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bilateralism & multilateralism


India considering trade pacts with EU, Japan
India is considering economic cooperation agreements with the European Union and Japan to boost trade, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday, a day after global free trade talks collapsed.
Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) concerns in agricultural trade
Many US Congress Members are interested in how FTAs might address SPS matters. These Members are concerned that as trade agreements lower agricultural tariffs, more countries may turn to SPS measures to protect their farmers from import competition.
The death of Doha signals the demise of globalisation
The failure to reach agreement on the Doha round suggests the era of multilateral trade agreements is coming to an end.
WTO chief Pascal Lamy upbeat about global trade talks
The World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy is upbeat about global trade talks, with the U.S. having indicated that it will go further to cut trade distorting farm subsidies. He is also expecting better offers from all the other major players in the round, including the European Union and the Group of 20 that includes India, Brazil and China, during the mini-ministerial conference next week in Geneva.
On the road again: Four goals for the new US Trade Representative
Susan Schwab began work last week as US Trade Representative (USTR) at a difficult time for free trade.
The rise in bilateral free trade agreements
In the absence of a breakthrough in multilateral talks, the Bush administration has pressed ahead with smaller bilateral free trade agreements to secure preferential deals as well as cement ties with strategically important countries in the Middle East, the Pacific Rim, and Latin America.
Canada lags in global trade race: Emerson
Canada has rested on its resource-boom laurels and has fallen behind in the global race to sign free-trade deals with other countries, Trade Minister David Emerson warns.
Washington’s tactical shift on global trade
Seoul and Washington have just launched free trade talks. The negotiations will be complex, acerbic and angry — and will finally bury the Doha Round of World Trade Organization talks.
Bilateral, regional trade agreements on APEC agenda
The ongoing APEC senior official meeting (SOM II) will discuss Sunday existing and new policies for regional trading agreements and free trade agreements (RTA/FTA), reports from the APEC secretariat said.
The treatment of geographical indications in recent regional and bilateral FTAs
The objective of this paper is to analyze what has been the treatment of GIs in the new generation of regional trade agreement as well as the content of the new standards being set.
Bush trade strategy backfires as chances of global pact recede
President George W Bush’s strategy of using individual accords as stepping stones to a unified, global system of trade may be backfiring.
Free trade agreements: complicated but unavoidable
The 16th Inter-Pacific Bar Association Conference, held in Sydney last week, provided a forum to illustrate the enormous impact FTAs have on the economic and social aspects of their respective countries and the legal issues underlying them.
OWINFS call to action: Stop the WTO’s Doha "development" round and other "free trade" negotiations
We call upon civil society organizations and social movements from around the world to join with us in showing their strong, united and unequivocal opposition to the completion of the World Trade Organization’s trade ‘round’, and other bilateral and regional Free Trade Agreements being forced on people by governments.
International trade: Calling on African leaders
Why is there a sudden shift to regionalism as opposed to the much over-blown globalisation represented by multilateralism? Can Africa begin to understand that there is a dynamic and concerted effort at balkanising the continent into segmented disciplines?
Doha Round faces collapse as talks are suspended
Most trade experts believe that if a tentative deal cannot be agreed in the next few months, there will not be time to complete the details and gain approval in the US. If this happens, it would be the first time that the world trade talks have stalled, and may lead to a world which is increasingly divided into protectionist trade blocs.
ADB set to promote trade liberalization
Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda said the bank would help promote regional trade liberalization as part of the institution’s mid- and long-term strategies.
Array of trade pacts a cause for concern: India Inc
With instances of more than one trade pact being inked with a single country under the Government’s bilateral and regional trade agreements policy, Indian industry is apprehending confusion in import clearances arising from multiplicity of rules of origin' norms andnegative lists’ applicable on imports from the same country under the numerous agreements signed with it.
Opening up to worries
An interview with Chee Yoke Ling of Third World Network on globalisation, WTO and FTAs
Balance costs with benefits - Shun the FTA straitjacket
The proposed review of India’s Free Trade Agreements points to a much deeper malaise in the process of formulating trade policy. Too often, a fondness for a general principle is allowed to completely overwhelm the specific concerns of each case.
Pitfalls aplenty on the fast track to trade
The distorting aspects of bilateral free trade agreements can be avoided by adopting a multilateral approach, argues Mohamed Ariff.