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geopolitics

Leaks confirm fears about Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement
5-Dec-2013 Redeye
In mid-November, Wikileaks released the secret draft text for the Intellectual Property Rights Chapter of the TPP. Stuart Trew talks about what this leak tells us about the agreement as a whole.
Turkey: Not making eyes at the Eurasian Union — for now
25-Nov-2013 Eurasianet
After 26 years of frustration over its start-and-stop bid to join the European Union, would Turkey ever consider joining a rival regional bloc led by the Kremlin? Few observers believe it likely, but it’s not completely out of the question.
Russia bans two Ukraine meat firms, as meat war threatens
14-Nov-2013 Global Meat News
In a bid to force Ukraine to abandon the signing of a free trade agreement with the EU, Russian veterinary service Rosselkhoznadzor has banned meat imports from two Ukrainian companies in the first step of a possible meat war that could seriously damage the Ukrainian industry.
Militarization and the Trans-Pacific “strategic economic” Partnership
13-Nov-2013 Global Research
The TPP has been mostly framed as a secret free-trade agreement but it has in large part taken the form of a policy initiative called the Pacific Pivot, a shifting of military resources into the Pacific.
EU warns Russia over trade ’threats’ to ex-Soviet bloc
12-Sep-2013 BBC
The European Commission has warned Russia that it is "unacceptable" to use threats against ex-Soviet states which are seeking closer ties with the EU.
Signing of treaty on free trade zone between Ukraine, EU will create problems for Ukraine, Russia - Putin
4-Sep-2013 Voice of Russia
"If Ukraine believes it needs to sign a treaty on free trade with the EU, it means that’s how it should be. However, we see some problems for us and them here," Putin said in an interview with Russia’s Channel One and the Associated Press.
Israel: A bitter harvest
22-Jul-2013 Financial Times
The EU, Israel’s biggest trading partner, is preparing EU-wide guidelines for the labelling of goods made at settlements as originating from Israeli-occupied Palestinian land. The measure would affect $300m of Israeli exports, according to a World Bank estimate.
The challenges of the Pacific Alliance: Regional sovereignty in Latin America or a pampered periphery
16-Jul-2013 Upside Down World
Two projects of regional association are facing off in South America: the Pacific Alliance and UNASUR.
India becomes part of regional trading bloc despite Chinese opposition
8-Jul-2013 Times of India
India overcame resistance from China to become a part of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, an Asean + 6 grouping which is set to emerge as one of the most significant free trading blocs in the world, government sources confirmed.
Will Asia’s largest FTA make a difference?
1-Jul-2013 Jakarta Post
Unless there is enough political will to close potential loopholes disguised as “flexibility” and pursue reforms deeper than those ever before attempted, RCEP may be seen as serving the geopolitical interests of a few players, to little economic effect.
Despite promising start, Taiwan misses free trade deals
22-Apr-2013 Forbes
The island known for moving big batches of electronics to world markets is struggling to keep a toehold in Asia politically and economically against rivals that make the same stuff and have more trade deals, writes the business magazine Forbes
Joining TPP best answer for worries of further US encirclement
10-Apr-2013 Global Times
It is easy to perceive why China is highly apprehensive at the thought of Japan joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This move fits into a complex pattern that has fed China’s paranoia about being encircled.
China left out of Obama free trade party
2-Apr-2013 FT
Obama’s new trade approach might be characterised as ABC – Anyone But China.
Experts call for BRICS free trade pact
27-Mar-2013 China Daily
"BRICS should consider proposing a free trade agreement at the summit, regardless of whether it’s feasible right now," said Wang Junwen, chairman of the China Association of International Trade.
Australian-US alliance a factor in Chinese investment decisions
1-Mar-2013 ABC
The growing size and value of China’s investments in Australia makes the case for a bilateral investment treaty increasingly urgent, according to a leading China expert.
EU-Ukrainian Association Agreement: To sign or not to sign?
12-Dec-2012 EurActiv
The leak of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement (AA) turns the focus of their relations to a Shakespearean question: to sign or not to sign.
Pak-US hectic talks on BIT draft
2-Sep-2012
Pakistan and the United States remained engaged on Friday to narrow their differences over the draft of Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) which Islamabad and Washington have been discussing since March 2012
S. Korea says Japan free trade talks ‘difficult’ due to tensions
27-Aug-2012
South Korea said resuming negotiations with Japan over a free trade agreement will be difficult given a maritime territorial spat.
Geopolitical tsunami in the Southern Cone
9-Aug-2012 Americas Program
When the Paraguayan Senate approved the “political judgment” against Fernando Lugo on June 22, it unleashed the biggest political crisis in the Mercosur in the last 20 years. The dust still hasn’t settled, but it’s clear that nothing will be the same since the shake-up.
Asia Pacific talks not aimed at containing China - US official
9-Aug-2012 Reuters
Some in China see the Trans Pacific Partnership as a US attempt to rewrite the rules of trade for the region to economically contain China, whose rapid growth continues to rattle many lawmakers and companies in the United States. Deputy USTR Demetrios Marantis rejects the charge.