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Europe’s China gambit
10-Apr-2021 Project Syndicate
Trade and investment agreements cannot transform China into a Western-style market economy or turn it into a democracy.
Does new EU-ACP deal really ’decolonise’ aid?
9-Apr-2021 EU Observer
Based on what we have seen in nearly final drafts of the text, the EU seems poised to again fail to promote a real shift in power relations due to imbalances that remain written into the new deal.
Why we need to talk about the African free trade area
9-Apr-2021 Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung
The AfCFTA will give the African Union the chance to become a strong, independent player in the world economy – at least that is the optimistic forecast. But there are good reasons to cast doubt on the high hopes pinned on the African free trade area.
Rethinking investment law from the ground up: extractivism, human rights, and investment treaties
9-Apr-2021 IISD
For many people affected by resource extraction, it is the prevailing legal regime that dis-embeds and disintegrates, because investment treaties can protect ventures that upend their lives with little scope for voice or redress.
Belarus, China in talks over agreement on investments, trade in services
9-Apr-2021 BELTA
The first round of negotiations over the agreement on investments and trade in services between Belarus and China was held online on 7 April.
From gunboats to treaties: Who wrote the rules of globalisation?
8-Apr-2021 Investment Monitor
From colonisation to investor-state dispute settlements, rich countries have sought to exploit and influence their poorer counterparts for centuries, but how did globalisation in its current form come to be?
UAE and Israel move closer to tax treaty that will help boost foreign investments
8-Apr-2021 The National
A free trade agreement and double taxation treaty are among several frameworks being worked on by the UAE and Israel to increase trade and investments flows between the two nations after they normalised relations last year.
Nobel economist and 100 experts condemn corporate action against Argentina and Bolivia after rollback of failed pension privatization
8-Apr-2021 IPS
Private insurance corporations are suing Argentina and Bolivia for loss of potential profits as a result of the reversal of privatization of pension programs.
Canada explores bilateral trade in Southeast Asia
7-Apr-2021 The Western Producer
Canada continues to pursue a multi-lateral free trade agreement with Southeast Asian nations, and those involved with negotiations say bilateral deals in the region could lead to larger pacts.
Barrick forces hand of Papua New Guinea government in reopening Porgera mine
7-Apr-2021 Mining Watch
Referring repeatedly to legal threats by Barrick Gold Corp., Prime Minister Papua New Guinea released a statement announcing that his government will be making a deal with the company in regard to the Porgera Joint Venture gold mine.
Singapore ratifies ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement
7-Apr-2021 Khmer Times
Singapore has ratified the ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement and become the first ASEAN member to do so.
Uruguay pushing to make Mercosur more flexible
7-Apr-2021 Anadolu
Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay reportedly wish to make the trading bloc more flexible for commerce by negotiating new trade accords to reduce the bloc’s tariffs.
Digital trade deal ripe for the Indo-Pacific
7-Apr-2021 The Hill
US Trade Representative has raised digital trade as an area of potential future cooperation in her coversations thus far with Asian partners.
First labor rights claim under the revised NAFTA filed by migrant worker women in the US — what does it mean in terms of the new labor rulebook in the region?
7-Apr-2021 Public Citizen
The complaint represents many organizations’ intentions to test if the revised NAFTA’s labor terms could be an effective tool to improve workers’ conditions.
Agriculture Sector Network ASNET welcomes UK-Kenya Free Trade Agreement
7-Apr-2021 Fresh Plaza
Kenya agriculture sector umbrella body, The Agriculture Sector Network, ASNET, has lauded the recently ratified Economic Partnership Agreement between Kenya and UK saying it will go a long way in boosting economic development and job creation.
Encouraging competition in AfCFTA: Govt waives import duties
7-Apr-2021 Graphic Online
Ghana government has waived import duties on imported equipment, machines and raw materials for local manufacturing companies to enable them to become competitive in the global marketplace.
Biden team set to review Kenya, Trump trade talks
7-Apr-2021 The East African
The Biden administration will review bilateral trade negotiations and targets that ex-President Donald Trump regime made with Kenya last year over a potential free trading deal. The start of the trade talks could be delayed.
A brief history of globalisation
6-Apr-2021 Investment Monitor
Investment treaties largely replaced colonial gunboats as a way to continue to exploit the resources of foreign countries.
Mercosur trade deal threatens to wreck EU’s climate credibility
6-Apr-2021 Euractiv
To pass the EU-Mercosur deal in its current state would set an horrific precedent for future trade deals currently under negotiation and fly in the face of the EU’s landmark Green Deal.
Battle looms for Aussie dairy over Haloumi
6-Apr-2021 Farm Online
Australia’s dairy industry is bracing for a fight over the name "haloumi", after the European Union voted to restrict cheese manufacturers outside of Cyprus from marketing haloumi cheese under that name.