ISDS Case Map
EU
European Union
Tunisia opened up a promising new market by entering the Free Trade Zone Agreement with the European Union, but some business and political leaders caution that without protection and modernisation measures, the economic gulf between Tunisia and the EU could get worse, not better.
The government is to involve labour unions in all future Economic Partnership Agreement (EPAs) negotiations with the European Union.
The ACP Council of Ministers deplores the enormous pressure that has been brought to bear on the ACP States by the European Commission to initial the interim trade arrangements, contrary to the spirit of the ACP-EU partnership.
The Mercosur trade bloc, made up of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, plans to restart talks with the European Union on a free-trade agreement in May, Estado de S. Paulo reported
The EU used a variety of unsavoury negotiating tactics to get its interim agreements with East African countries to the signing stage.
"Pour l'instant, je dois dire qu'après analyse au niveau de la sous-région, nous avons trouvé que les conditions n'étaient pas réunies pour la signature des APE", a affirmé le chef de l'Etat saotoméen, appuyant les positions des présidents sénégalais, Abdoulaye Wade, et sud-africain, Thabo Mbeki, qui rejettent les termes proposés par l'UE.
The recent summit between African heads of states and the EU has shown that Europe has failed to move beyond their colonial-era past-times of economic and political bullying.
The European Union is ready to resume free trade talks with the South American Common Market (Mercosur). The two blocs began negotiations in November 1999 with the aim of concluding an agreement by 2005, but progress has been slow due to disagreements over import restrictions on agricultural goods.
Europe's EPA agenda poses a grave danger to the people and economy of South Africa.
Ghana signed an interim trade deal with the European Union on Thursday, joining a rush among poor countries to safeguard exports to the world's biggest trading bloc after preferential terms expire at the end of the year.
