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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

CKUT - Off the hour - collapse of WTO talks
6-Aug-2008    
Interview with Aziz Choudry on the collapse of WTO talks in Geneva, and what's happening with FTAs, aired on CKUT Radio's Off the Hour, Tuesday edition, 5 August 2008.
Former USTRs talk trade
5-Aug-2008     WWD
Four former architects of US trade policy, sharing nearly 20 years of negotiating experience between them and spanning three administrations, laid out to Congress last week their blueprints for a future agenda.
'Doha Round talks undermining regional integration'
29-Jul-2008     Swazi Observer
The ongoing Doha round of World Trade Organisation talks is seen to be undermining regional integration and economic development efforts by African countries, analysts have noted.
WTO decision in next 3 days may worsen FTAs' effects on developing country farmers
28-Jul-2008     TWN
The special safeguard mechanism currently being proposed for agriculture at the WTO mini-ministerial requires large increases in imports before it can be used, does not allow tariffs to be raised sufficiently and cannot be used to protect developing country farmers from import surges due to free trade agreements.
African, Latin American ministers discuss South-South trade
25-Jun-2008     Maghrebia
Trade ministers from Africa and Latin America met last week in Marrakesh to discuss the state of South-South trade. Despite recent advancements, trade between developing countries remains low.
Hard bargains: Bilateral trade pacts draw domestic objections
17-Jun-2008     FT
The fear of having other countries steal a march on Washington by signing their own deals may bring Congress back to the bilateral trade negotiating table.
Progressive Dems break with trade consensus, demand a change of course
10-Jun-2008     AlterNet
Rep. Michael Michaud and Sen. Sherrod Brown, both US Democrats, have introduced legislation to put the brakes on US free trade agreements by triggering a review of existing agreements as well as providing a process for renegotiating them.
The failed expectations of US trade policy
5-Jun-2008     FPIF
As the principal negotiator for the landmark market access agreement that led to China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), I have reflected on whether the agreements we negotiated really lived up to our expectations. A sober reflection has led me to conclude that those trade agreements did not.
Factbox: McCain, Obama plans on US trade policy
4-Jun-2008     Reuters
The US presidential election in November will be a face-off between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. Following are some of McCain's and Obama's main positions on trade -- an issue that has become contentious during this election cycle.
Biofuels, food and trade top EU-Latin America Summit
19-May-2008     EurActiv
European and Latin American leaders pledged to deepen trade ties between their two regions and tackle global warming and poverty at the fifth EU-Latin America-Caribbean Summit in Lima.