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bilateralism & multilateralism

The price of free trade
12-Jul-2005 Asia Times
As the struggle for regional economic dominance in Northeast Asia heats up, the battle for free trade agreements (FTAs) has reached a new level, which may not only see the weakening of the multilateral trade system, but also the cancerous growth of geopolitical influence in regional trade.
TRIPS, bilateralism, multilateralism & implications for developing countries: Jordan’s drug sector
30-Jun-2005
Looking at the experience of Jordan’s pharmaceutical sector, this paper shows that the expected benefits from bilateral agreements between developed and developing countries have been largely overestimated while the costs underestimated.
Bilateral Treaties to Promote and Protect Foreign Investment within the Americas: an alternative to the FTAA
29-Jun-2005 Argenpress
Sovereign states are the original right bearers. They have to denounce bilateral investment treaties or their most arbitrary clauses following the procedures provided, in accordance with the legal principles of democratic constitutions; to recover their legislative and jurisdictional powers, by retrieving their inherent jurisdiction which had been delegated to international foreign tribunals, allowing them to rule on the general regulatory or contractual policies of independent nations.
Current developments and trends in the field of intellectual property: implications for Arab countries
28-Jun-2005 ICTSD
Developments relating to protection of IP in Arab countries have, in general, received less attention from stakeholders, particularly civil society, than in other developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. In this connection, the aim of this paper is to stress the need for Arab countries to adopt a more development-oriented perspective on IP protection.
Investment regime takes shape
11-Jun-2005 Seeurope.net
Investment rules are not on the agenda of the current Doha Round of global trade talks. Instead, bilateral, regional and other level agreements are building a de facto international regime for investment.
Intellectual property in investment agreements: The TRIPS-plus implications for developing countries
2-Jun-2005 South Centre
In this analytical note, the South Centre examines the implication of the emerging approaches relating to the fair and equitable treatment and the national and most-favoured nation (MFN) treatment in investment agreements for the overall regimes for the protection and enforcement of IP in developing countries.
’Too many FTAs could hurt Asean’
30-May-2005 Bangkok Post
Too many bilateral free trade area (FTA) agreements between individual Asian countries and more powerful economies will erode Asean’s drive to create free trade among its 10 members, according to Dr Somkiat Tangkitvanich, research director of the Thailand Development Research Institute.
The changing landscape of regional trade agreements
19-May-2005 WTO
This new WTO discussion paper looks at main trends and characteristics of regional trade agreements, in force and under negotiation. It also examines their effects on third parties and on the multilateral trading system.
Feeding on fears
12-May-2005 News International
We need to guard against attempts by vested interests to discourage South-South trade and to divide the economic unity of South Asia.
Land of the rising FTA
12-May-2005 Asia Times
With negotiations of an ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA and a China-Australia FTA already under way, building an FTA relationship with Australia is essential if Japan is to maintain its role as a leader in developing an FTA structure in the Asia-Pacific region.
’High time we signed RTAs’
11-May-2005 Financial Express
Commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath has said that India is specifically looking at regional trading agreements (RTA) to boost its trade. "Without such agreements India faces the risk of being isolated globally. India must engage in trade on a regional basis", he said.
It’s make or break time for free trade, says Supachai
6-May-2005
World Trade Organisation chief Supachai Panitchpakdi has described this month as a crucial period that could make or break the highly-anticipated WTO ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December.
FTAs protectionism in disguise: Garnaut
5-May-2005
This week, to the fanfare of headlines trumpeting talk of a $24 billion bonanza, Australia and China announced the start of formal negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). However, the Federal Government’s pursuit of FTAs all over the globe has its detractors who argue that they are a sort of Trojan horse for protectionism and they also damage relations with countries that we don’t have deals with.
Priorities for Indian trade policy
5-May-2005
Recent writings on trade policy have focused excessively on free trade agreements/regional trade agreements (FTAs/RTAs) and their usefulness to India. The importance attached to this topic, at the expense of serious discussions on second-generation trade reforms, is frightening.
From TRIPS-minus to TRIPS to TRIPS-plus: Implications of IPRs for the Arab world
1-May-2005
This article sheds light on the evolution of free trade agreements (FTAs) and the IPR protection incorporated within such agreements. The emphasis will be on the latest free trade and investment agreements concluded between the United States and the European Union (EU) with the Arab world and their “TRIPS-Plus” nature.
Proliferation of bilateral FTAs will not undermine WTO process
26-Apr-2005 Bernama
The proliferation of bilateral free trade agreements (FTA) will not undermine the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) process but instead may smoothen it, Malaysia’s International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said.
Long march for Australia, China FTA
21-Apr-2005 Dow Jones Newswire
Fifteen years. That is how long China dragged out negotiations for its entry into the World Trade Organization. And there’s no reason to believe that finalizing a comprehensive free-trade agreement with Australia will be any less painstaking.
Trade fever hits Asia-Pacific region
21-Apr-2005 IHT
The enthusiasm for bilateral free trade agreements, or FTAs, and regional trade agreements, or RTAs, around Asia-Pacific reflects frustration over the slow pace of multilateral trade reform, once seen as the great hope for regional trade.
Agriculture ’a must’ in Japan FTA
21-Apr-2005 The Australian
There is no point proceeding with a feasibility study into a free trade agreement between Australia and Japan if agriculture is excluded from the deal, Labor says.
Indonesia and bilateral trade agreements (BTAs)
1-Apr-2005 APNFS
Paper presented to the APNFS workshop on Regional & Bilateral Trade Agreements & Looking at Agriculture Subsidies in the North: Common Advocacies for Food Sovereignty (November 2004)