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:: 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


Regional, bilateral deals seen as impeding trade
Far from being a stepping stone to freer trade, the NAFTA and other regional and bilateral trade deals have created a conflicting web of preferential arrangements that may be impeding rather than spurring trade, the authors of a report commissioned by the World Trade Organization have concluded.
Vaile defends trade deals
Trade Minister Mark Vaile today defended Australia’s free trade deals with foreign countries after a new World Trade Organisation (WTO) report said such agreements could be discriminatory.
WTO hampered by ’spaghetti bowl’ deals
The World Trade Organisation is being undermined by the intransigence and short-sightedness of its member countries, according to the report of a high-level commission released on Monday.
Bill Day: Bring back the multilateral pact
Now that Trade Representative Robert Zoellick is moving to the State Department as Condoleezza Rice’s deputy, U.S. trade policy may see a shift from small bilateral pacts back to big, sweeping multilateral trade agreements.
Zoellick plies a new trade
Although not part of the new right’s militarist and neo-conservative camps, Zoellick’s personal arrogance, his unilateralism, and his loyalty to Bush and the Republican Party’s new radical elite make him a perfect fit for Bush’s new foreign policy team.
Global week of action on trade: 10-16 April 2005
The main aims of the week are to challenge the free trade myth, put forward our alternatives, strengthen the already existing trade campaigns and show the strength of the global movement, campaigning in solidarity.
Stiglitz raps bilateral trade pacts
Unilateralism, in which the largest economies, notably the United States, impose their will on smaller ones, is the main driver for the proliferation of bilateral trade agreements and represents a growing risk for the global economy, according to Joseph Stiglitz, the 2001 Nobel laureate for economics.
Tectonic trends in trade [Christian Science Monitor viewpoint]
Two political tremors in recent days reveal that the global trading system may be creaking and groaning into isolated blocs of countries - without the United States.
Trade negotiating power likely to be extended, USTR says
US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick predicts that Congress will allow a two-year extension of President Bush’s trade negotiating authority to go forward, giving more time to conclude World Trade Organization negotiations as well as bilateral and regional negotiations.
A serendipitous exception in FTAs
At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile last weekend, leaders discussed economic issues, especially trade. Singapore and Peru, for example, agreed to initiate talks for a free trade agreement.

    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.