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Modi in Israel: Indian and Israeli industrialists press leaders for free-trade deal
Coinciding with Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Israel, business figures from the two countries are convening a joint forum aimed at increasing bilateral trade tenfold.
Free trade deals ‘at all cost’ frustrate Spanish farmers
Spain’s agricultural sector is concerned about free trade negotiations between the European Union and third parties. The agreement with Canada (CETA) and ongoing talks with South American trade bloc Mercosur are raising doubts in the Iberian countryside.
EU and Japan promise to commit to free trade deal
The political deal does not mean the pair are yet close to agreeing a full trade treaty. Talks have been ongoing for four years and tough further discussion can be expected.
Hague court OKs Ukrainian case against Russia
The Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague has said it has jurisdiction to hear the case of a Ukrainian company seeking to recover damages for property lost when Russia annexed Crimea.
EU trade policy: Time to end corporate protectionism
The EU-Japan trade agreement is the latest example of an EU trade policy that benefits global corporations at the expense of people and the planet.
The trade-off with EU
The EU now wants to negotiate the Bilateral Investment Treaty before it starts negotiating the EU-India BTIA. This poses an impasse because India will not accept one of the clauses which allows EU investors to challenge the government in front of an international tribunal.
Rwanda needs its own Bilateral Investment Treaty model
If Rwanda clings to BIT approach, its scope should be limited. Alternatively, it can embark on a more attractive investment climate in lieu of BITs.
Acacia seeks arbitration after Tanzania tears up mining contracts
Acacia Mining said it was seeking an adjudicator to resolve its dispute with the Tanzanian government, a day after the east-African country passed two laws to force companies to re-negotiate their contracts.
ACEA: Automobile industry calls for balanced outcome in EU-Japan FTA
Ahead of a possible bilateral EU-Japan summit to conclude negotiations on a free trade agreement, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) calls on negotiators to ensure a balanced outcome for the European automobile sector.
The revolving door in international investment arbitration
Double hatting is practiced consistently by a highly visible and powerful core of some of the most influential actors in the system.
Can NAFTA be improved? Some activists are hopeful about renegotiation
Regardless of the short-term outcome, the movement for a progressive new NAFTA will hand progressives a dynamic issue—and a mobilized base—in the 2018 and 2020 elections. The current renegotiation could set the stage for future battles, perhaps for deeper change.
Few African countries ratify tripartite FTA
A paltry eight African have so far ratified the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) more than two years after it was launched in Egypt, raising fears of a failed continental effort to create an expanded trade barrier free market.
Did free trade with U.S. undermine Canada’s public health?
NAFTA blamed for tripling Canadians’ consumption of high-fructose sweeteners.
Abe expected to agree EU-Japan trade deal on Thursday - EU
The European Union and Japan expect to commit to signing a free trade deal on the eve of a G20 summit in what both see as a push back against a feared U.S. turn toward protectionism under President Donald Trump.
Japan moots low-tariff import quota on cheese in EU free trade talks
Japan is proposing a low-tariff import quota on some categories of European cheese in negotiations for a free trade deal with the European Union, a source close to the talks said.
NZ’s latest trade courtship is an insult to workers’ rights – and workers’ lives
By plunging into negotiations with Latin American countries in the Pacific Alliance, New Zealand maintains its shameful record of failing to hold partners to account on labour abuses.
Investing in alternative dispute settlement
Governments at the Centre and in the States must urgently invest in building their own capacity to handle the new generation of international investment arbitration.
After nine years, arbitrators bounce AFL-CIO complaint on Guatemala labor conditions
“The panel’s decision flies in the face of common sense. Guatemala’s failure to protect its workers and enforce its own laws is apparent to nearly everyone except the arbitrators.”
TPP reps meet in Japan ahead of APEC
Countries that signed up to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are to send representatives to Japan to work on an agreement - without the United States.
Reforms open Mexico’s oil and gas to investor rush… and here comes NAFTA
The rush on Mexico’s undeveloped oil and gas reserves comes just as Donald Trump has initiated a process to re-negotiate the North-American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).