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bilateralism & multilateralism


Arroyo: Stalled Doha talks drive East Asia integration
The stalled Doha round of talks of the World Trade Organization is what is driving the process of integration in East Asia, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said Thursday.
Important challenges face Asian FTAs
Asian economic regionalism, driven by active FTAs, reached a decisive point recently as China, South Korea, Japan and ASEAN countries compromised on the plan for financial reserves to put the possible financial crisis under control.
’New trade policy for America’
The agreement announced today is a fundamental shift in US trade policy and clears the way for broad, bipartisan congressional support for the Peru and Panama FTAs.
Trade policy in Asia: where next with a crippled WTO and weak FTAs?
Trade policy in Asia is dangerously unbalanced. It rests on a shaky leg of discriminatory bilateral and regional FTAs. Its other WTO leg has gone to sleep: most Asian countries have neglected the WTO in favour of FTAs. Its regional-cooperation arm is limp: grand visions for regional economic integration are mostly empty conference chatter.
Efta continues to extend its influence
While world trade talks remain deadlocked, the European Free Trade Association (Efta), of which Switzerland is a member, continues to extend its network of free trade accords.
EU promises seeks to design bilateral trade deals that support future WTO-type pact
The European Union will aim to design bilateral trade deals with other regions and countries that can be applied to a future world trade agreement even if last-ditch efforts to forge a global pact fail later this year, an EU trade official said Tuesday.
US and China tug at ASEAN unity
ASEAN is being fragmented by intensifying US-China competition for regional influence, which is putting a premium on bilateralism with the big powers at the expense of ASEAN’s ambition toward more regional multilateralism.
FTA is the path to survival: says a Chilean diplomat
“Multilateral trade agreements require much patience and involve complicated processes. If trade determines the survival of your country, you need to be more active in shaping bilateral or multilateral trade frames,” said Chile’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alberto Van Klaveren during a two-day visit to Seoul.
Challenging corporate investor rule
How the World Bank’s investment court, free trade agreements, and bilateral investment treaties have unleashed a new era of corporate power and what to do about tt
Exclusive US agreements unfair advantage, Emerson says
Canadian exporters are facing discrimination in Latin America and elsewhere because of exclusive trade pacts the United States has with those countries, Trade Minister David Emerson has complained.
Global trade talks stall as free trade agreements grow in Asia
As the latest World Trade Organization round of talks loses momentum, bilateral and regional free trade agreements are mushrooming in Asia.
FTAs now substitute for multilateral talks
I had the opportunity to present a working paper at the 7th Forum for Democracy, Development and Free Trade held at the Qatari capital of Doha last week.
Opinion: Japan’s aid policy in dire need of revamp
The second largest economy in the world is in the midst of change and one crucial area it needs to look is its official development assistance programme.
Free trade agreements come in for criticism
Bahrain yesterday said it was a “shame” to allow agricultural issues to upstage the WTO negotiations, while Iran held that the increasing free trade pacts have undermined inter-regional dialogues and called for a regional economic and security council.
Preferential, not free trade deals
All multilateral trade rounds managed under the umbrella of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT), now the World Trade Organisation (WTO), are in crisis until a deal is done. The headlines are familiar and predictable, no trade round has ever failed or failed to disappoint.
Asia-Pacific trade ministers defend bilateral deals
Two trade ministers from Asia-Pacific nations — Singapore and Australia — on Saturday defended bilateral and regional trade agreements as potentially contributing to, not detracting from, the global trade regime.
Australian trade minister argues in favor of free trade agreements in lieu of WTO deal
Countries will continue to negotiate their own free trade agreements in the absence of a WTO deal, but those bilateral arrangements could actually help the chances for a global trade pact, Australia’s trade minister said Saturday.
Intellectual property, bilateral agreements and sustainable development: A strategy note
This paper addresses the main threats of the intellectual property chapters in the bilateral and regional agreements with the US for access to medicines, give an overview of the reactions from different sectors to these agreements, and outline some strategic considerations for future action.
US trade pacts at risk over business-labor clash
Bush administration efforts to reach a deal with the US Congress on trade were thrown into doubt on Thursday as US business and labor groups clashed over the core issue in the talks.
Weaving webs of influence: The United States, free trade agreements and dispute resolution
Peter Drahos looks at the issue of dispute settlement in the gowing web of US bilateral free trade agreements, how this relates to the WTO’s dispute settlement system and the implications for developing countries.