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Guatemala: activists defeat ’Monsanto Law’
The law was originally passed to comply with an intellectual property requirement in the 2004 Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), and it was unclear whether Guatemala might now be excluded from the US-promoted trade bloc.
Ask Foreign Policy Ministers to exempt ISDS from CETA open letter
Please find below a draft letter to heads of state or trade ministers of EU Member States. It can be sent ahead of the Sept .12 meeting of the EU Trade Policy Committee where Member States have the *final* opportunity to comment on the CETA text.
MEPs urged to veto NHS trade deal
The leader of the UK’s biggest union has written to all British MEPs urging them to vote against a controversial EU-US trade deal if the NHS is not exempted.
US-EAC trade pact: Players fear East Africa could get raw deal
With the East African Community under pressure to sign the Economic Partnership agreement with Europe, pressure is emerging from elsewhere: the US. Civil society warn of the dangers.
Ethiopia to join COMESA’s free trade area
The government of Ethiopia is on the move to join the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Free Trade Area (FTA) which enables the country to have preferential trade interaction between member countries.
US Senator John McCain calls for US-India FTA
India and the US should start negotiating on a free trade agreement to achieve full potential of the bilateral ties, a top Republican senator today said.
De Gucht rejects claims Commission misrepresented benefits of TTIP
The European Commission has rejected claims it misrepresented the possible economic benefits of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
China, Chile ready for new level: minister
Head of Chile’s agricultural sector began a trip to Asia a week ago, stopping at South Korea to sign food product export agreements. His final destination was the furthest country from his own, China. He led a delegation of representatives from public and private sectors of Chile to sign four agreements, including memorandum of understanding for the first electronic certification among Latin American countries and two food export protocols.
Unions say planned international trade deal poses threat to NHS
Transatlantic trade and investment partnership may make the outsourcing of national health services in Britain permanent
Russian FTA could kill Vietnam’s steel market
Next week, Vietnamese officials will engage in their seventh round of talks on a pending free trade agreement with the Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union. The Vietnamese steel industry expects to go bankrupt as a result.
India signs FTA in services, investments with ASEAN
India has signed the free trade agreement (FTA) in services and investments with 10-member ASEAN, paving the way for freer movement of professionals and further opening opportunities for investments.
Taiwan, Beijing to resume free-trade pact talks after long delay due to fierce protests
Talks on a free trade agreement in goods will reopen on Wednesday after being delayed for about five months, including massive protests in Taipei and a weeks-long blockade of parliament by students
600,000 sugar workers’ jobs in peril when ASEAN Free Trade Agreement takes effect in 2015 - SRA
The implementation of the Common Effective Preferential Tariff scheme under the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) in 2015 may imperil the livelihood of about 62,000 sugar farmers and 600,000 sugar workers in the Philippines, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said.
EU trade pact could weaken Ottawa’s power to regulate banks
Under CETA, the scope for foreign banks to launch investor-state challenges is much broader than in Canada’s other major pact of this type: the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
EU must tear up association agreement with Israel
After a visit to the Makassed Islamic Charitable Hospital in East Jerusalem where they met victims of Israel’s latest attack on Gaza, GUE/NGL MEPs are calling for an immediate end to the EU-Israeli association agreement.
Bilateral Investment Treaty to lure US companies to India, says expert
A US-India BIT could provide "a layer of much-needed protection that can lure US companies into India," especially to develop infrastructure, a US expert says
Suckler cows sector could be hit by EU-US trade agreement, study says
The conclusion of a Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) currently being negotiated between the European Union and the US could have serious adverse consequences for the EU suckler cows sector, European experts claim.
INTA Committee Chief sets ‘red lines’ for TTIP – ahead of EP rentrée
Bernd Lange, head of the European Parliament’s international trade committee, made explicit his ’red lines’ for the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) negotiations, adding that he would settle for a much less ambitious deal than the one currently planned.
EU under pressure to allow GM food imports from US and Canada
Britain and other European Union member states are under increasing pressure from North American business groups to open their borders to imports of genetically modified food as part of negotiations for a new Transatlantic trade deal, environmental campaigners have warned.
Guatemala repeals plant breeder rights law
The Congress of Guatemala has repealed the controversial "Monsanto Law" which legalised property rights on plant varieties in accordance with CAFTA.