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FTA could see massive Japan cash splash
6-Apr-2014
A new report to be released today reveals that Japanese companies have stashed away $1.56 trillion cash reserves, the equivalent of Australia’s entire annual economic output — and potentially a source of massive new investments in Australia under a free trade deal.
MFAFT gets anxious as Caricom/Canada FTA deadline nears
6-Apr-2014
The waiver which facilitates duty-free access to Canada’s market expired three months ago, but Canada is still according duty-free treatment to goods from Caricom under the Caribbean/Canada Trade Agreement, CaribCan, officials attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT) say.
Bumpy road ahead to Aussie FTA
6-Apr-2014
Australian Trade Minister Andrew Robb said substantive issues remained in trade negotiations with Japan as the two nations rushed to conclude a free trade agreement before their prime ministers meet on Monday.
Fix FTA fine print, says business
6-Apr-2014
Clinching further free trade agreements will not reap the anticipated billions of dollars of benefits for Australian firms unless the deals are better drafted, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has warned Trade Minister Andrew Robb.
Negotiations on the Tripartite Free Trade Agreement are moving forward
4-Apr-2014 ICTSD
African high-level officials indicated recently that negotiations for the establishment of a free-trade area spanning three major regional economic communities in Africa have progressed well and could conclude by the end of this year.
Mexico and Panama sign free trade agreement
4-Apr-2014 Reuters
The presidents of Mexico and Panama signed a free trade deal on Thursday, moving the smaller nation a step closer to joining the Pacific Alliance, a regional pact.
Dairy industry fears a raw deal from Japan FTA
4-Apr-2014 ABC
Dairy farmers believe Australia’s free trade agreement with Japan could signed by Monday. But they don’t believe the deal will deliver them anything.
TTIP: EU Commissioner points finger at US secrecy, investor-state provisions
3-Apr-2014 IP Watch
April Fool’s? European trade commissioner Karel de Gucht says, during a 1 April hearing in Brussels of the International Trade Committee of the European Parliament, that he would agree to drop ISDS from the TTIP if the United States would agree.
Philippines: Talk deal set with EFTA
3-Apr-2014 Business World
An agreement that will spur further talks on a possible trade arrangement between the Philippines and the four-member European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is expected to be signed in June
Why Nigeria scuttled the EU-ECOWAS trade deal
3-Apr-2014 This Day
The federal government has stated that it declined endorsing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union because acting otherwise would have been inimical to the advancement of the varied growth policies currently being implemented by the government.
TRADE PACT SIEGE: Student leaders host talk on protest on Reddit site
3-Apr-2014 Taipei Times
Student leaders of the Sunflower movement yesterday hosted a question-and-answer session on the US-based community platform Reddit to answer questions from around the world about their protest, in another effort to use their expertise in social networking technology to communicate with the outside world.
A journey through the lobby jungle in Brussels
3-Apr-2014 Lobbycontrol
During the last TTIP negotiating round, CEO and the German lobby watchdog Lobbycontrol organised guided tours through the EU quarter in Brussels, focusing on the corporate lobbying behind the TTIP negotiations and the way that the European Commission allows corporations to set the agenda for the talks.
International Day of farmers’ struggles in defense of peasants’ and farmers’ seeds
2-Apr-2014 La Via Campesina
This day of action is particularly important since on the 11th of March the European Parliament rejected the European Commissions’ regulation proposal for the marketing of seeds. This vote has taken place in the context of a Europe dominated by trade negotiations with the USA, known as TAFTA, and the European Parliament election campaign until May 2014.
Draft bill no threat to foreign investors in South Africa
2-Apr-2014 Business Daily
"There are various perceptions that the draft bill falls short of acceptable international standards. This is not so," says the Department of Trade and Industry
Indonesia should withdraw from the ICSID!
2-Apr-2014 Jakarta Post
If there is dispute against the government, investors, be they foreign or local, they should bring their cases to the Indonesian judiciary or other available national dispute mechanisms.
Brazil/Argentina agree on deal to promote bilateral trade by guaranteeing ’dollar liquidity’
2-Apr-2014 MercoPress
Brazil and Argentina signed a deal over the weekend that seeks to guarantee importers will have enough U.S. dollars to pay for exports, a move to increase trade between both nations that has been hit hard by a sharp depreciation of the Argentine peso.
China’s Xi wins EU pledge to consider free-trade deal
2-Apr-2014 Reuters
Chinese President Xi Jinping won a promise from the European Union on Monday to consider a multi-billion-dollar free-trade deal with his country, a long-held goal for Beijing which divides Europe.
West Africa: Ecowas postpones signing EU trade deal
2-Apr-2014 The Point
"We believe it needs further scrutiny," announced President Yahya Jammeh, referring to the issue of signing an Economic Partnership Agreement negotiated by ECOWAS with the European Union.
Southern African nations push for European trade-deal extension
1-Apr-2014 Bloomberg
Southern African trade ministers will lobby for an extension of a trade agreement with Europe before it expires in October, a senior Botswana official said.
Fisheries minister promises efforts to minimize loss for fishermen from China FTA
31-Mar-2014 Yonhap
South Korea’s fisheries minister pledged full government efforts to limit losses by local fishermen from a free trade agreement with China and take compensatory measures for businesses inevitably hurt by the pact, reports state news agency Yonhap.