:: 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

Islamic common market proposed

4-Oct-2005 AFP

The first World Islamic Economic Forum yesterday called for the establishment of an Islamic common market and floated a series of initiatives to boost business cooperation amongst Muslim nations.

OIC members urged to look towards establishing Islamic FTA

1-Oct-2005 Bernama

Governments and the private sectors of the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) should take a qualitative leap to establish an Islamic Free Trade Area (FTA) to overcome obstacles and bottlenecks that hinder the development of trade and investment between member states.

After NAFTA - CAFTA and AFTA

25-Sep-2005 Tehran Times

Instead of heeding the wave of social opposition, the United States has dug into its trenches, and in economic policy those trenches are the bilateral trade agreements.

TWN seminar warns about WTO-plus issues and rules in bilateral and regional FTAs

22-Sep-2005

The Third World Network held a regional Asian workshop on bilateral and regional FTAs on 26-29 August in Kuala Lumpur. Many speakers and participants voiced concerns about how the developed countries are making use of such FTAs to get developing countries to accept issues.

Bilateral/regional free trade agreements: An outline of elements, nature and development implications

22-Sep-2005

Several Asian countries and Asean as a bloc are now pursuing trade and economic frameworks and agreements with non-Asean countries.

US mulling free-trade deals with Egypt, South Korea, Malaysia

9-Sep-2005 Bloomberg

The Bush administration said it's considering separate entreaties from Egypt, Malaysia, South Korea and Switzerland to negotiate free-trade agreements with them.

Roh wants APEC to become bloc

7-Sep-2005 Korea Times

Korean President Roh Moo-hyun Tuesday stressed the need for Asian and Pacific Rim countries to pursue economic integration like that of the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). He said it would be more effective on a long-term basis to build a regional economic bloc, rather than to continue signing bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs).

Myths about bilateral free trade

31-Aug-2005 Dawn

Of late, there has been an outbreak of activism in the realm of bilateral free trade and investment agreements across the world. Many developing countries have found themselves swept off by the wave of bilateralism, not realizing it only weakens the cause of multilateralism.

Benefits and costs of FTAs

30-Aug-2005 The Star

Negotiations on bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) are going on at a blazing speed worldwide. Not much is known on how these talks are going. But they have a lot of effects on local industries and farms, on medicine prices and on what can be included in future development strategies.

Academic: China to be free trade driver

24-Aug-2005 China Daily

China is likely to eclipse the World Trade Organization and regional market-opening pacts to become the main driver of freer global trade in the 21st century, a prominent trade academic said on Tuesday, Reuters reported.

:: Across the board ::

Referenced sites

21st Century Trade Agreements: Implications for Long-Run Development Policy

#A18DoA - Global day of action to defeat free trade and investment treaties

Alianza Social Continental

ICC

Movimientos.org

Pambazuka

People over profit

Peoples Global Action

Regional/Multilateral Integration Agreements

SOMO

South Centre

Stop fast track!

ISDS Case Map