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Govt contemplates keeping gold jewellery out of all FTAs through re-negotiations
The move is expected to act as a damage control after gold jewellery from third countries under the India-Thailand FTA and the India-ASEAN FTA has flooded the Indian markets
Ukraine, Canada to speed up FTA talks
Poroshenko and Harper have agreed to speed up talks concerning the formation of a free trade area between Ukraine and Canada.
Working through night on India FTA: Hockey
Australia is putting pressure on India to sign up to free trade agreement as good as the one finalised with China last week, says Treasurer Joe Hockey
Spanish FM calls for speeding up EU-Mercosur trade talks
The European Union and South America’s Mercosur bloc need to accelerate negotiations on a trade accord, even if it means going into distinct individual velocities with the Mercosur members, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo said on Thursday.
Half-baked China-Australia Free Trade Agreement is lopsided
Remarkably, the Australian government has given Chinese companies a general right to buy resources and other assets in Australia – so-called market access – without getting the same right for Australian companies in China.
Future of ISDS in TTIP and beyond. Is now the time for reform?
A consensus is clearly forming around changes and adjustments needed to reform ISDS, but the main stakeholders – businesses and governments – have yet to make a clear stand, argue Adrian-Catalin Bulboaca and Marius Iliescu
Morocco: EU Court to give verdict ’in few months’ on Sahrawi appeal against EU-Morocco agricultural agreement
The European Union Court examined Tuesday the appeal of the Polisario Front against the agricultural agreement concluded in 2000 between the European Union and Morocco, and the decision on this issue will be given in a few months
India to sign FTA with EEU
India will sign a free trade agreement with Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, according to media reports.
Korea starts FTA talks with six Central American countries
If sealed, Korea will be the first Asian country to have an FTA with the six Central American countries — Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama — giving Korean products an edge over rival exporters like Japan and China.
Commission asks Member States to terminate their intra-EU bilateral investment treaties
The European Commission has initiated infringement proceedings against five Member States today requesting them to terminate intra-EU bilateral investment treaties between them ("intra-EU BITs")
With the new House bill, even Obama might not want the Obama trade agreement
The Republican-led US House of Representatives voted to give President Obama authority to negotiate trade agreements, passing the so-called fast-track bill with the assistance of just 28 House Democrats on Thursday. The Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill, which was decoupled from a labor program, will now go back to the Senate for approval.
Trade deal widens health care gap
NZ is heading towards a two-tier health system, and it could get a whole lot worse, writes George Laking.
Plan to seek higher farm crops quota
Thailand and Japan have agreed to talk further at an official level before formally revising the Japan-Thailand Economic Partnership Agreement on the 10th anniversary of the pact, which came into effect in November 2007.
US House may rescue trade deal
The US House of Representatives may try again Thursday to advance President Barack Obama’s ambitious Asia-Pacific free trade agenda by separating fast-track negotiating authority from a measure — aimed at helping American workers — that was voted down Friday.
EU-Cuba talks progress on trade
The 4th round of EU-Cuba negotiations for a framework agreement for political dialogue and cooperation was held yesterday in Brussels (16 June), making progress on trade and economic issues, but lagging behind on the political dialogue chapter.
US firms urge China to open up for investment treaty
Opening more sectors in China to foreign competition is the critical element to negotiating an investment treaty with the United States, a US trade group said on Wednesday.
Joint ACP-EU meeting ends
The ACP Parliamentary Assembly called for a joint Pacific European Commission Ministerial meeting to address the remaining contentious issues and to work constructively to conclude a development friendly comprehensive EPA by December 31, 2015.
China-Australia FTA (2015)
Key miscalculation forces Obama to weigh new path on trade
President Barack Obama and his Republican allies on trade are thinking of restarting their legislative push in the Senate. It’s testament to a crucial miscalculation they made months ago.
ASEAN’s RCEP trade negotiations stall
The eight round of negotiations held on June 8-13 in Kyoto for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership trade treaty finished with little apparent progress being made towards an agreement on further tariff cuts, calling into question the end-2015 target for completing talks.