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bilateralism & multilateralism

A closer look at East Asia’s free trade agreements
24-Jan-2011 ADB
ADB and ADBI conducted firm-level surveys in six East Asian countries, the results of which are published in the book “Asia’s Free Trade Agreements: How is Business Responding?” released on 21 January 2011.
Costa Rica: Dominican Republic will respect pact “in a nice way or not”
13-Oct-2010 Dominican Today
Central American countries are filing a complaint against Dominican Republic before the World Trade Organization for violating CAFTA
US wants to send latest tuna-dolphin spat with Mexico to NAFTA
30-Sep-2010 ICTSD
The US government has called for the creation of a dispute settlement panel under the North American Free Trade Agreement to rule on Mexico’s decision to pursue a complaint about US labelling rules for ‘dolphin safe’ tuna at the WTO rather than under NAFTA.
With the door to Doha closed, India opens up windows to the world
23-Sep-2010 BS
Nine years after New Delhi started implementing its Plan B — bilateral trade agreements — to beat the impasse at the World Trade Organisation’s Doha Round of liberalisation talks, India seems to be finally rolling.
Asian regionalism and RI’s comparative advantage
24-Aug-2010
Undeniably, we’re heading towards the globalization of world trade. At the same time countries face challenges other than globalization: regionalism and bilateralism. Indonesia simultaneously faces different levels of trade liberalization, whether at the global (World Trade Organization or WTO), regional (ASEAN Free Trade Area or AFTA) or bilateral level (such as with Australia).
Govt banks on FTAs, fears protectionism
23-Aug-2010
India today articulated its strategy to opt for bilateral deals to boost trade in goods and services at a time when the developed countries were turning protectionists and talks for multilateral trade liberalisation were not making much headway.
Swiss say prefer bilateral trade deals to EU membership
20-Aug-2010 Reuters
Switzerland will continue to pursue bilateral trade agreements with the European Union for the time being rather than joining the trading bloc as a member state, the Swiss government said on Thursday.
Dancing Around the WTO
16-Aug-2010
Whether possessing formal statehood or not, Taiwan like all other 152 members of the World Trade Organization has to elbow its way through foreign trade disputes. Sometimes it loses, sometimes it wins. But it has to abide by WTO regulations, one of which requires the reporting of trade agreements.
G20 leaders drop Doha target, see smaller deals
29-Jun-2010 Reuters
World leaders dropped a commitment on Saturday to complete the troubled Doha trade round this year and vowed to push forward on bilateral and regional trade talks until a global deal could be done.
US pledges to revise South Korea free trade agreement
28-Jun-2010 FT
The US said at the weekend it will seek to complete a long-stalled trade deal with South Korea, while the G8 acknowledged deep troubles in global trade talks by shifting the focus to bilateral pacts.
Free market stealth economics at G20
27-Jun-2010 Toronto Media Co-op
Behind razor sharp security walls and thousands of armed police, Canada’s Conservative government is utilising the G20 summit as a political platform to push forward bilateral trade agreements globally, according to recent statements from the Canadian government.
WTO DG Pascal Lamy describes FTAs as "politically convenient" instruments
25-Jun-2010
Asean has been interested in using Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) as instruments for promoting trade in the globalised economy.
US, EU sign deal to end long banana dispute
9-Jun-2010 AFP
The United States said Tuesday it had signed an agreement with the European Union aimed at ending a longstanding dispute over banana tariffs.
Taiwan claims right to sign FTAs as WTO member
8-Jun-2010
Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang said yesterday that Taiwan, as a WTO member, has the right to seek free trade deals with as many countries as it chooses, a move recently strongly opposed by China.
China, India to raise concerns at WTO about “TRIPS-plus” measures, ACTA
3-Jun-2010 IPW
China and India next week plan to voice concerns at the World Trade Organization about efforts by developed countries to push poorer trading partners beyond their WTO commitments on trade and intellectual property rights, so-called TRIPS-plus measures.
Bananas: Geneva Agreement signed, bilaterals cut tariffs further
3-Jun-2010 ICTSD
The Geneva Agreement on Trade in Bananas cuts the EU’s multilateral banana tariff in gradual steps while its bilateral tariff on bananas from Peru, Colombia and six Central American countries will be slashed still further.
India may use EU drug suit to turn FTA talks in its favour
21-May-2010 Indian Express
By formally declaring their willingness to take the European Union to the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement court last week, India may be using the looming legal dispute as leverage to control the free trade (FTA) negotiations which have hit a snag on social issues.
No timetable for ECFA to become FTA
25-Mar-2010 Taipei Times
Many WTO members have expressed support for a China-Taiwan Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement and would be happy to see it happen, says Taiwan’s permanent representative to WTO.
EU, Vietnam to start free-trade talks
3-Mar-2010 WSJ
The European Union and Vietnam announced the start of free-trade negotiations Tuesday, signaling a major effort to move ahead in the race to secure new markets despite the failure of the Doha Round of global trade talks.
Mercosur, EU may set aside agriculture to reach trade deal
18-Feb-2010 EFE
Brazil mentions the possibility of putting aside the subject of agriculture for the moment, since “the central problem of eliminating agricultural subsidies can only be resolved with a global plan” at the World Trade Organization.