environment


Will Dow challenge Quebec pesticide law?
Dow AgroSciences is mulling over a NAFTA challenge to Quebec's law banning the cosmetic use of pesticides, setting a spotlight on one of the most controversial clauses of the trade agreement among Canada, the United States and Mexico.
US lawmaker details obstacles to free trade deals
Panama, Colombia and South Korea need to resolve a number of outstanding concerns before Congress will approve free trade pacts with each of those countries, a US lawmaker said on Wednesday.
Add human rights to FTA talks: EU
A draft report prepared by Members of the European Parliament could potentially derail negotiations between India and the European Union on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement involving duty-free trade of goods, services and investment. The report calls for the inclusion of human rights and democracy issues in the CEPA talks and an international investigation into “extra judicial killings” in Jammu & Kashmir.
Undercutting Africa
Why EPAs threaten the world's forests and forest peoples
Ramming the matter home: Peru-US FTA rushed, diluted and finagled
Two weeks ago, as the Peruvian Congress buoyantly rushed to amend labor, health, and environmental requirements in order to implement the long pending bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US, former President George W. Bush and Peruvian President Alan García could not afford any further delays. As Barack Obama moved into the White House, it was clear that the Bush and García Administrations' priority was to declare the FTA in effect regardless of what had been previously negotiated and amended in the halls of the Peruvian Congress.
Crisis may lead to more non-tariff barriers
Many of Thailand's trading partners are expected to implement non-tariff barriers this year to shield their markets from a flood of imports as a looming global recession prompts governments to negotiate free-trade pacts.
Free Trade Opens Environmental Window
Legislative decree 1090, which modifies Peru's forest policy, is worrying U.S. trade authorities because it contravenes environmental clauses of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that is to enter force between the two countries in January 2009.
Trade pact could lead to waste dumps
The Asean-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP) agreement, which goes before Thai parliament today, will make Thailand a waste-dumping site for Japan, critics warn.
Don't use trade for resolving non-trade issues: Kamal Nath
"Increasingly we hear about proposals in the EU for levy of carbon tax on imports into EU, ban on imports on allegations of labour law violations and use of child labour etc. Any effort to combine trade with other social issues would prove to be disastrous for bilateral trade" says India's commerce minister about the EU-India FTA.
Reject JPEPA, leaders of 66 NGOs appeal
In a letter to Philippine Senate President Manuel Villar, 66 NGO leaders from around the world joined calls from local NGOs urging the Senate not to approve what they describe as a “flawed treaty” that promotes trade of toxic wastes.