bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

Articles by language


Pacific Island nations seek closer economic ties with NZ, Australia
Pacific Islands Forum countries have decided it is now time to move beyond their existing SPARTECA agreement with Australia and New Zealand, according to reports from Nadi, Fiji, on Friday.
Will CAFTA be a boon to farmers and the food industry? NAFTA’s failed promises are doomed to be repeated
Promoters of the proposed Dominican Republic/Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) have asserted that it will provide significant benefits to the U.S. economy, especially to the agricultural sector. Similar promises were made in the debate on the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1992 and 1993. However, since that time NAFTA has failed to live up to these promises, and similar promises made for CAFTA are even less likely to be fulfilled.
Media info note: Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement
On 3 Jun 05, the trade ministers of Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore announced the substantive conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (“Trans-Pacific SEP”) on the sidelines of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) meeting in Jeju (Korea).
S’pore, Brunei, Chile, NZ sign trans-Pacific trade pact
New Zealand, Brunei, Chile and Singapore announced a trans-Pacific free trade pact to improve market access between the countries.
Are corporations hog-tying conservation groups in CAFTA fight?
Missing from the fight against CAFTA is an elite subset of the environmental movement: the international biodiversity conservation organizations. Not one of the four major groups in this field — Conservation International, the World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and the Wildlife Conservation Society — has demonstrated the courage to oppose CAFTA, despite ample opportunity over the past year.
Civil society in revolt against EU-ACP trade agreements
African civil society organizations supported by a number of major European NGOs have moved into clear confrontation with the European Commission on the issue of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA). They say these deals will wreck domestic African agriculture and industry and are warning African politicians not to go along with them.
Korea, Canada agree to launch FTA talks this year
Korea will start free trade agreement negotiations with Canada within this year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Wednesday.
Declaración de Dili: 10 años de OMC son suficientes! Por la defensa de la soberanía y la expulsión de la OMC
Estamos afrontando varios impactos negativos tanto de la OMC como de los TLC. Por ejemplo, Tailandia, conocida como el país con mayor exportación de arroz; sus campesinos están sufriendo muchísimo y están perdiendo la tierra así como las semillas locales.
Dili Declaration: Ten years of WTO is enough! Defense sovereignty and expelling WTO
We are facing severe negative impact of both WTO and FTA. For instance, Thailand known as the biggest rice exporting country but Thai peasant has been suffering in huge amount of debt and losing the land as well as the local seeds.
Trade to top Thai PM’s India visit
Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will arrive in India Friday on a one-day visit to find ways of pushing a free trade deal that will strengthen the growing trade relations between the two countries.
Japan and Indonesia agree to begin talks on free trade deal
Japan and Indonesia agreed on Wednesday to begin negotiations over a free trade agreement (FTA) as early as next month, as Tokyo tries to secure regional clout through trade deals in Southeast Asia.
China-ASEAN FTA to boost regional integration —Merrill Lynch
The China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) will spur regional integration and address China’s security issues relating to food and energy supply, Merrill Lynch said.
UAE and Australia to hold second round of FTA talks
The UAE and Australia will hold a second round of talks next week in Abu Dhabi to clear the way for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to boost trade and investment between the two countries.
Intellectual property in investment agreements: The TRIPS-plus implications for developing countries
In this analytical note, the South Centre examines the implication of the emerging approaches relating to the fair and equitable treatment and the national and most-favoured nation (MFN) treatment in investment agreements for the overall regimes for the protection and enforcement of IP in developing countries.
Investment treaties: the risks of jeopardising economic development, the Bolivarian revolution and participatory democracy
This article analyses some of the potential direct consequences of investment treaties on economic policies implemented by the Venezuelan public authorities
Gulf countries, Turkey sign FTA deal
The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council and Turkey signed an agreement Monday to begin negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA).
Clark tells China NZ wants to be first
Prime Minister Helen Clark has told China’s leaders she wants New Zealand to be the first developed nation to sign a free-trade deal with the Asian economic powerhouse.
Taiwan needs free trade agreement with US to ward off China: Chen
Taiwan desperately needs a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States to protect itself against rival China’s growing economic dominance, the island’s President Chen Shui-bian told a visiting US senator.
Washington insists financial services must be on agenda
Financial-sector liberalisation could undermine efforts to negotiate a Thailand-US free-trade area agreement, according to Finance Ministry officials.
Interview: Chile turns to Australia in Asia Pacific push
On Friday, Chile will formally unveil free trade agreements with New Zealand, Singapore and Brunei, building on existing agreements with South Korea, Canada, the US and the European Union. Next on Chile’s FTA hit list are Asian giants China, Japan and India.