ISDS Case Map
US
Negotiations for a free trade deal between the Southern African Customs Union and the US are not "dead and buried", a US Embassy official said yesterday.
The Obama administration will not likely move for ratification of the pending free trade deal with South Korea this year due to health care reform, the economy and other more pressing issues, a scholar said Monday.
The Asia-Pacific is one place where there's room for US exports to increase dramatically, and a growing TPP would certainly help on that score. However, free trade deals are never an easy sell, and they become tougher still when the domestic jobs picture is bleak.
The first step to an Asia-Pacific-wide trade pact will be taken on Monday, with officials from eight nations meeting in Melbourne.
Talks begin in Melbourne today to lift what began as a 2001 pact between New Zealand and Singapore to a powerful "new generation" regional free trade deal that the United States has made a top trade priority.
Malaysia said Thursday that negotiations towards a bilateral trade pact with the United States have been shelved and it is now considering joining a regional deal promoted by the US.
"There is no question that President Obama's efforts to at least start talking to a few countries in Asia about a free trade agreement are the right step. Whether Thailand is ready to engage with the US in a free trade discussion is really a question for the Thais themselves," says the president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand.
The MoU will serve as the backbone for promoting a comprehensive investment policy between the two sides, both seeking out protection for their foreign investors and domestic industries.
The World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes may soon rule on a case brought by US oil company Occidental Petroleum Corp. against Ecuador
Five years on, it is clear the free trade agreement between Australia and the United States was a dud. Despite the fanfare with which the Howard government introduced it, no tangible benefits have resulted for Australia.
