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South Korea FTA talks conclude
4-Feb-2021 Phnom Penh Post
Cambodia and South Korea on February 3 concluded talks for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), which Minister of Commerce Pan Sorasak and his Korean counterpart Yoo Myung-hee plan to sign in mid-2021, setting zero tariffs for a broad range of goods, according to a joint press statement.
Putting the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) into perspective: Five key points
3-Feb-2021 Institute for International Trade
The CAI will not transform China into an open investment regime nor will it provide new market access opportunities for most European businesses.
Australia eyes new trade deal with Israel, focusing on cyber security, innovation
3-Feb-2021 Sydney Morning Herald
Australia will turn its attention towards clinching a trade agreement with Israel. A similar feasibility study to scope the benefits of beginning trade negotiations with European Free Trade Association countries.
Banks agree to end action against Croatia in loan conversion dispute
3-Feb-2021 Reuters
Six banks have agreed not to take legal action against Croatia over its conversion of Swiss franc loans into euros in 2015 at the lenders’ expense.
EU-UK deal impacts UK’s sovereignty over Northern Ireland and island of Britain
3-Feb-2021 Oped Column Syndication
John Bruton, the former Prime Minister of the Republic of Ireland (1994-97) and the former European Union’s Ambassador to the United States (2004-09), writes about how the recently signed EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) impacts the sovereignty of the UK over the island of Britain and Northern Ireland, and also opines that such a deal was perhaps better than a "no-deal" scenario.
US Chamber drives for Kenya-US trade deal
2-Feb-2021 Business Daily
The United States Chamber of Commerce has urged President Joe Biden to seal a new trade deal with Kenya, which was initiated by his predecessor Donald Trump.
Working document on the draft EU-Mercosur Association Agreement
2-Feb-2021 Fern
The following avenues can be envisaged to address the concerns raised by the draft EU-Mercosur agreement.
Beijing expands Indian Ocean FTAs westward with Mauritius
2-Feb-2021 Nikkei Asia
China’s free trade agreement with the small island-nation of Mauritius came into effect in January, increasing the Asian powerhouse’s presence in the Indian Ocean where its regional rival India has long dominated.
How the trade deal Boris Johnson is pursuing threatens workers’ rights
2-Feb-2021 Left Foot Forward
The danger is that the UK Prime Minister is eager to get a deal, so he could accept whatever terms the CPTPP countries demand.
Unsustainable RCEP
1-Feb-2021 The Statesman
If the latest flare ups over the contentious territorial issues and popular anti-China sentiments in the region are anything to go by, it seems likely that uncertainty over domestic ratification of the RCEP agreement by the signatory states would persist in the days ahead.
EU-Canada FTA (CETA): investment court texts (Jan 2021)
1-Feb-2021 European Commission
The EU and Canada adopt rules putting in place the CETA investment court
1-Feb-2021 European Commission
The EU and Canada adopted four decisions putting in place the Investment Court System provisions agreed in the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
India may offer Cairn oilfield against $1.4 billion arbitration award
1-Feb-2021 Business Today
For a government struggling to find revenue to boost a COVID-19 battered economy, options of appeal against the arbitration award are limited and it may not have the financial bandwidth for such a payout.
UK to apply to join free trade pact with nations on other side of world
1-Feb-2021 The Guardian
The British government to seek to join 11-nation trans-Pacific partnership, whose nearest member is 3,000 miles away.
EAEU to set up free trade zones with Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mongolia
1-Feb-2021 BELTA
The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is conducting necessary work to conclude free trade agreements with Egypt, India, Indonesia, and Mongolia. In particular, EAEU plan to resume the negotiation process in the first half of the year, to hold negotiations along the tracks that they have.
AfCFTA and the economic emergence of Africa
1-Feb-2021 Enquête+
Economists deconstruct the myth surrounding the trade agreement
Biden to focus on trade enforcement after years of Trump tariffs
1-Feb-2021 Bloomberg
President Joe Biden’s administration is setting up its trade policy to prioritize enforcement of existing commitments by the US’s partners over negotiating more deals to open new export markets.
Brunei to host the RCEP Interim Joint Committee meeting
1-Feb-2021 Foreign Brief
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Interim Joint Committee is to hold a virtual meeting on 30 January 2021 and will be the first joint committee meeting since the formal signing of the RCEP agreement.
EU-India investment agreement?
29-Jan-2021 Euro Intelligence
The EU will be able to strike an investment deal with India, but a full-blown free trade agreement will be a much harder sell, said Portugal’s foreign minister.
British and Turkish unions want to suspend fledgling trade deal over labor concerns
29-Jan-2021 Politico
UK government urged to use deal to demand Turkey ‘recognizes and respects’ labor standards.