Turkey and Ukraine signed a protocol on May 4 to deepen economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. The protocol was signed by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and his Ukrainian counterpart Sergei Tigipko after the eighth term meeting of the Turkey-Ukraine Trade and Economic Cooperation Committee, in the Ukrainian capital Kiev.
Ford Europe hits at EU-Korea trade deal
5-May-2012
The European boss of Ford Motor, the continent’s fourth-ranked carmaker by sales, has complained about “significant imbalance” in trade in cars under a free trade agreement with South Korea that took effect last year.
3rd round of India-Australia FTA talk to be held this month
5-May-2012
India and Australia will hold the third round of negotiations for the conclusion of a comprehensive free trade agreement in Sydney later this month.
Leading US official rules out renegotiation of free trade pact
4-May-2012
Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Wendy Cutler ruled out renegotiation of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement on Thursday, saying the deal had been in effect for just six weeks. Her comments foreshadowed a tough time for the Korean government’s efforts to revise the investor-state dispute settlement system under the accord.
Huge potential exists in Indian market for Pakistani items
4-May-2012
Indian market has huge potential for Pakistani items, but experts are discussing India’s import impact on domestic economy, ignoring the potential of services sector exports to that country, according to speakers of a seminar on Thursday.
’Chasm’ in trade talks
4-May-2012
An American business lobbyist has given a sober assessment of Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP] talks, citing a ’’chasm’’ between leaders’ ambitions and their negotiators’ positions.
Canada’s other drug war
4-May-2012
There’s a debate raging over Canada’s intellectual property regime. If one side’s right, Canada stands to pay $2.8 billion more every year in drug costs while it undermines its generic-drug manufacturing sector.
1st round of FTA talks with China due May 10
4-May-2012
Korea will hold its first round of negotiations with China on the bilateral free trade agreement next Thursday in Beijing, Seoul’s Trade Ministry said Friday.
Bilateral trade: Pakistan, South Korea reiterate ties
4-May-2012
Islamabad and Seoul can raise bilateral trade up to $3 billion, for which both governments should expedite negotiations to sign a free trade agreement and encourage the visit of business delegations and exhibitors from either side, said a press release obtained from the Karachi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Thursday.
US exporting obesity to Mexico
4-May-2012 US News & World Report
According to "Exporting Obesity," a recent paper from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, allowed the U.S. to send even more of its massive quantities of corn, soybeans, sugar, meat, and other foods to Mexico. An influx of cheap calories helped to push Mexico’s obesity rate upward.
Ford asks steep price for Japan to join trade talks
4-May-2012 Reuters
Japan should be required to reduce the size of its auto industry before being allowed into regional free trade talks with the United States and eight other countries in the Asia Pacific, a top Ford Motor Co official said.