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Africa must not let disputes with foreign investors undermine its Covid-19 response
7-May-2020 Business Day
There is an imminent threat of claims arising from emergency measures, so countries should review how investor-state disputes are handled.
The EU must review the premises of its free-trade agreement with Mercosur
7-May-2020 Observatorio do Clima
Environmental safeguards within the agreement, which were already insufficient even before COVID-19, have now made the document outdated.
US-UK trade talks must put people and the planet first
6-May-2020 Citizens Trade Campaign
US and UK civil society groups worry trade deal could privilege corporate profits at the expense of the environment, consumer safety, public health and worker rights.
EU Member States sign an agreement for the termination of intra-EU bilateral investment treaties
6-May-2020 European Commission
23 EU Member States signed an agreement for the termination of intra-EU bilateral investment treaties.
If the government doesn’t halt trade talks with Trump, it’s learned nothing from coronavirus
6-May-2020 The Independent
The US trade model is not only unpopular with the British public, but it will also make us more vulnerable to future pandemics.
Armenia ‘under pressure’ from UK and US over mining dispute, says EU report
6-May-2020 Open Democracy
An internal EU report claims that the UK government has pressured the Armenian government in a two-year standoff between protesters, an international mining company and the authorities.
Non-paper from the Netherlands and France authorities on trade, social economic effects and sustainable development
6-May-2020
The Dutch and French Trade ministers are calling the EU to improve its approach in analyzing the socio-economic aspects of trade effects, and to increase its ambition regarding the nexus between trade and sustainable development.
Brazil wants to change Mercosur rule to make agreements without Argentina viable
6-May-2020 Fohla de S.Paulo
Action would come in the face of the neighboring country’s announcement that it will abandon negotiations on the organization’s agreements.
African Continental Free Trade Area: hope or neo-colonialism?
5-May-2020 United World International
The AfCFTA is an opportunity for countries and companies to help each other grow, but trade liberalization and Western control can harm the poor and local producers in these countries, and Africa will repeat the mistakes of the European Union.
Brazil fears agriculture protectionism amid pandemic: draft report
5-May-2020 Reuters
The report urges Brazil to go further in signing more trade agreements, to ensure favorable market access for its farm products.
US firms give condition for free trade deal with Kenya
5-May-2020 Business Daily
American firms have asked Kenya to fix its intellectual property laws as one of the conditions for backing the “model trade agreement” being negotiated by the two states.
EU scrutiny of GM food is not negotiable
5-May-2020 Friends of the Earth Europe
74 NGOs have written to the EU Commission to demand that genetically modified crops are not pushed onto Europe’s fields and plates as part of a trade deal with the USA.
Investor-State arbitration and the ‘next generation’ of investment treaties
5-May-2020 Lexology
In recent years, observers have questioned whether investor–state arbitration will or should be a feature of the next generation of free trade and bilateral investment treaties.
US-United Kingdom trade negotiations: Private sector priorities
5-May-2020 US Chamber of Commerce
The US Chamber of Commerce urges negotiators to consider its objectives, as part of the US and UK free trade agreement.
EU-Mexico trade deal prompts French farming backlash
5-May-2020 Euractiv
While the world is busy dealing with the coronavirus health crisis, the European Union and Mexico concluded talks on a new trade pact, provoking strong reactions.
Singapore minister says RCEP trade deal on track for year-end signing
5-May-2020 The New York Times
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal is still on track to be signed by the end of 2020, Singapore’s Minister of Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said.
PHL-South Korea FTA moves despite virus
5-May-2020 Business Mirror
The Philippines is pushing on with negotiations to conclude its FTA with South Korea, but the trade deal’s finalization has been moved to November.
e-Commerce free trade agreements, digital chapters and the impact on labour
4-May-2020 ITUC
A comparative analysis of treaty texts and their potential practical implications.
China trade deal turns from key Trump asset to an albatross
4-May-2020 Bloomberg
Trump raised concerns of a resumption of economic hostilities with China, threatening to withdraw from the trade deal if Beijing’s purchase pledges come up short.
Post-Brexit trade deal talks with US to begin this week
4-May-2020 Morning Star
Britain will begin the first round of post-Brexit trade deal talks with the US this week as the government seeks to strike an "ambitious" relationship which "opens up new opportunities" to UK businesses.