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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

China in talks over Panama Canal rival
15-Feb-2011 Financial Times
China is in talks to build an alternative to the Panama Canal that would link Colombia’s Atlantic and Pacific coasts by rail – a move that Bogotá also hopes will spur Washington to push for Congressional approval of a US-Colombia free-trade pact.
US aims Latam trade accords to Congress by mid-year
15-Feb-2011 Reuters
President Barack Obama’s administration aims to send stalled free trade pacts with Colombia and Panama to Congress by the middle of this year after fresh analysis of the situation in both countries, a senior US official said on Monday.
US to press South Korea, Panama, Colombia and Russian trade
9-Feb-2011 Reuters
Apart from passage of the three pending FTAs, the White House also wants Congress to remove a Cold War-era stain on relations with Russia by approving "permanent normal trade relations."
Business as usual - How free trade agreements jeopardise financial sector reform
31-Jan-2011 SOMO
In contrast with the current wide-ranging financial reform agenda in the European Union, the EU continues to liberalise a wide range of risky and non-risky financial services in the General Agreement on Trade in Services and other Free Trade Agreements as if the financial crisis never happened. This SOMO briefing paper gives specific examples on how new EU regulations are in contrast with the pre-crisis model that is still being applied in the GATS negotiations, the Cariforum-EU Economic Partnership Agreement and the EU-South Korea FTA.
US: More than 250 economists call for trade reforms to allow capital controls
31-Jan-2011 IPS
In a letter delivered January 31, more than 250 economists urged the Obama administration to reform US trade rules that restrict the use of capital controls.
Spate of trade deals move toward passage
30-Jan-2011 IPS
On the heels of US President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday in which he focused squarely on resuscitating the economy, pressure is mounting in the nation’s capital to move forward with free trade agreements (FTAs) whose passage would promote exports and create jobs.
US eyes trade ’triple crown’ as APEC host
7-Dec-2010 Reuters
"The ’triple crown’ in 2011 is the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement passed and implemented, significant progress on the TransPacific Partnership and a very strong APEC year with a lot of concrete outcomes on trade and investment issues," said Kurt Tong, senior US official for APEC at the State Department.
US puts ’foot to the pedal’ to conclude Asia trade deal, USTR Kirk says
14-Nov-2010 Bloomberg
The US is pushing to complete trade talks with nine Asia-Pacific countries by late next year that lays the groundwork for a bigger agreement that includes China, Trade Representative Ron Kirk said.
EU to focus on bilateral deals, Doha, and beyond
11-Nov-2010 ICTSD
The European Commission on Tuesday set out a blueprint for an EU trade strategy that would help boost growth and job creation in Europe.
Thousands protest in Seoul before G20 summit
8-Nov-2010 Reuters
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Seoul on Sunday in a largely peaceful protest against this week’s G20 summit as the city went on heightened alert for the meeting of world leaders.

    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.