Regional EAC symposium on bilateral trade negotiations opens in Entebbe
New Vision, 29 May, 2013
A regional East African Community symposium on the ongoing bilateral trade and investment negations has opened at. More…
China and Switzerland Sign MOU on Free Trade Agreement
China Briefing, 27 May, 2013
China and Switzerland have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to conclude negotiations over a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) on May 24. More…
Governments to give green light for US trade talks
EU Observer, 24 May, 2013
Governments are expected to agree on an EU mandate to open negotiations on an ambitious bilateral trade deal with the United States at the next meeting of EU trade ministers. More…
Li’s visit to Bern seen as opener for China-EU free trade talks
Gevevalunch.com, 23 May, 2013
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Switzerland and Germany 24-27 May is being talked up in Chinese English-language media as the start of a push for a free trade agreement. More…
The Powerful People Arguing for U.S.-China Free Trade
Bloomberg, 23 May, 2013
Recommending that the U.S. and China work toward a free-trade deal is a bit like stepping into a prize fight and asking the boxers to settle their differences peacefully. More…
GDP growth may drop by 1 point by joining TPP: opposing researchers
The Japan Times, 23 May, 2013
Growth in gross domestic product could be pushed down by 1.0 percentage point, or ¥4.8 trillion, if Japan joins the envisaged Trans-Pacific Partnership, a group of researchers said Wednesday. More…
Swiss president says Swiss-China relations marked by mutual trust, dynamism
Xinhua, 23 May, 2013
The relations between China and Switzerland are marked by mutual trust and dynamism, Swiss President Ueli Maurer told Xinhua in a written interview ahead of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to his country. More…
US, Myanmar sign trade, investment framework deal
United Press International, 22 May, 2013
The United States and Myanmar signed a trade and investment framework agreement, coinciding with the visit of Myanmar President Thein Sein. More…
Costa Rica and Colombia sign free trade deal
Tico Times, 22 May, 2013
Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla on Wednesday evening penned a bilateral free trade agreement that will help pave the way for Costa Rica to become a full member of the Pacific Alliance. More…
Costa Rican lawmakers approve association agreement with European Union
Tico Times, 22 May, 2013
After several hours of negotiations lawmakers on Tuesday night approved an association agreement between Central America and the European Union (EU), with 37 votes in favor and four against. More…
Big trading blocs moving at breakneck pace to raise free trade standards
Intellectual Property Watch, 22 May, 2013
The pace to negotiate bilateral or plurilateral free trade agreements has been accelerating rapidly over the last month as the big trading blocs seem eager. More…
PM Lee on Japan FTA: ’Let’s go for ambitious review’
The Straits Times, 22 May, 2013
Singapore would like the ongoing review of its free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan to be an “ambitious review”, and not one resulting in just minor adjustments, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in Tokyo. More…
Canadian prime minister heads to Peru, Colombia
Arab News. 21 May, 2013
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper heads to Peru and Colombia on a two-day visit beginning tomorrow to bolster trade with Latin America and beyond. More…
Taiwan trying to secure FTAs with U.S., EU: president
Focus Taiwan News Channel, 21 May, 2013
President Ma Ying-jeou has said that his administration has been working toward signing free trade deals with the United States and the European Union, a development that sock manufacturers in Changhua County are eager to see. More…
SADC scrambles to meet EU trade deadline
Mmegi, 21 May, 2013
Trade ministers from SADC member states met in Gaborone yesterday as part of efforts to thrash out a new inclusive Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union ahead of next year’s deadline. More…
EU says Chinese FTA possible, but wants market opening
Reuters, 21 May, 2013
The European Union is willing to deepen trade ties with China but wants to see concessions from Beijing first, documents seen by Reuters on Tuesday showed. More…
ivestock industry ready for ’comprehensive’ FTA with EU
Beef Producer, 21 May, 2013
A coalition of livestock and food groups are calling for negotiations towards a “comprehensive free trade agreement with the European Union that includes sanitary and phyto-sanitary stipulations. More…
Kosovo looks to EU trade agreement
SETimes, 20 May, 2013
By launching a free trade regime with the EU, as part of its Stabilisation Association Agreement, Kosovo is hoping to increase the amount of agricultural products that it. More…
Turkey-South Korea FTA includes many firsts
Hürriyet Daily News, 20 May, 2013
A FTA between Turkey and South Korea, which has many firsts, has opened Turkey’s way to negotiate on the exchange of services and bilateral investments. More…
Culture to get special treatment in US trade talks, Barroso says
EU Observer, 17 May, 2013
Special treatment of culture “makes sense,” European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso has said in relation to upcoming EU-US trade talks. More…
Is the Trans-Pacific Partnership the Solution to Latin America’s Fractured Trade Regime?
Huff Post, World, 16 May, 2013
Latin America is poised to assume a starring role in the governance of international trade, with a Brazilian having been selected to lead the World Trade Organization and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. More…
European firms push Thai-EU FTA talks
The Nation, 16 May, 2013
The Delegation of the European Union to Thailand is pushing hard to have the negotiations on a Thai-EU free-trade agreement concluded within 18 months. More…
Can FTAs Support ‘Factory Asia’?
Bilaterals.org, 16 May, 2013
Free trade agreements (FTAs) have been proliferating in Asia for more than a decade. International fragmentation of production and the resultant cross-border production networks. More…
Rival trade pacts could converge
China Daily, 15 May, 2013
Separate multiparty free-trade talks in Asia backed by China and the United States are generally seen as a rivalry between the world’s two biggest economies. More…
Swiss agree details of free trade pact with China
Financial times, 15 May, 2013
China has agreed the technical details of a free-trade agreement with Switzerland, and the deal is likely to be signed in coming months, the Swiss economy minister has confirmed. More…
FTA talks stuck; insurance could be game spoiler
The Economic Times, 15 May, 2013
Talks between India-EU chief negotiators on FTA today got stuck with the European bloc making clear that the pact cannot proceed unless the insurance sector was further opened up. More…
Bahrain hits back at claims over FTA
Gulf Daily News, 15 May, 2013
BAHRAIN has hit back at accusations it could have breached its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US. More…
A treaty too many
Bilateral.org (Down To Earth), 15 May, 2013
India is learning that there is a heavy price to be paid for the large number of bilateral investment treaties, or BITs, it has signed in the hope of attracting foreign investment. More…
Unlikely for UK to leave EU with a free trade deal
Financial Times, 14 May, 2013
But his assumption that the UK would be able to negotiate such a free trade agreement as part of its EU exit arrangements is wishful thinking. More…
Secretive trade talks aren’t in the public interest
The Japan Times, 14 May, 2013
Both Japan and Australia need to inform the public as to what deal may or may not have been reached secretly during the current trade negotiations. These talks. More…
Negotiating The Vast Web Of Trade Rules And Treaties
The metropolitan, 13 May, 2013
The Editor interviews Stephen Orava, Practice Group Leader for King & Spalding’s International Trade Group. More…
Cold Water for Hot Trade Deals
The National Interest, 13 May, 2013
The Obama administration is charting a radically different course in trade policy. The path is now clearly marked by last week’s announcement. More…
Israel keen on starting FTA talks with Peru
Agencia Andina, 13 May, 2013
Israel and Peru expect to kick off negotiations on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) before year’s end in order to take advantage of the two economies’ complementariness, Israel’s ambassador to Peru Modi Ephraim said Monday. More…
FTA with USA has harmed Colombia, Senator says
Prensa Latina, 13 May, 2013
A year after the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States came into effect, the balance for Colombia is negative. More…
‘Full, free’ trade agreement can enhance inter-Arab ties
Zawya, 12 May, 2013
The full implementation of the Greater Arab Free Trade Area (Gafta) has the potential of achieving greater economic integration, QNB has said in an analysis. More…
Sleeping through trade agreements, waking up to corporate empire
The Independent.ca, 11 May, 2013
In the old days, back in the 20th Century, most discussions on unfair trade focused on how World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and corporate monopolies placed Third World countries and their people at a severe and unfair disadvantage. More…
U.S.-EU Trade Talks Risk Damaging Turkey Ties
Bloomberg, 13 May, 2013
U.S. President Barack Obama travels to Europe next month to start formal negotiations on a trading bloc that would dwarf any the world has seen. He should look for ways to integrate Turkey into this new order. More…
ASEAN+6 start regional FTA talks
Jakarta Post, Indonesia, 10 May, 2013
ASEAN trade officials, along with its six partners, kicked off talks on a regional trade agreement in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam, on Thursday. The talks began. More…
Divide over beef last bridge to cross on road to EU trade pact
Globe and Mail, Toronto, 09 May, 2013
The European Union’s ambassador to Canada said special access for agriculture goods is the last obstacle to a trade deal between Brussels and Ottawa, and drew a line in. More…
The past, present, future of the EU; bloc’s bilateral relations with Japan
The Japan Times, 09 May, 2013
The first seeds of the idea of the European Union were sown on May 9, 1950, by then French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman. Hence, the date is now celebrated as Europe Day. More…
China raises concerns about EU-US plans for free-trade pact
Voice of America, 07 May, 2013
China has raised concerns about European Union plans to negotiate an ambitious free-trade deal with the United States, fearing it is a protectionist move, a senior EU official said on Tuesday. More…
Writing the Struggle – EPAs: The European game is over, comrades
The Southern Times, Namibia, 07 May, 2013
The current episode between some African countries and European Union over the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) proves to a great extent. More…
EU hesitant on free trade deal with China: Report
The Economic Times, 07 May, 2013
Even as it seeks free trade deals with the United States and Japan, the EU sees little near-term prospect of a similar accord with China, one of the bloc’s most important trading partners, a senior EU official said Tuesday. More…
EU ‘can’t force inclusion of Turkey in trade deal’
Daily News, 07 May, 2013
The European Union has limits on what it can do to include Turkey into its free trade deals with third parties, says the union’s chief negotiator, adding Turkey’s belief in EU support for free trade with US has a limited reality. More…
Canada says close to agreeing long-delayed EU free-trade deal
Swiss info.ch, 06 May, 2013
Canada is close to finalizing a long-delayed free-trade deal with the European Union but will not set a timetable for reaching an agreement, even though the EU is set to start talks with the United States, a top official said on Monday. More…
U.S. and EU see opening for free-trade pact
The Washington Times, 05 May, 2013
Trade officials on both sides of the Atlantic say there is a short “political window” to negotiate a free-trade agreement between the United States and European Union. More…
Mexican and EU lawmakers say free trade deal needs overhaul
Global Post, 05 May, 2013
European Parliament members and Mexican federal lawmakers wrapped up their joint meeting and called for “far-ranging modifications” to the trade agreement signed in 1997 and implemented in 2000. More…
ADB asks the flurry of FTAs to be stringed together
Business Standard, 04 May, 2013
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today said the government should start thinking about consolidating the flurry of free trade agreements. More…
EU urges southern Africa to open up its markets
Deutsche Welle, 03 May, 2013
The European Parliament has set a deadline of early 2014 for countries in southern Africa to open up their markets. More…
The Looming Canada-CARICOM Free Trade Agreement
NACLA, 03 May, 2013
On April 23, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago visited Canada to deliver her pitch to make the Canada-CARICOM free trade agreement a reality. More…
Oppn wants FTA with EU to be discussed in parliament
Business Standard, 03 May, 2013
The main opposition party, Bharatiya Janata Party and Left parties joined hands to demand that union government should discuss the crucial free trade agreement with European Union before a final decision. More…
After Japan TPP entry, USTR asks for economic impact study
Law360, 03 May, 2013
The U.S. trade representative asked the U.S. International Trade Commission on Tuesday to investigate the likely economic effects of allowing duty-free imports of products from Japan. More…
Vietnam and FTA negotiations: NGOs urge the EU to carry out a human rights impact assessment
FIDH, 02 May, 2013
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisation, the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights (VCHR), would like to ask the European Union to conduct an impact assessment that adequately encompasses. More…
Spy claims won’t hurt Korea ties: Carr
The Australian, 02 May, 2013
ALLEGATIONS of a South Korean spy ring operating in Australia will not damage relations between the two countries, Foreign Minister Bob Carr says. More…