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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

African, Latin American ministers discuss South-South trade
25-Jun-2008 Maghrebia
Trade ministers from Africa and Latin America met last week in Marrakesh to discuss the state of South-South trade. Despite recent advancements, trade between developing countries remains low.
Hard bargains: Bilateral trade pacts draw domestic objections
17-Jun-2008 FT
The fear of having other countries steal a march on Washington by signing their own deals may bring Congress back to the bilateral trade negotiating table.
Progressive Dems break with trade consensus, demand a change of course
10-Jun-2008 AlterNet
Rep. Michael Michaud and Sen. Sherrod Brown, both US Democrats, have introduced legislation to put the brakes on US free trade agreements by triggering a review of existing agreements as well as providing a process for renegotiating them.
The failed expectations of US trade policy
5-Jun-2008 FPIF
As the principal negotiator for the landmark market access agreement that led to China’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), I have reflected on whether the agreements we negotiated really lived up to our expectations. A sober reflection has led me to conclude that those trade agreements did not.
Factbox: McCain, Obama plans on US trade policy
4-Jun-2008 Reuters
The US presidential election in November will be a face-off between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. Following are some of McCain’s and Obama’s main positions on trade — an issue that has become contentious during this election cycle.
Biofuels, food and trade top EU-Latin America Summit
19-May-2008 EurActiv
European and Latin American leaders pledged to deepen trade ties between their two regions and tackle global warming and poverty at the fifth EU-Latin America-Caribbean Summit in Lima.
USTR defends handling of trade deals with Congress
7-May-2008 Reuters
US Trade Representative Susan Schwab on Tuesday defended the White House’s decision to force a vote on a free trade pact with Colombia, even though it provoked a showdown with Congress that crippled a 34-year-old procedure used to win approval of trade deals.
Feds Defend Trade Pacts
26-Apr-2008
Federal officials and business leaders this week dismissed calls by the Democratic presidential candidates to renegotiate NAFTA, saying free trade deals help American small businesses and the U.S. economy grow.
Civil society groups call for establishment of Commission on Globalisation
23-Apr-2008
Civil society groups have called for the establishment of a new Commission on Globalisation and Development Strategies within the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Concern grows over global trade regulation
27-Mar-2008
Amid the noisy battering the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) is taking from both Democratic presidential hopefuls, one recent statement from Hillary Clinton was particularly resonant. "We will have a very clear view of how we’re going to review Nafta," the New York senator said. "We’re going to take out the ability of foreign companies to sue us because of what we do to protect our workers."

    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.