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  1. Negotiations

:: Across the board ::


This section contains news and analysis of sweeping developments that affect the overall push and pull towards FTAs and bilateral investment treaties. This means major trends relating to bilateralism, often with global consequences, and other cross-cutting issues. New developments arising from US politics, the WTO or South-South alliance-building, for instance, are often reported here as they tend to have systemic impacts.

last update: May 2012

Cargill CEO: Move forward on free trade
8-Jun-2011     Star Tribune
"Commercially meaningful bilateral agreements must be passed now or the United States will be left behind," warns Greg Page, the head of Cargill.
Doha talks on trade may need to be ended, US envoy Kirk says
20-May-2011     Bloomberg
The decade-old Doha round of World Trade Organization negotiations may have to be revamped or ended, US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said.
Is America mis-thinking its 21st Century trade strategy?
17-May-2011     Vox
In the bilateral game, the US has enormous advantages – its huge market for imports, and its huge willingness to internationalise its supply chain via FDI, offshoring, etc. But it also has the big disadvantages – its agriculture and labour interests.
White House threatens to hold up key trade deals
16-May-2011    
The White House is threatening to hold up final passage of three coveted free trade agreements unless lawmakers expand retraining assistance for American workers who lose their jobs because of foreign competition.
Disagreements hold up free trade agreements
13-May-2011     Watertown
The American Farm Bureau Federation supports the proposed US free trade agreements with Korea, Panama and Colombia, while the National Farmers Union is opposed.
US business sees trade deals approved by July
8-Apr-2011    
A new U.S. deal with Colombia to address longstanding labor concerns should clear the way for Congress to pass three long-stalled free trade agreements by July, industry officials said on Friday.
Firsthand look at FTA’s
31-Mar-2011     Line on Agriculture
A group of farmers and ranchers from the US’s largest farm organization will be heading to South and Central America to show support for pending free trade agreements with Colombia and Panama.
Caterpillar CEO urges Congress to enact FTAs with Panama, South Korea, Colombia
31-Mar-2011     RTT News
Oberhelman noted that since the FTAs with Mexico, Chile, Central America, the Dominican Republic and Peru went into effect, Caterpillar exports have increased substantially to those regions of the world, with exports up fivefold to Mexico, threefold to Chile and up by more than 60 percent to Peru.
More free trade agreements? When NAFTA failed?
21-Mar-2011     Huffington Post
With the Republicans and the Obama administration attempting to rush headlong into a new trade agreements with Korea, and possibly also with Panama and Colombia, it is incumbent on Americans to apply a bit of empiricism. How have our past trade agreements worked out? Above all, how's the grand-daddy of them all, NAFTA, doing?
Senate Republicans link nominations to sending Korea, Colombia, Panama FTAs together
15-Mar-2011    
Republican senators Monday pressed President Obama to send Congress the pending free trade deals with South Korea, Panama and Colombia at the same time, threatening to block his nominations for commerce secretary and other officials otherwise.