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Human Rights Commission rejection of Trans-Pacific Partnership audit latest blow to democratic process
5-Sep-2011
The New Zealand Human Rights Commission has declined a request for a scoping study on the human rights implications of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), saying it doesn’t have the resources.
Pakistan improves offer, but still no MFN status to India
4-Sep-2011
Pakistan is ready to double the number of goods it imports from India, but has stopped short of offering full-fledged most-favoured nation, or MFN, status it had promised earlier this year as part of bilateral confidence-building measures.
Ongoing negotiations for EU-S’pore FTA progressing well
4-Sep-2011
Negotiation for an EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) is progressing well.
Let the people speak
4-Sep-2011
A quite amazing event took place in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, on August 29 and 30. Two hundred representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from China and 19 African countries held a China-Africa People’s Forum.
EU pits Alberta beef against Quebec dairy products in Canada trade talks
4-Sep-2011
The European Union may refuse to open its market to more Canadian beef, pork and sweet corn unless Canada provides better access to its heavily protected dairy sector, a senior European diplomat said.
Commerce Min for protection of domestic auto industry: Patel
4-Sep-2011
Heavy Industry Minister Praful Patel has said the Commerce Ministry is "broadly supportive" of the view that the domestic automobile industry should be protected when India signs a free trade agreement with the European Union.
Is regional integration mere rhetoric?
4-Sep-2011
The song of Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional integration is sung so loudly that even the deaf can hear it. But my recent experience in Windhoek, Namibia tends to prove that the reality on the ground does not match the rhetoric.
Mercosur-China FTA could be "extraordinary", says Argentine FM
4-Sep-2011
Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman Saturday urged to boost the south American country ’s trade ties with China, saying a free trade agreement (FTA) between Beijing and the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) could be "extraordinary".
China mulls free trade zone among SCO member states
3-Sep-2011 Xinhua
Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan said member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization should consider setting up a free trade agreement which, once in place, would cover about three fifths of the Eurasia’s landmass.
Pacific’s Chief Trade Advisor resigns with a warning for Australia
2-Sep-2011 Radio Australia
The Pacific’s Chief Trade Advisor has resigned with a warning that unless Australia and New Zealand act soon to put something of value on the table for the PACER plus trade negotiations, the talks risk falling over.
Free Trade in Africa, For Better or Worse?
2-Sep-2011
It is not certain that an African free trade area will further regional integration or deepen the existing inequality between countries.
Capital controls and the Trans-Pacific Partnership
2-Sep-2011 IPS
US negotiators are hardliners against capital controls in current Trans-Pacific trade talks with eight other countries.
India plans to delete 48 apparel items from sensitive list to allow Bangladesh garment sector duty-free access
2-Sep-2011
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and chief ministers of eastern and northeastern states will push for a thaw in relations with Bangladesh by talking trade next week. And trade with Bangladesh invariably means textiles.
Rival parties agree to handle FTA with U.S. in same pace with U.S. Congress
2-Sep-2011
Rival parties agreed Thursday to begin the ratification process for the long-pending free trade agreement with the United States at the same pace with the U.S. Congress, officials said.
Chevron wins $96 million for 1990s Ecuador oil dispute
2-Sep-2011 Bloomberg
Chevron Corp., the second-largest U.S. energy company, said it won a $96 million judgment against Ecuador in an international arbitration case stemming from a 1990s oil-export dispute with the Latin American nation.
New trade agreement threatens Australia’s laws on medicines and tobacco
1-Sep-2011 Crikey
Australia leads the world in many areas of public health but the Federal Government could be negotiating our achievements away, according to Dr Patricia Ranald, Convenor, Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network
North Asia free-trade area agreement enormously beneficial but years away
1-Sep-2011 China Daily
A free-trade area among China, Japan and South Korea would bring enormous benefits to the regional economy, but it will take many years before such an agreement can be signed, officials and experts said on Wednesday.
Korea/US FTA: Washington source says US Congress have reportedly postponed voting on pact until October
1-Sep-2011 Arirang
According to an anonymous source in Washington Thursdaythe US House of Representatives has tentatively agreed to vote on the country’s three pending trade deals with Korea, Colombia and Panama in mid October.
Francine Raynault would like to reopen NAFTA
31-Aug-2011 L’Action
A Member of Parliament is reckoning bringing the case of Kruger before the Canadian Parliament.
No progress on access to European markets
31-Aug-2011 IPS
Weariness surrounds the negotiations on an Economic Partnership Agreement regulating trade access between Southern Africa and the European Union.