ISDS Case Map
US
Korea and the United States plan to hold talks next week on drug policy issues surrounding an envisioned bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).
With the trade-friendly Republican Party losing its grip on the House of Representatives for the first time in over a decade, there's growing concern that the ongoing free-trade talks between Seoul and Washington will face tougher conditions.
The Peruvian government said Wednesday it will urge the US Congress to pass the bilateral free trade agreement quickly, in light of the soon-to-be Democratic majority.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum's reported move to launch discussions on the creation of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific region (FTAAP) reflects Washington's wariness of an initiative for East Asia's economic integration centering around the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
The Democrats' triumphant return to power in the House of Representatives could spell trouble for US President George W Bush's campaign to dismantle global trade barriers. But analysts said legislative gridlock and a focus on the 2008 presidential race would limit the influence of Democratic isolationists.
All across the US, opposition to corporate trade agreements played a role in the economic messages put forth by electoral candidates.
"Services have become a huge part of what developed countries are exporting," said Steve Norton, spokesman for the Office of the US Trade Representative in Washington. "The US permits foreign-licensed lawyers to work here, and it is reasonable that reciprocal treatment by Korea should be given to US lawyers."
After concluding the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), the government appears to be pursuing a similar bilateral free trade agreement (BFTA) with the United States. But like in the JPEPA, the RP-US trade talks are shrouded in secrecy.
The United States government used a Malaysian platform Friday to warn Thailand's interim government that reinstating democracy was a precondition for the resumption of US-Thai trade negotiations.
The United States has sounded out its Asian and Pacific partners on the possibility of creating a regional free trade agreement as a ‘middle- and long-term' objective, a press report said on Sunday.
