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EU-Mercosur trade agreement: No protection of environment and people without renegotiations
3-May-2021 CIDSE
CIDSE, MISEREOR and Greenpeace published a new legal opinion that proves that in order to provide effective protection of human rights and environmental standards, the agreement needs to be renegotiated.
ASEAN, other free trade pacts hurting domestic cocoa processing sector
3-May-2021 The HIndu Business Line
The domestic cocoa processing industry is aggrieved that India’s free trade agreements (FTAs) with the ASEAN and other nations are hurting its competitiveness given an inverted duty structure affecting their operations.
UK-Jordan trade agreement to drive growth in investment
3-May-2021 The National
A UK-Jordan trade agreement came into effect at the start of this month, preserving preferential trade for Jordanian and British businesses and consumers.
UK and UAE, Saudi trade agreements could be ’hammered out’ this year
3-May-2021 Arabian Business
UK Trade Secretary was in the UAE and Saudi Arabia last month to work on the UK-GCC Joint Trade and Investment Review
US says China has fallen short on ‘phase one’ intellectual property commitments
3-May-2021 South China Morning Post
The US criticised China for failing to fulfil commitments it made in the “phase one” trade deal a year ago to improve protections for the intellectual property of American companies.
EU seeks Mercosur green commitments by end-2021 - EU trade chief
3-May-2021 Reuters
The European Union is seeking meaningful commitments on climate change and deforestation from Brazil and other Mercosur countries by the end of 2021.
EU commits sh21b towards AfCFTA operationalisation
3-May-2021 New Vision
The European Union has pledged to commit an additional €5m (about sh21.7b) towards the second phase of the African Trade Observatory (ATO) to support the operationalisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
US keen to complete Free-Trade talks with Kenya, Blinken says
3-May-2021 Bloomberg
President Biden’s administration is “looking forward to continue the ongoing discussions with regard to our FTA,” Blinken said Tuesday in a virtual meeting with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
UK - Viet Nam free trade agreement entry into force
3-May-2021 MENAFN
The UK and Viet Nam mark an important symbolic step in this partnership as the UK-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement enters into force.
Negotiations on the UK’s future trading relationship with New Zealand: Update
30-Apr-2021 UK Government
The fourth round of Free Trade Agreement negotiations with New Zealand took place virtually between 12-27 April 2021.
Bangladesh, Indonesia for early signing of PTA
30-Apr-2021 Prothom Alo English
Bangladesh and Indonesia on Thursday stressed early signing of Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) within the ambit of which potential export items from both countries would be allowed to enter duty free, reports UNB.
Japan approves world’s biggest free-trade deal after China’s call to boost Asian economy
29-Apr-2021 South China Morning Post
Japan’s parliament approved joining the RCEP to aim for it to come into effect from the start of next year. The approval by Japan’s upper house comes after China called for the deal to be ratified to shore up the economy in the Asia-Pacific.
Halloumi cheese EU regional naming rights raise concerns for New Zealand dairy
29-Apr-2021 RNZ
The New Zealand dairy industry says further moves by the EU to control the use of cheese names are of major concern.
PH, Chile to kick off joint economic cooperation this year
28-Apr-2021 Philippine News Agency
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said the Joint Economic Cooperation (JEC) between the Philippines and Chile will commence this year to strengthen trade and investment ties between the two nations.
Distrustful EU lawmakers back trade deal with Britain
28-Apr-2021 Reuters
The European Parliament has overwhelmingly backed the post-Brexit trade deal between Britain and the European Union, while expressing clear mistrust of the British government.
Japan approves world’s largest trade deal including China, ASEAN
28-Apr-2021 Kyodo News
Japan’s parliament approved Wednesday the world’s largest free trade deal, signed by 15 Asia-Pacific countries including China and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, raising the possibility for the pact to enter into force later this year.
Civil Society call for democratic control of EU-UK trade relations
27-Apr-2021 S2B Network
As civil society organisations from the UK and the EU, we want to express our concerns regarding the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement which is currently provisionally applied.
Agricultural trade between Russia and Vietnam has increased strongly
27-Apr-2021 Horti Daily
The free trade agreement between the EAEU and Vietnam, which has been effective since October 2016, has contributed to such active growth.
India has been short-changed by Vodafone and Cairn arbitral awards
27-Apr-2021 The Leaflet
The international economic law regime has stripped India of over $3.8 billion in taxes due by Vodafone and Cairn Energy, as the country is battling the Covid19 crisis.
EAEU–Iran trade and its prospects
27-Apr-2021 Modern Diplomacy
Negotiations on a full-scale free trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are planned for the second half of 2021.