ISDS Case Map
EU
European Union
Negotiations for an ambitious free trade agreement between India and the European Union are on track but are unlikely to be completed by end of 2008, EC Ambassador to India said today.
Ecuador would agree with Peru and Colombia to negotiate a bilateral Association Agreement between the Andean Community (CAN) and the European Union (EU), stated Thursday Peru's minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Mercedes Aráoz.
A soon-to-be-finalized free trade agreement between the European Union and South Korea is causing concern for Turkey, as its market will be indirectly opened to South Korean products due to its customs union agreement with the EU.
To the man in the street, it seems that the EPA, and the debate on it, have split Caricom governments, and that the prospects for their arriving at some harmonious agreement at this week's Caricom meeting are not good.
Many are aware that the European equation of fair trade with free trade is nonsense, writes George Monbiot
Peter Mandelson once said he would be the last man standing in the marathon push for a global trade deal, but as his time as Europe's trade chief ticks away, he may have to settle for smaller prizes.
Church leaders in the Caribbean have urged regional governments to reject the Economic Partnership Agreement proposed by the European Union, saying the terms of the treaty would harm the economy, marginalize the poor, and undermine the Caribbean's democratic institutions.
The Cariforum Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was initialled last December under extreme pressure of time and the threat of imposition of punitive tariffs on Caribbean exports in European Union (EU) markets. In the past nine months this 1,000 plus- page agreement has been examined closely, and found wanting in several respects. Every effort needs to be made to fix the problematic features before the agreement is legally cast in stone.
Senior representatives of the government, the opposition political parties, the trade union movement, the private sector, religious bodies and other non-governmental organizations unanimously called on regional leaders not to sign it in its present form.
As matters stand, Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Belize, The Bahamas and St Vincent have said that they want to sign; St Lucia says it will not; Guyana is holding a public consultation; Grenada wants more time; and there is silence from almost all other Cariforum states. Meanwhile, some opposition parties have publicly disassociated themselves, most notably, in Jamaica and Antigua.
