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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

Jon Weissman: A free trade pact’s sorry numbers
28-Mar-2014     Gazette Net
New evidence of the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement’s damaging record provides the latest reason why Congress should not delegate away its constitutional trade authority and allow the Trans-Pacific Partnership to be “fast-tracked” into place.
Rough trade: the new corporate power grab
1-Mar-2014     Red Pepper
Trade and investment agreements currently being negotiated will mean the biggest corporate power grab in a decade. We need a new global movement to confront them, writes Nick Dearden
American-European trade pact could dwarf TPPA if it becomes a reality
21-Feb-2014     Bernama
Economies like Malaysia would have to adhere to the tariff levels agreed to between both the EU and the US if they want to export to these markets and those of other potential members such as Japan and South Korea.
Spying by NSA ally entangled US law firm
17-Feb-2014     New York Times
The Obama administration often emphasizes the NSA’s role in fighting terrorism and cyberattacks, but disclosures in recent months from the documents leaked by Mr. Snowden show the agency routinely spies on trade negotiations.
TPP would 'upgrade' US trade pacts, says US Commerce chief
5-Feb-2014     WSJ
The TPP is designed "to create a high-standard global trade agreement that addresses a bunch of issues that have not been addressed before in our trade agreements," US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker said, adding, "And frankly, if we don't do it, someone else is going to set the standard."
Not a hacker or whistleblower? Here's how you can still liberate secret documents
3-Feb-2014     Waging Nonviolence
When there are documents that the public has a right to know about, we have a right to go take them, writes Daniel Hunter
Harry Reid deals body blow to Obama on trade
30-Jan-2014     WSJ
US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid broke publicly with the White House Wednesday on trade policy, instantly imperiling two major international trade deals and punching a hole in one piece of the economic agenda the president outlined in his State of the Union address a day earlier.
US trade debate prompts fears of delay in talks
20-Jan-2014     FT
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mexico’s economy minister said governments in the TPP talks were unlikely to offer any significant concessions until they were sure Mr Obama had fast-track authority. A senior EU official said officials in Brussels were bracing for a TPA debate that could last through this year and inevitably affect TTIP negotiations.
US lawmakers propose fast-track bill for trade agreements
10-Jan-2014     Reuters
US lawmakers on Thursday proposed a bill to give the White House power to fast-track international trade agreements as the United States gears up for a hectic year of trade negotiations.
Business groups back Obama on trade amid historic debate
6-Jan-2014     Bloomberg
Some of the largest US business groups are lining up behind President Barack Obama to pressure Congress to clear the way for a pair of trade deals that could set rules for more than half the world’s economy.

Referenced sites

Third World Network

TWN's website is a good source of information and analysis about what's happening within the multilateral trade system (WTO, UNCTAD, G77, etc).

WorldTradeLaw.net

WorldTradeLaw.net offers a free library of current trade news and resources; a database of dispute settlement tables and statistics; and a user-friendly sear...