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China’s “new normal” in international investment agreements
25-May-2016     CCSI
China’s approach to international investment agreements (IIAs) is evolving, namely that China is adapting to prevailing international investment-law standards.
Standing up to patent bullying
25-May-2016     The Hindu
The Ministry of Commerce must be cautious of Free Trade Agreements being negotiated with the European Union as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership that further strengthen or extend intellectual property (IP) monopolies.
S. Korea to launch FTA negotiations with Israel next month
25-May-2016     Yonhap
South Korea said that it has come to an agreement with Israel to begin negotiations next month on a free trade deal that could further boost bilateral trade.
Member states’ proposal for more investor protection legally flawed
25-May-2016     Client Earth
The proposal would fundamentally undermine the EU’s internal market provisions and the role of the courts of the Member States and the European Court of Justice in safeguarding their operation.
Asia trade deal RCEP will undercut farmers’ control over seeds
25-May-2016     International Press Syndicate
According to the latest leaked draft of the RCEP agreement, the negotiating countries fall into two camps when it comes to legal rights over biodiversity and traditional knowledge useful for food production and medicine.
Citra Mina workers
25-May-2016     Focus
The Philippine government is hoping the EU-Philippines FTA wil facilitate more tuna exports to the EU, but the industry is riddled with issues of low wages, unfair labor practices, poor and slave-like working conditions.
Signing away sovereignty
24-May-2016     TNI
The Philippines has a web of investment treaties which severely constrain the government's ability to regulate or close polluting mines, a legal straitjacket that will become even tighter if the EU–Philippines Free Trade Agreement and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) proceed
Two chapters in RCEP agreement to conclude in June: Mustapa
24-May-2016     New Straits Times
Economic and technical cooperation chapters will be the first two chapters to be concluded during the 13th round of negotiations, ahead of plans to seal the deal by year-end.
Prosperous Mexican farms suck up water, leaving villages high and dry
24-May-2016     New York Times
Nafta is all about high-intensive-labor crops. Water extraction increased exponentially. Every year, farms bore farther into the aquifer, and scientists warn that they are reaching tainted water that is contaminated with arsenic and fluoride which is causing great harm.
TTIP less consensual than it seems in Central and Eastern Europe
24-May-2016     Bordelex
Support for TTIP in Central and Eastern Europe, though it remains strong, is no longer as consensual as it used to be.