bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

Articles by language


Japan, GCC states to meet by the year-end to push FTA talks
Energy-poor Japan and the GCC states are expected to meet again in Saudi Arabia by the end of this year for a second round on negotiations on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in a bid to secure stable fuel supplies.
SOMO Briefing Paper: EPA negotiations do not promote the right investment policies in Africa
The EU strongly advocates that attracting more foreign investment is a solution to African development problems and that African countries therefore need to include strict investment liberalisation measures in EPAs.
SOMO Briefing Paper: The risks and dangers of liberalisation of services in Africa under EPAs
The European Union (EU) is negotiating with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries for a new free trade agreement: the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The liberalisation of services and therefore opening the market for foreign investors is part of these negotiations.
Coalition of Service Industries written testimony on the free trade agreement between the United States and Korea
CSI is comprised of US service companies and trade associations seeking to achieve market access in all modes of supply in all negotiating forums.
Business Roundtable (US): Real liberalization in the US-Korea FTA - Moving beyond the traditional FTA
June 2006 US Business Roundtable White Paper on US-Korea FTA
International Intellectual Property Alliance summary of testimony on US-Malaysia FTA
Notice of intent to testify and summary of testimony from IIPA to Trade Policy Staff Committee, US Trade Representative’s Office on proposed free trade agreement with Malaysia
Thaksin regime’s business networks
An extensive study by a Chulalongkorn University economy lecturer has established what could be complete picture of the extensive network of business empire of the Shinawatra family.
Majority of S Koreans favour putting off FTA talks with US: poll
A majority of South Koreans favour delaying free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the United States, and want the government to release details on the negotiations, a poll showed Tuesday.
East Africa: African states warn EU on trade talks
Trade talks between European Union and Eastern and Southern Africa countries are set to be stormy as ESA countries warned the EU against reneging on its earlier promises.
Local banks against red carpet welcome for EU counterparts
An overwhelming majority of Indian banks are against the government granting “full domestic” status to banks from the European Union, as has been given to banks from Singapore, under the proposed India-EU CECA.
Senior EC officials to discuss framework for agreement
Senior officials from the European Commission will visit Kuala Lumpur next month to discuss the framework for the possibility of signing a Partnership Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and Malaysia.
Kenya urged to look for trade alternative
Kenya Association of Manufacturers CEO Betty Maina said negotiators in the Economic Partnership Agreement, EPA, are not in-sync and the agreement might not be signed by the end of next year.
Free trade at the fore of races
Jack Davis remembers the night he left the Republican Party over free trade: Nov. 17, 2003, after he paid $2,000 to meet Dick Cheney at the upscale Park Lane Restaurant in Buffalo, N.Y.
Why the rush to ink more deals?
When asked why he would risk his life to climb Mount Everest, the British mountaineer George Mallory gave the classic reply: "Because it is there." When asked why they’re so anxious to sign new free-trade agreements, Canada’s trade bureaucrats have a similarly existential response: "Because we haven’t done one in a while."
Coup no threat to trade talks
Thailand has assured New Zealand that trade talks are not in danger after last week’s military coup.
USA: Labor & textile groups demand punitive measures against Jordan
The US Trade Representative has been urged by the largest US labor organization and textile group to file a complaint against Jordan for its failure to check companies from exploiting their laborers and subsequently cheating them on wages. Since the US-Jordan FTA was signed between the two nations in December 2001, this is the first time any US business group has come together with labor demanding action under the treaty.
US FTA team to push for opening of gambling: official
The United States has asked South Korea to open its gambling market during talks for a proposed free trade agreement between the two nations. According to South Korea’s proposal for the service and investment markets, horse racing and casinos are to be barred from access by the other country.
New article No6016
Thailand: Restore basic civil rights, NGOs urge
Thailand’s new NGO Network for Political and Social Reform says it wants the military-led Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy and the interim government to scrap free-trade agreements and the privatisation of state enterprises.
AFL-CIO and National Textile Association file first-ever worker rights case under US-Jordan FTA
This is the first time that a business association has formally joined in filing a worker rights case under a trade agreement. The groups called on the Bush Administration to initiate dispute settlement proceedings under the FTA that would halt gross workers’ rights violations occurring in Jordan.