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Sri Lanka Thailand to begin talks on FTA from May
7-May-2018 Economic Next
Sri Lanka and Thailand will begin talks on setting broad parameters for a free trade deal from May 2018, officials said.
Asean gets tough on the US over trade, but tiptoes around South China Sea build-up
7-May-2018 South China Morning Post
With Singapore as chair of the regional bloc this year, China has an advantage as the focus shifts from geopolitics to trade and investment.
EU- Japan EPA presented to the European Council, ratification begins
7-May-2018 Lexology
On 18 April 2018 the European Commission (the “Commission“) presented the finalised text of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (“EPA“) to the European Council and thereby took the first step in the EPA’s ratification process at the EU level.
The EU caught in the trap of Nigeria’s refusal to sign the West Africa Economic Partnership Agreement and the Continental Free Trade Area
7-May-2018 SOL
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria very explicitly stated to the new Ambassador of the European Union that Nigeria was determined not to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement for West Africa.
Ratifying CETA after ’Achmea scandal’ is anti-European
6-May-2018 EU Observer
Keeping the European project alive requires EU members to abide by the principle of loyalty to European institutions.
NAFTA ruling on quarry worries experts
6-May-2018 The Chronicle Herald
Environmental law experts are concerned about the broader implications of a recent federal court dismissal of Canada’s application to overturn a NAFTA tribunal ruling.
EU open to ’limited’ US trade deal: Top official
6-May-2018 Indian Express
Malmstrom spoke just days after Washington granted Europe and other allies a one-month delay from imposing controversial tariffs on steel and aluminium, averting a trade war for now.
Swiss farmers dig in against South American trade deal
4-May-2018 Swiss Info
The Swiss Farmers’ Union, on the other hand, has made its position very clear: it is against a free-trade deal.
ASEAN leaders call for boosting connectivity, resolving RCEP trade talks "expeditiously"
4-May-2018 International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development
Leaders of the ASEAN gathered in Singapore on Saturday 28 April to review the bloc’s goals going forward, with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong calling for greater regional collaboration and integration as a way to bolster against external pressures, including trade tensions among major economies such as the US and China.
RCEP trade round: Singapore host privileges business over people’s rights
4-May-2018
Trade officials from 16 countries that are negotiating RCEP are meeting in Singapore this week. But Singapore government has gone backwards excluding trade unions, farmers and civil society organisations who will be adversely affected by RCEP that has gain a voice in previous rounds, although not nearly enough.
Why we must ban secret corporate courts from trade deals
3-May-2018 Friends of the Earth Australia
The ISDS system impedes on national sovereignty to the benefit of corporations, yet places no obligations on investors to behave responsibly, creating an asymmetric system that gives multinationals the same rights as sovereign states.
International Trade Committee launches probe into UK investment policy as Brexit approaches
3-May-2018 IBS Intelligence
The International Trade Committee launches an inquiry concerning the UK’s investment policy, which will examine the Government’s performance in promoting and facilitating inward and outward investment and its approach, upon UK exit from the EU, to negotiating agreements that liberalise and protect foreign investment.
Canada loses bid to overturn NAFTA ruling on rebuffed N.S. quarry
3-May-2018 CBC
New Jersey company behind quarry proposal in Digby Neck claims damages of $443M US in lost profits.
Brexit: Are countries really ’queuing up for trade deals’ with Britain?
3-May-2018 The Independent
Brexiteers have claimed that other countries are “queuing up” to strike trade agreements with Britain after it leaves the bloc. In reality, though, the situation is more complicated.
France supports Australia-EU FTA: Macron
2-May-2018 Xinhua
French President Emmanuel Macron has thrown his support behind Australia’s push for a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union.
Ecuador signs free trade agreement with EFTA, launches new tuna brand
2-May-2018 Undercurrent News
The agreement will allow export of shrimp and tuna products to EFTA countries with a zero export tariff.
Parliament ratifies free trade pact
2-May-2018 Ghana Web
Ghanaian Parliament has endorsed the new agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Germany pushes EU trade deal with US in tariffs row as trade war looms
2-May-2018 Daily Express
Germany is pushing a watered-down version of the EU’s Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) in a desperate last-ditch attempt to head of a looming trade war between the bloc and Donald Trump’s United States.
Ukraine eyes patent law reform after civil society push on medicines access
2-May-2018 IP Watch
Ukrainian lawmakers are poised to approve sweeping patent reform legislation, driven in large part by a push by patients’ groups for better access to affordable medicines and healthcare.
Charging into UK-US trade pact would be ‘catastrophic error’, warn MPs
2-May-2018 Euractiv
The UK would be making a “catastrophic error” if it charged into talks on a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States without setting out a ‘comprehensive strategy’ for life after the EU, MPs warned in a new report .