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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

Cargill CEO: Move forward on free trade
8-Jun-2011 Star Tribune
"Commercially meaningful bilateral agreements must be passed now or the United States will be left behind," warns Greg Page, the head of Cargill.
Doha talks on trade may need to be ended, US envoy Kirk says
20-May-2011 Bloomberg
The decade-old Doha round of World Trade Organization negotiations may have to be revamped or ended, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said.
Is America mis-thinking its 21st Century trade strategy?
17-May-2011 Vox
In the bilateral game, the US has enormous advantages – its huge market for imports, and its huge willingness to internationalise its supply chain via FDI, offshoring, etc. But it also has the big disadvantages – its agriculture and labour interests.
White House threatens to hold up key trade deals
16-May-2011
The White House is threatening to hold up final passage of three coveted free trade agreements unless lawmakers expand retraining assistance for American workers who lose their jobs because of foreign competition.
Disagreements hold up free trade agreements
13-May-2011 Watertown
The American Farm Bureau Federation supports the proposed US free trade agreements with Korea, Panama and Colombia, while the National Farmers Union is opposed.
US business sees trade deals approved by July
8-Apr-2011
A new U.S. deal with Colombia to address longstanding labor concerns should clear the way for Congress to pass three long-stalled free trade agreements by July, industry officials said on Friday.
Firsthand look at FTA’s
31-Mar-2011 Line on Agriculture
A group of farmers and ranchers from the US’s largest farm organization will be heading to South and Central America to show support for pending free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama.
Caterpillar CEO urges Congress to enact FTAs with Panama, South Korea, Colombia
31-Mar-2011 RTT News
Oberhelman noted that since the FTAs with Mexico, Chile, Central America, the Dominican Republic and Peru went into effect, Caterpillar exports have increased substantially to those regions of the world, with exports up fivefold to Mexico, threefold to Chile and up by more than 60 percent to Peru.
More free trade agreements? When NAFTA failed?
21-Mar-2011 Huffington Post
With the Republicans and the Obama administration attempting to rush headlong into a new trade agreements with Korea, and possibly also with Panama and Colombia, it is incumbent on Americans to apply a bit of empiricism. How have our past trade agreements worked out? Above all, how’s the grand-daddy of them all, NAFTA, doing?
Senate Republicans link nominations to sending Korea, Colombia, Panama FTAs together
15-Mar-2011
Republican senators Monday pressed President Obama to send Congress the pending free trade deals with South Korea, Panama and Colombia at the same time, threatening to block his nominations for commerce secretary and other officials otherwise.

    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.