bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

finance | banking | taxes


Singapore signs Belt and Road deal
Singapore has signed an agreement with China to strengthen cooperation on its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, aiming to expand the city-state’s involvement.
Banks line up behind British government in EU trade battle
Banks and insurers lined up to back the British government’s demand that a future trade deal with the European Union must include financial services, putting them on a collision course with Brussels.
France rules out UK bid to include banks in EU trade deal
French Economy Minister rejects financial services to be part of a free-trade deal with the European Union after Brexit.
How international investment agreements have made debt restructuring even more difficult and costly
Inconsistencies and even contradictions have emerged in dispute settlement decisions, sometimes at the expense of public good, sovereignty and financial and economic stability.
Congolese mines minister mum on whether controversial new code has been made law
International mining companies, which include Randgold, Glencore and China Molybdenum, have said they will challenge the new law through international arbitration, and are lobbying Kabila not to sign it.
Lawyers ask for prompt decision on Lone Star case
Lawyers for a Democratic Society sent a letter to the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, demanding a speedy settlement of the dispute between the Korean government and the U.S. buyout fund Lone Star Funds.
India’s top court allows Vodafone to initiate second arbitration over $2 bln tax demand
India’s top court allowed Britain’s Vodafone to initiate a second arbitration process under an India-UK investment pact .
EU-Japan trade agreement not compatible with EU data protection
The implicit cross-border data flow commitments do not have a sufficient safeguard. This is not compatible with the EU Fundamental rights system.
T.N. seeks to stay Nissan arbitration
The Tamil Nadu government moved the Madras High Court for an interim stay on carmaker Nissan Motor from proceeding with international arbitration over the alleged non-payment of incentives being claimed by it from the State.
Nissan sues India over outstanding dues; seeks over $770 million
Japanese automaker Nissan Motor has begun international arbitration against India to seek more than $770 million in a dispute over unpaid state incentives.
NZ ’could not’ apply water tax - diplomat
Government plans to put a royalty on exports of bottled water could be in jeopardy after a top trade negotiator warned MPs it would breach trade deals.
Singapore may renegotiate EU trade deal after Brexit removes British markets
Singapore has raised the prospect of renegotiating terms on a long-awaited free trade deal with the European Union due to the impact of Brexit
US and China sign trade agreement
The US and China have reached a 10-point trade deal that opens the Chinese market to US credit rating agencies and credit card companies.
Why Singapore doesn’t want to see a HK-ASEAN free-trade deal
Once the ASEAN opens its service sector to Hong Kong companies, Singapore could be the hardest hit, and hence its staunch opposition to it.
EU to exclude financial services from post-Brexit deal
The EU intends to exclude the financial services sector from a trade deal with the UK after Brexit, according to the latest tweaks in the EU’s draft negotiating guidelines.
TiSA and the threat to public banks
The Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is an attack on the future publicness of public banking around the world.
Britain puts banks at front of queue for US trade deal
British banks could be able to access the US markets in future as freely as they trade with the EU now, under a trade deal
Australia’s march towards corporatocracy
While consultancies, political donations, secondments and staff movements magnify corporate influence over government, an equally sinister trend is playing out in the world of multinational corporations.
TiSA - draft annex on financial services (Nov 2016)
From November 2016 negotiating round
The ’Canadian model’: why Ceta isn’t a blueprint for Brexit
Aide’s ‘cake and eat it’ note praised the recent trade Canada-EU trade deal but there are few similarities with the UK.