ISDS Case Map
US
The fourth round of trade negotiations between Thailand and its single largest trading partner, the United States, is not expected to yield any significant outcome, although both parties hope the talks starting today will help the two better understand each other and bring them closer to solving respective concerns.
An American expert on international trade and business practice has underscored the benefits for the Philippines to begin negotiating for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
Most observers realise the existence of a parallel economy in Pakistan and the integral role that it plays in the overall financial system. The underground piracy economy is estimated at billions of rupees, providing employment to thousands of people. So no one is complaining. No one except the corporations and Uncle Sam.
For US and Thai trade negotiators meeting next week in Montana, intellectual property rights protections for plant breeders and pharmaceutical innovators are proving to be the most contentious issues in negotiating a Thailand-US Free Trade Agreement (TUSFTA).
The Morocco FTA cuts the tariff on US corn initially in half and then proceeds to zero by year six. This provides a significant advantage to US exporters and could potentially allow them to capture near 100 percent of the Moroccan market.
The year-long deadlock in free-trade negotiations between the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) and the US appears to have been broken with talks set to resume in September.
Financial sector liberalisation is a sensitive subject for the talks. US authorities have insisted that no FTA agreement can be negotiated without it. Thai authorities have been reluctant to make any commitments on opening up the banking, insurance, asset management or securities sectors.
The protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) has been identified as being one of the main concerns for US investors to come into Malaysia, said the United States ambassador to Malaysia, Christopher J LaFleur.
The Dabhol settlement process is almost complete with US-based Bechtel Corp finally informing the Indian side that it's willing to settle and not proceed with international arbitration.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which represents 67 parent companies and subsidiaries that develop and make prescription and over-the-counter drugs, listed contacts with the government's top officials overseeing international trade agreements on more lobbying reports than it did for contacts with the Food and Drug Administration, which directly oversees the industry's products.
