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Canada and European Union launch historic economic partnership
6-May-2009
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, along with European Union President Mirek Topolánek and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, today announced the historic launch of negotiations toward an economic partnership agreement between Canada and the European Union.
West accused of ‘hypocrisy’ on free trade
6-May-2009
A former Qatari minister yesterday lambasted Western “hypocrisy” and “double standards” when it came to free trade agreements (FTAs) with smaller nations. And he maintained that the GCC-US FTA was a thing of the “past”.
’Food colonialism’ increasing hunger in Africa
6-May-2009 Modern Ghana
The European Union is coercing some West African governments into allowing European-based fishing companies to deplete West Africa’s fishing stocks in a new "food colonialism" that is now taking place between rich and poor countries around the world, according to British author George Monbiot.
India: US wish list may affect next government
6-May-2009 Business Standard
Addressing an industry chamber gathering two weeks ago, US Embassy deputy chief of mission Steven J White listed the US wish-list for its ties with India: negotiating a bilateral investment treaty; end-use monitoring agreement to protect so-called sensitive technology; enlarging the “farmer-market link” of the Agricultural Knowledge Initiative; and operationalising the nuclear deal.
Benguet farmers alerted on trade pacts
6-May-2009 MB
Associations of farmers and local government units in this vegetable-producing province and local governments were alerted on reports that the national government has entered into bilateral agreements and treaties on the trading of agricultural products.
NZ-Hong Kong free trade talks resume
6-May-2009 New Zealand Herald
Trade talks with Hong Kong resume in Wellington this week and Trade Minister Tim Groser says he’s hoping for positive steps forward.
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.