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geopolitics

EU talks with Israel on upgrading ties put on hold
15-Jan-2009 Reuters
The European Union and Israel have put negotiations on upgrading their ties on hold due to the war in the Gaza Strip, an EU envoy said on Wednesday.
Georgia, US sign strategic accord
10-Jan-2009 AFP
On the economic front, the two countries intend to pursue an Enhanced Bilateral Investment Treaty and to explore the possibility of a free-trade agreement.
What part of Article 2 don’t you understand?
6-Jan-2009 Middle East Online
There’s an ugly plan afoot in the EU to reward Israel for its abominable and criminal conduct by enhancing the already handsome benefits enjoyed by the neighbourhood bully under the EU-Israel Association Agreement.
US cuts Bolivian duty free export law
16-Dec-2008 Prensa Latina
The US officially shut out Bolivia from the benefits of the Law of Andean Trade Preference and Drug Enforcement Act (ATPDEA).
India, Brazil and South Africa should gang up with China
15-Oct-2008 IPS
The India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) formation could have enough clout to stand up to the European Union and the US but it needs the help of emerging superpower China. Alternatively it should align with the BRIC (Brazil-Russia-India-China) group.
Junta benefits from regional economic tug-of-war
20-Aug-2008 Mizzima
India and ASEAN have announced that talks on services and investment are set to commence next month ahead of a comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) to be signed later this year. This latest step in deepening regional economic integration is further evidence of an ever expanding matrix of competing regional economic interests, which Burma finds itself at the heart of.
SAARC rhetoric and economic realities
10-Aug-2008
The focus of this year’s SAARC Summit was on terrorism. Economic cooperation, regional food security and the perennial issue of poverty reduction were among the economic issues that were deliberated. SAARC summits have tended to be high on rhetoric and low on achievement. Once upon a time, NATO was described as No Action Talk Only.
Sri Lanka develops cold feet on trade pact with India
28-Jul-2008 Live Mint
An India-Sri Lanka trade and investment agreement billed as a landmark is being delayed, ostensibly because the island nation’s President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, an avowed Sinhala nationalist, doesn’t want to be seen as authoring such a close partnership with New Delhi, diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity said.
’ROK postpones FTA talks over Takeshima reference’
20-Jul-2008 Daily Yomiuri
Talks between Japan and South Korea on resuming negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement have been postponed indefinitely after Seoul said it was unhappy over a reference to the Takeshima islets in school handbooks
Palestine in the Middle East: Opposing neoliberalism and US power
16-Jul-2008 The Bullet
It is not merely the depth of suffering or length of exile that makes the Palestinian struggle an imperative of international solidarity in the current period. It is also the central location of the struggle within the broader context of global resistance to imperialism and neoliberalism. At the heart of this regional framework is the intrinsic relationship between the development of neoliberal capitalism in the Middle East and normalization of relations with Israel. All of the efforts of the US and their client regimes in the region are aimed at promoting these.
ALBA, Petrocaribe and Caricom: Issues in a new dynamic
16-Jul-2008 Norman Girvan
The growth of relations between several Caricom states and the Venezuelan-promoted ALBA and Petrocaribe initiatives is one of the most significant recent developments in regional affairs. An immediate issue that has arisen is whether membership of ALBA might conflict with the obligations of membership of Caricom itself. There are also larger issues of a strategic nature for Caricom.
EU says early partnership pact possible with Syria
14-Jul-2008 Reuters
The European Union could sign a long-stalled partnership pact with Syria this year, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Sunday at the Paris launch of a new "Union for the Mediterranean"
Mad cows, mad people
11-Jul-2008 FPIF
Through the prism of beef, Koreans confront the limitations of key contemporary institutions: democracy, capitalism, and nationalism.
Hostage rescue may not free U.S.-Colombia trade deal
3-Jul-2008
Colombia’s dramatic rescue of hostages held for years by a rebel group probably won’t lead to quick approval of a U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement that has been snagged for months in the U.S. Congress.
Bilateral accords quietly push neo-liberal agenda
17-Jun-2008 rabble
Right now through the European Union process there is a divide and rule strategy taking place, not only regionally but also within regions where some countries are signing bilateral trade and investment agreements and some aren’t.
Rifts threaten to overshadow South American union
24-May-2008
Twelve South American countries founded a union on Friday aimed at boosting economic integration and political cohesion, but the region’s bitter rivalries stymied ambitious plans on defense and trade.
US seeks power in Asia via FTA with Korea
25-Apr-2008
The United States is seeking to prevent Asian countries from pushing for closer economic cooperation while excluding Washington, a senior U.S. government official suggested Thursday.
The right to run their own economy: AIC policy paper on Palestinian trade
19-Mar-2008 AIC
Israel is not interested in the supposed “peace dividends” associated with free trade based on the sovereign economic policy of all parties. Israel evidently has other plans, most obvious of which are territorial expansionism and control of the population, both incompatible with Palestinian sovereignty.
The problem of preferential trade with larger partners
17-Mar-2008 Scoop
Chinese repression of Tibetan dissidents has pushed the issue of the impending Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand and the Peoples Republic of China back into the news. In a diplomatic sidestep both Helen Clark and John Key claim that events in Tibet have nothing to do with free trade. Perhaps that is true, but there are other issues to consider.
Free trade agreements and international investments
14-Mar-2008 Ecoportal
Developed countries see free trade agreements as forming part of a two-pronged strategy: to use international law to lay down market rules; and to give the appearance of legality to a system that allows States and their people to be exploited, robbed of their resources and wealth by excluding them from the international community and then legitimizing this exclusion