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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

Regional trade pacts rise to the fore
26-Jul-2006    
Two weeks ago, members of the World Trade Organization agreed on rules that would make it easier to track bilateral and regional trade deals. Negotiators were concerned that the proliferation of such deals would detract from efforts, already faltering, to reach a global trade pact.
The death of the WTO's Doha talks
26-Jul-2006     BBC News
You don't have to declare multilateralism dead, just because this round of talks is over, but there are three particular, potential consequences of the collapse in the talks.
The death of Doha signals the demise of globalisation
13-Jul-2006     The Guardian
The failure to reach agreement on the Doha round suggests the era of multilateral trade agreements is coming to an end.
USTR to press Congress on Oman, Peru, Vietnam trade deals
12-Jul-2006     Dow Jones
US trade officials will concentrate on getting Congress to approve trade agreements with Oman, Peru and Vietnam in the run-up to mid-term elections this autumn, a US trade official said Tuesday.
On the road again: Four goals for the new US Trade Representative
20-Jun-2006    
Susan Schwab began work last week as US Trade Representative (USTR) at a difficult time for free trade.
House could delay major trade votes
14-Jun-2006     Reuters
A group of US lawmakers pushed on Tuesday for a new trade deal with Vietnam, but a senior Republican said Congress may not vote on trade legislation until after November's congressional election.
Bush trade strategy backfires as chances of global pact recede
17-May-2006     Bloomberg
President George W Bush's strategy of using individual accords as stepping stones to a unified, global system of trade may be backfiring.
OWINFS call to action: Stop the WTO's Doha "development" round and other "free trade" negotiations
4-May-2006     OWINFS
We call upon civil society organizations and social movements from around the world to join with us in showing their strong, united and unequivocal opposition to the completion of the World Trade Organization's trade ‘round', and other bilateral and regional Free Trade Agreements being forced on people by governments.
Doha Round faces collapse as talks are suspended
2-May-2006     AllAfrica.com
Most trade experts believe that if a tentative deal cannot be agreed in the next few months, there will not be time to complete the details and gain approval in the US. If this happens, it would be the first time that the world trade talks have stalled, and may lead to a world which is increasingly divided into protectionist trade blocs.
Opening up to worries
13-Apr-2006     Sun2Surf
An interview with Chee Yoke Ling of Third World Network on globalisation, WTO and FTAs