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Cracks appear in advance of Canada-EU trade talks launched
6-May-2009 Embassy
European officials say Canada promised everything was on the table, but a senior official says that’s not the case.
GCC-EU FTA hits roadblock again
6-May-2009 Gulf Weekly
Free trade talks between the GCC and the European Union have been suspended again after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on human rights and customs duties on GCC exports to Europe.
EU’s intellectual property agenda could impair access to medicines in the Andean region
6-May-2009
The EU is more aggressive in its approach to intellectual property in trade agreements than the United States, MEPs learn
Human rights no block to EU-Colombia talks
6-May-2009 EU Observer
As the European Union this week launches another round of negotiations with Colombia on a free trade agreement, trade unionists who live daily under the gun of right-wing paramilitaries linked to the government have in Brussels in the last week pleaded with the EU executive to suspend the talks.
Arena accuses NZ Govt of ambushing Pacific on trade deal
6-May-2009
This weekend’s meeting of Pacific trade ministers in Auckland to progress the launch of PACER+ trade negotiations has all the hallmarks of an Australian and New Zealand ambush, the Arena network said today.
1st batch of JPEPA nurses off to Japan this week
5-May-2009
The first batch of nurses and caregivers who have been hired under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) are ready to be deployed to Japan this weekend, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said Tuesday.
The EU-ASEAN free trade agreement: Region-to-region versus the bilateral approach
5-May-2009 TNI
"ASEAN should build a different kind of regionalism and not sign bilateral Free Trade Agreements with the EU", says Malaysian MP Mr. Charles Santiago in Brussels in a debate with Mr. Bercero, chief negotiator for the EU in the EU-Korea FTA and Mr. Helmut Markov, chair of the Committee on International Trade of the European Parliament.
Panama’s president-elect to push US trade deal
5-May-2009 Reuters
Finalizing a free-trade deal with the United States is a major goal for Panamanian President-elect Ricardo Martinelli, but the supermarket tycoon rejects US accusations that the country is a tax haven.
COSATU calls for rejection of EU-SADC Partnership Agreement
4-May-2009 Times of Swaziland
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is celebrating the rejection of European Union-SADC Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA) negotiations by the governments of South Africa and Angola and is mobilising for a political intervention in the whole agreement negotiations.
Peru: Amazonian indigenous people rise up
3-May-2009 GLW
“Since April 9, an uprising has been occurring in the Peruvian countryside involving the Amazonian indigenous peoples from 1350 communities and a diversity of ethnicities”, said legendary peasant leader, Hugo Blanco in an important message. A translation of Blanco’s appeal for solidarity with this so-far mostly unreported struggle is printed below.
Canada-Colombia free trade agreement could be a lose-lose deal
2-May-2009 COHA
Canada gambled on a losing strategy: that free trade will inherently bring democracy to what some would consider a lawless society. Ottawa should only have looked to its neighbor in Washington to see the futility of this approach.
Japan and China should start free trade discussion, Aso says
2-May-2009 Bloomberg
Japan’s Prime Minister Taro Aso called for talks on free trade with China, the first time a Japanese leader has raised the prospect of an agreement with its biggest trading partner.
New report: Panama FTA would undermine US efforts to stop offshore tax-haven abuse and regulate risky financial conduct
2-May-2009 Public Citizen
The trade deal would leave tax shelters for AIG and narcotraffickers intact while removing existing US tools to combat tax evasion and other financial crimes
Do bilateral investment treaties lead to more foreign investment?
1-May-2009 ITN
The global network of over 2800 bilateral investment treaties has been built on the basis of promoting foreign direct investment, and yet, after a decade of research, whether in fact BITs lead to an increase in FDI flows is a matter of debate. ITN has posed a few questions to three academics for their views on the relationship between BITs, FDI flows and sustainable development.
SKorea closer to trade pact with ASEAN
1-May-2009 AFP
South Korea will move closer to a full free trade deal with Southeast Asian nations when an agreement on opening up the services sector comes into force on 1 May.
Rwanda: US trade to be strengthened
1-May-2009 AllAfrica.com
In 2006, Rwanda and the United States signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), aimed at giving Rwanda the opportunity to take advantage of the US market through duty-free exports. Results: Rwandan exports to the USA have grown by 8%, while imports from America went up by 27%.
Sacu-Turkey free-trade agreement
1-May-2009 Engineering News
South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry intends to embark on a study into the potential for a free-trade agreement between the Southern African Customs Union and Turkey.
EU urged not to sign FTA with Colombia
1-May-2009 Columbia Reports
Colombian, American, and European union workers pressed the European Parliament not to sign a free trade agreement with Colombia if human rights don’t improve here.
An ’unacceptable’ free trade agreement
30-Apr-2009 Bangkok Post
The free trade agreement the EU has proposed to Asean deliberately undermines the Doha Declaration on patents and public health.
Central American, EU officials meet on Association Agreement
30-Apr-2009 Xinhua
Trade negotiators from the European Union and the Central American nations met in Brussels last week and agreed to renew negotiations for an Association Agreement