sovereignty | democracy
Japan is willing to sign a side agreement with the Philippines to quiet concerns about provisions in a free-trade treaty deemed inconsistent with or violate the Philippine Constitution, an official said yesterday.
Sovereignty must be partially surrendered if Pacific islands countries are to maintain solidarity in trade negotiations. Pacific countries who are members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific bloc of states had a rude realisation of this basic and age-old truth in their on-going negotiations with the European Commission for an economic partnership agreement.
New letters show extent of dissent among Pacific trade ministers as ministers accuse top EU trade official of being "domineering" and using divide and rule tactics to split the region.
The social networks, social organisations and trade unions gathered together at the seminar: "UNASUR: conflicting interests" held in Rio de Janeiro, 12-13 March 2008 and reached the following conclusions
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
The NZ Green Party is calling on Labour to halt discussions on an investment treaty because of the threat the treaty poses to our sovereignty and our environmental standards. This follows the announcement today that the United States is seriously considering joining negotiations about an investment treaty between the P4 treaty partners of New Zealand, Chile, Singapore and Brunei.
States around the US are growing increasingly worried about the threats posed to their laws and regulations by the secret tribunals that resolve disputes in international trade. "Free trade agreements are to state sovereignty and economic development what global climate change is to the environment and natural resources," said state Sen. Virginia Lyons, D-Chittenden.
While the defenders of conventional globalization proclaim its benefits, economic as much as political, in Latin America the conflicts generated by openness to trade and international finance are mounting concerning democracy and national autonomy.
The Bolivian Deputy Minister of Economic Relations and Foreign Trade Pablo Guzman said that his country will demand sovereignty of natural resources, public services and intellectual property in its negotiations with the European Union.
Nobel laureate and former World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitz believes that no country should enter into free trade agreements with the US, as none of the developing countries has benefited greatly from them.
We call on all freedom-loving Filipinos not to allow yet another surrender of our country to Japan. Reject the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement!
Looking at what has been negotiated, it is clear the process is going to end in a way where Korea loses if things turn out well and loses even more if things don’t turn out well.
The FTA negotiations are nearing an end and, as a result, more Korean citizens are expressing their opposition to it. Even now, however, our government has yet to produce an effective proposal for how it would secure the public’s interest and welfare. Instead, it has actually become more secretive and is trying to quiet the opposition of civil society. Has it given up being a government at all?
Malaysia will not sign trade pacts with any country, including the United states, if it involves sacrificing the interest of the majority ethnic Malays, Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz said.
While the 4th US-Kore FTA were in progress in Jeju Island, 101 scholars related to sociology issued a statement, urging the suspension of the negotiations. They noted that “the ROK-US FTA are highly universal problems directly related to the food safety and sovereignty of all people.”
With the thorough integration of the Canadian and US economies through NAFTA, and a common military command and control structure, Canadian sovereignty will cease to exist by definition.
Malaysia will not sign any agreement that is to its disadvantage. Malaysia suspended FTA talks with New Zealand recently because it did not agree with that country’s requests in the areas of government procurement, environment, manpower and competition policy.
The COS (Social Organizations Group) and the MISPEC (Guatemalan indigenous, farmer and popular movement) have joined the vigil Wednesday in front of the Guatemalan Constitutional Court to reject the free trade agreement with the United States.
FTA Watch, a Thai civic group campaigning against free trade pacts, demanded an amendment to article 224 of Thailand’s constitution to clearly state that any bilateral trade deals be subject to parliament’s endorsement without conditions.
University students are taking to the streets Wednesday to demand expiration of the contract with Oxy US oil company and spurn the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Washington.
