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Takeaways from the leaked TISA documents
Whistleblower platform and free trade agreement critic Wikileaks posted draft documents - and its own opinions - from the Trade in Services Agreement talks, on the eve of the 18th round of negotiations.
Melanesian Free Trade Agreement to start in 2017
A Melanesian Free Trade Agreement is expected to come into force after negotiations for a new deal concluded in Vanutau.
Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA): Consumers International makes urgent call for greater transparency in negotiations
As the 18th round of negotiations on the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) starts on May 26th, consumer organisations are making an urgent call for greater transparency.
TiSA - draft annexes (2015)
As leaked by Wikileaks on 25 May 2016
WikiLeaks releases Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) documents
WikiLeaks releases new secret documents from the huge Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) which is being negotiated by the US, EU and 22 other countries that account for 2/3rds of global GDP.
At landmark BRICS meet, India raises public health, pharma sector concerns
A high-level panel hosted by India discusses the issues of trade deals that inhibit access to medicines and also limit policy space for governments to legislate in public interest.
China’s “new normal” in international investment agreements
China’s approach to international investment agreements (IIAs) is evolving, namely that China is adapting to prevailing international investment-law standards.
Standing up to patent bullying
The Ministry of Commerce must be cautious of Free Trade Agreements being negotiated with the European Union as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership that further strengthen or extend intellectual property (IP) monopolies.
S. Korea to launch FTA negotiations with Israel next month
South Korea said that it has come to an agreement with Israel to begin negotiations next month on a free trade deal that could further boost bilateral trade.
Member states’ proposal for more investor protection legally flawed
The proposal would fundamentally undermine the EU’s internal market provisions and the role of the courts of the Member States and the European Court of Justice in safeguarding their operation.
Asia trade deal RCEP will undercut farmers’ control over seeds
According to the latest leaked draft of the RCEP agreement, the negotiating countries fall into two camps when it comes to legal rights over biodiversity and traditional knowledge useful for food production and medicine.
Citra Mina workers
The Philippine government is hoping the EU-Philippines FTA wil facilitate more tuna exports to the EU, but the industry is riddled with issues of low wages, unfair labor practices, poor and slave-like working conditions.
Signing away sovereignty
The Philippines has a web of investment treaties which severely constrain the government’s ability to regulate or close polluting mines, a legal straitjacket that will become even tighter if the EU–Philippines Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) proceed
Two chapters in RCEP agreement to conclude in June: Mustapa
Economic and technical cooperation chapters will be the first two chapters to be concluded during the 13th round of negotiations, ahead of plans to seal the deal by year-end.
Prosperous Mexican farms suck up water, leaving villages high and dry
Nafta is all about high-intensive-labor crops. Water extraction increased exponentially. Every year, farms bore farther into the aquifer, and scientists warn that they are reaching tainted water that is contaminated with arsenic and fluoride which is causing great harm.
TTIP less consensual than it seems in Central and Eastern Europe
Support for TTIP in Central and Eastern Europe, though it remains strong, is no longer as consensual as it used to be.
S. Korea to hold new round of talks for FTA with Central America
South Korea will hold a fresh round of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with six Central American countries.
Summit significant, ASEAN seriously looking at FTA with EAEU
Southeast Asia nations reached a consensus to seriously look into establishing a free trade deal with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), of which Russia is a party to.
EU and Philippines kick off trade talks today
Philippine trade negotiators meet their DG Trade counterparts for a first round of trade talks, five months after they were announced, but nobody expects a cakewalk.
Asean enhances trade in services
Senior officials from Asean member countries are working on the arrangements and adoption of protocol in relation to the trade in services and to ensure the region is fully integrated into global supply chains in goods and services.