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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

Via Campesina totally rejects bilateral FTAs
23-Jun-2004    
We, members of Via Campesina, a world-wide organization of rural women, peasants, small farmers, rural workers, indigenous people and afro-descendants, from Asia, Europe, America and Africa, met in Itaici, Brazil, from 14-19 June 2004, for our 4th International Conference. We were welcomed warmly, fraternally and in a combative spirit by our hosts, the member organizations of Via Campesina in Brazil.
The FTA: A regulatory framework transcending the constitution and democracy
22-Jun-2004     El TLC como marco regulatorio supraconstitucional y supra-democratico
Contrary to the widespread notion, fundamental aspects of the FTA with the US include a number of areas that are highly comprehensive and have ramifications and implications that go way beyond simply regulating cross-border trade in goods.
Proliferation of Bilateral Agreements Subject to Criticism
21-Jun-2004    
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Cepal) and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) criticized the US strategy of multiplying bilateral trade agreements before multilateral negotiations collapsed.
Divide and conquer: bilateral trade agreements
4-Jun-2004     Dominion
The free trade agreements that are being vigorously negotiated by the US are empowering corporations in a manner that places them at the top of a global hierarchy, matching their economic might with political rights that bypass processes of democratic decision making.
Can trade be a lever for reforms in the Middle East?
28-May-2004    
Testimony by David L. Mack in Hearings of the US Senate Finance Committee, published by the Daily Star, Beirut, Lebanon, in a two-part series on 27-28 May 2004
US Bilateral Trade Agenda: Lowered Expectations
26-May-2004    
The way U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick jets around the world, seeking to cut deals that would knock down trade barriers at home and abroad, it might seem as if the political furor over free trade and job losses at home were a minor flap.
The United States and the new regionalism/bilateralism
25-May-2004    
Current U.S. trade policy stresses establishing free trade areas (FTAs) with partners spanning the globe. Motivations include enhancing goods and services trade; stimulating investment flows; extending standards on intellectual property rights, labor, and the environment; and addressing geopolitical concerns.
US trade negotiations in the 108th Congress
11-May-2004    
The Bush Administration has made bilateral and regional free-trade agreements (FTAs) more important elements of U.S. trade policy, a strategy known as “competitive liberalization.” This strategy is designed to push forward trade liberalization simultaneously on bilateral, regional and multilateral fronts.
Intensifying Free Trade Negotiating Agenda Calls for Better Allocation of Staff and Resources
11-May-2004    
US Government Accounting Office's January 2004 assessment of US's FTA negotiating plans and whether it has the means to carry them out.
Drugs May Tie Up FTAs
11-May-2004    
Disagreements over trade in pharmaceuticals may bog down pending free trade agreements between the U.S. and foreign nations.