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Japanese rice farmers upset over broad TPP agreement
7-Oct-2015 The Mainichi
Many farmers in Japan have started to feel increasingly insecure about their future as 12 Pacific Rim countries including Japan reached a broad agreement on the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade initiative.
Singapore concludes free trade negotiations with Turkey
7-Oct-2015 Asia One
Turkey and Singapore have concluded negotiations for the Turkey-Singapore Free Trade Agreement.
Taiwan to stand firm on US pork ractopamine ban: official
7-Oct-2015 Want China Times
Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture said that it will insist that the country maintain a ban on pork imported from the United States containing traces of leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine
ECJ judgment in favour of data protection puts TTIP negotiations under pressure
7-Oct-2015 Euractiv
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) today declared the Safe Harbor agreement invalid. This subordinates the activities of Facebook & Co back to the control of national data protection authorities.
Will Congress approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership?
7-Oct-2015 Washington Post
The first steps are expected to begin later this week when the White House formally sends Congress a notice of intent to sign the agreement, which kicks off a 90-day waiting period.
ISDS: courting foreign investors
7-Oct-2015 S2B
Why the Commission’s proposal for an “Investment Court System” still fails to address the key problems of foreign investors’ privileges
EU ratification process of FTA with South Korea done and dusted
7-Oct-2015 Vieuws
The European Commission intends to announce in mid October its plans to revise the deal in order to add the missing investment protection chapter to it.
TPP deal includes tobacco carveout, teeing up fight with congress
7-Oct-2015 Global Trade Online
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries have agreed on language that will allow members to exclude tobacco control measures from the scope of investor-state dispute settlement.
Yukos: the saga continues
6-Oct-2015 The Global Legal Post
The bankruptcy of oil and gas giant Yukos led to multiple proceedings against the Russian state and some enormous awards.
Secret Trans - Pacific (TPP) deal lacks detail on medicines, includes corporate rights to sue governments
6-Oct-2015 AFTINET
The lack of access to details in the text means governments can put a positive spin on the deal, but the devil is in the detail.
Trade officials announce conclusion of TPP—now the real fight begins
6-Oct-2015 Electronic Frontier Fondation
The fact that close to 800 million Internet users’ rights to free expression, privacy, and access to knowledge online hinged upon the outcome of squabbles over trade rules on cars and milk is precisely why digital policy consideration do not belong in trade agreements.
Lack of local land rights harms fight against poverty, climate change - researchers
5-Oct-2015 Trust
Indigenous people and local communities lack legal rights to almost three quarters of their traditional lands, sparking social conflict and undermining international plans to curb poverty, hunger and climate change.
Some highlights of the new 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal
5-Oct-2015 The Brandon Sun
Some highlights of the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement as described by the Canadian government Monday as it shared details of a deal to create the largest-ever regional trading bloc.
Trans-Pacific Partnership ministers’ statement
5-Oct-2015 USTR
The trade ministers of Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam, have successfully concluded the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Trans-Pacific Partnership: ’50/50’ chance of trade deal today as negotiators lock horns over medical patent protection
4-Oct-2015 ABC
Australia — along with others such as New Zealand and Chile — has been unwilling to offer more than five years protection for the medicines, because longer terms would increase the cost of state-subsidised medical programs.
U.S., Australia agree on complicated compromise on biologic drugs
4-Oct-2015 WSJ
Countries in the trade bloc would have an alternative of either providing eight years of exclusivity to biologic drugs, or providing five years of so-called data exclusivity plus up to three more years under a regulatory framework in the TPP.
Tentative U.S.-Vietnam ’consistency plan’ links tariff benefits to labor compliance
4-Oct-2015 World Trade Online
Vietnam has tentatively agreed with the United States on a fully enforceable implementation plan to bring its labor regime into compliance with the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Don’t let TPP lock Peru into unequal trade
4-Oct-2015 La República
TPP negotiators hope to finalize the agreement in the next few days. Political leaders will boast of promoting the well-being of their people and countries. But the reality is that special interests have been given far too much influence on the negotiations.
US, Australia drug dispute is holding up settlement of the Trans Pacific trade deal
4-Oct-2015 The Australian Financial Review
A standoff between Australia and the United States on monopoly rules for pharmaceutical drugs has emerged as the ultimate impediment to clinching an historic trade deal sweeping across 12 Pacific Rim countries.
TTIP negotiations will not include fixed book prices: Börsenverein welcomes official confirmation from EU Commission
3-Oct-2015 EIBF
The EU Commission will by no means discuss fixed book prices as part of negotiations relating to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)