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S. Korea, New Zealand fail to make breakthrough in latest FTA talks
The latest round of negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and New Zealand has ended without a significant breakthrough as the countries remained divided over the agriculture market, the South Korean government said Friday.
ASEAN-India services and investment FTA inches closer to implementation
The ASEAN-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Services and Investment is one step closer to implementation following approval by Thailand’s Ministry of Commerce to accept the terms outlined in the region-wide agreement.
Euro-African trade signifies changing relations
From a geopolitical perspective, Europe arguably needs the EPA trade deals with Africa more than Africa does.
EU finalises free trade agreement with Canada
Canada and the European Union have finalised the text of a proposed free trade agreement after months of wrangling, in a deal which is expected to serve as a blueprint for a similar agreement with the United States.
An urgent challenge for the BDS movement
On July 10, the Palestinian BDS National Committee issued a call: "We urge people of conscience to intensify their pressure on governments to impose a military embargo on Israel and to suspend free trade and bilateral agreements with it until it fulfills its obligations under international law."
Come clean on Malaysia’s trade with Israel, says PKR MP
A PKR lawmaker demanded today that Putrajaya reveal the trade relationship between pro-Palestine Malaysia and Israel amid the bloody conflict in Gaza.
Taiwan, China to restart talks on goods free-trade agreement
Representatives from China and Taiwan have reached an agreement to restart formal negotiations on a free-trade pact that would eliminate tax on the vast majority of goods flowing between the two, Taiwan officials said Tuesday.
Why developing host countries sign increasingly strict investment agreements
Despite the failure of the OECD’s MAI negotiations and the lack of agreement to put investment on the WTO’s negotiating agenda, the major source countries of FDI will eventually get close to their objective of a comprehensive web of investment agreements with increasingly stricter investment provisions with those developing countries that compete with each other as hosts of their FDI.
Germany seeks to limit investor protection to save trade deal
The German government expects the Canadian deal will be agreed at an EU-Canada summit in late September but believes that some changes could be ultimately needed in the final wording.
Latin America reacts to Israel’s massacre in Gaza
Latin American countries are now moving to sever diplomatic ties with the settler-colonial state — as some have done in the past — and Chile has already suspended its existing free trade agreements.
China’s surging investment in US heralds new multinational era
Chinese investments in the United States now exceed American investments in China in an historic shift that may see the emergence of joint Sino-US multinationals, but one that is also fraught with geopolitical risks, said analysts.
US-Africa Summit - Are we up for a new deal?
The US Trade Representative Michael Froman argues for comprehensive trade and investment strategy – read possibly in the future, negotiate reciprocal trade agreements, à la EU-Africa Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) but with more binding investment clauses to protect the interests of US businessmen.
Geist: How a 20-year-old patent application could upend Canada’s biggest trade deal
From a Canadian perspective, the Eli Lilly case has provided a powerful reminder that the risks associated with ISDS may outweigh the benefits with legal cases that can take decades to resolve.
Abe talks up trade ties with Latin American alliance
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed eagerness Saturday to bolster economic and trade ties with the four Latin American nations that make up the Pacific Alliance, after accelerating the conclusion of a free trade agreement with Colombia.
Foreign ministers rekindle interest in EU-ASEAN FTA
It is expected that the EU FTAs currently under negotiation with Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, and the deal already concluded with Singapore, will eventually be used as the basis for a rejuvenated region-to-region FTA.
TTIP: battle of the choirs
The battle over TTIP has moved into the cultural sphere with the Strawberry Thieves Socialist Choir versus the Yale Spizzwinks.
International trade partnerships: Deal or no deal?
Obstacles in several countries could delay the negotiations of TPP and TTIP — and possibly scupper the deals entirely, says Oxford Analytica. Infographic.
South Korea farmers begin fresh protests against rice market liberalization
Farmers are demanding a Rice Tariff Law and also want the government to exclude rice from all future Free Trade Agreements (FTA).
US lawmakers warn Japan, Canada on Pacific trade deal talks
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers on Wednesday said Japan’s refusal to drop all barriers to farm imports under a Pacific trade deal was unacceptable and urged the US administration to cut Japan and Canada out of the talks if they did not give ground.
Obama’s TPP: Taking neo-liberalism to a new level
The sort of movement we need to successfully defeat the TPP has not yet emerged. In part trade union leaders bear responsibility for this: they have spoken up either in a tokenistic manner or not at all about what will be an absolute catastrophe for workers’ rights and living conditions in the region.