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  1. Negotiations

:: Across the board ::

This section contains news and analysis of sweeping developments that affect the overall push and pull towards FTAs and bilateral investment treaties. This means major trends relating to bilateralism, often with global consequences, and other cross-cutting issues. New developments arising from US politics, the WTO or South-South alliance-building, for instance, are often reported here as they tend to have systemic impacts.

last update: May 2012

International trade partnerships: Deal or no deal?
3-Aug-2014 Oxford Analytica
Obstacles in several countries could delay the negotiations of TPP and TTIP — and possibly scupper the deals entirely, says Oxford Analytica. Infographic.
Joseph Stiglitz warns on ‘free’ trade deals
9-Jul-2014 Finance News Network
"I think all countries that are a part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement ought to worry," says former World Bank Chief Economist and Nobel Prize Winner, Professor Joseph Stiglitz
Trans-Pacific free-trade pact ’old-fashioned’: ex-WTO chief
28-May-2014 AFP
Former WTO chief Pascal Lamy calls the Trans-Pacific Partnership "the last of the big old-style trade agreements" while ’’the new era begins with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership.’’
No to trade deals that threaten democracy!
21-May-2014 IUF
A new publication from the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) exposes the corporate power grab at the core of two mega-treaties: TPP and TTIP
Imperialism and the new free trade deals
23-Apr-2014 In defence of marxism
Far from being a means to open up the world to a further intensification of trade, TPP and TTIP will carve up the world into two or more power blocs waging economic war with one another.
Jon Weissman: A free trade pact’s sorry numbers
28-Mar-2014 Gazette Net
New evidence of the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement’s damaging record provides the latest reason why Congress should not delegate away its constitutional trade authority and allow the Trans-Pacific Partnership to be “fast-tracked” into place.
Rough trade: the new corporate power grab
1-Mar-2014 Red Pepper
Trade and investment agreements currently being negotiated will mean the biggest corporate power grab in a decade. We need a new global movement to confront them, writes Nick Dearden
American-European trade pact could dwarf TPPA if it becomes a reality
21-Feb-2014 Bernama
Economies like Malaysia would have to adhere to the tariff levels agreed to between both the EU and the US if they want to export to these markets and those of other potential members such as Japan and South Korea.
Spying by NSA ally entangled US law firm
17-Feb-2014 New York Times
The Obama administration often emphasizes the NSA’s role in fighting terrorism and cyberattacks, but disclosures in recent months from the documents leaked by Mr. Snowden show the agency routinely spies on trade negotiations.
TPP would ’upgrade’ US trade pacts, says US Commerce chief
5-Feb-2014 WSJ
The TPP is designed "to create a high-standard global trade agreement that addresses a bunch of issues that have not been addressed before in our trade agreements," US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said, adding, "And frankly, if we don’t do it, someone else is going to set the standard."

    Links

  • #A18DoA - Global day of action to defeat free trade and investment treaties
    Website for the global day of action to defeat free trade and investment treaties #A18DoA
  • 21st Century Trade Agreements: Implications for Long-Run Development Policy
    A publication of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. The paper examines the policy space available under various free trade regimes for countries pursuing industrial policies for development.
  • Alianza Social Continental
    La Alianza Social Continental es un foro de organizaciones y movimientos sociales progresistas de las Américas, creado para intercambiar información, definir estrategias y promover acciones conjuntas, todo ello encaminado a la búsqueda de un modelo de desarrollo alternativo y democrático, que beneficie a nuestros pueblos
  • ICC
    International Chamber of Commerce
  • Movimientos.org
    A multilingual (English, Spanish, Portuguese) website focusing on social movements and their campaigns, including those against bilateral and regional FTAs.
  • Pambazuka
    In this week’s edition of the Emerging Powers News Round-Up, read a comprehensive list of news stories and opinion pieces related to China, India and other emerging powers...
  • People over profit
    People Over Profit is a campaign network that unites peoples movements and NGOs across the globe to stop free trade agreements (FTAs) and corporate plunder, launched in October 2016.
  • Peoples Global Action
    In February 1998, movements from all continents met in Geneva to launch a worldwide coordination of resistances to the global market, a new alliance of struggle and mutual support called Peoples’ Global Action against "Free" Trade and the World Trade Organisation (PGA).
  • Regional/Multilateral Integration Agreements
    Selected research papers on regional trade agreements, from internationaleconomics.net
  • SOMO
    SOMO links the negotiations and rules on international trade and investment with the actual conduct of corporations within these rules and agreements.
  • South Centre
    An intergovernmental organisation of developing countries
  • Stop fast track!
    10 days to stop fast track in the United States: Jan 22 - 31 2014
  • Third World Network
    TWN’s website is a good source of information and analysis about what’s happening within the multilateral trade system (WTO, UNCTAD, G77, etc).
  • WorldTradeLaw.net
    WorldTradeLaw.net offers a free library of current trade news and resources; a database of dispute settlement tables and statistics; and a user-friendly search tool for legal texts, and other documents.