Topic - Bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements (TAs) - News

Trade Unions and Bilaterals: Do's and Don'ts - a Trade Union Guide (May 08)
Les syndicats et les accords d'échange bilatéraux: Ce qu'il faut et ne faut pas faire - Un guide syndical (Mai 08)
Sindicatos y bilaterales: Lo que se puede y no se puede hacer - Guía sindical (Mayo 08)

El Congreso Laboral Canadiense, CLC, y la Central Unitaria de Trabajadores de Colombia, CUT, frente al Acuredo de Libre Comercio entre Canadá y Colombia (July 06)

Afrique de l'Ouest: Déclaration - Rencontre des Syndicats de Travaileurs et des Organisations de Producteurs Agricoles sur les Enjeux du Développement Agricole et de la Sécurité Alimentaire dans les Négotiations de l'APE entre la CEDEAO et l'UE, Accra, Ghana (Juin 07)

IDEALS: Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement: An Act of Economic Treason (May 07)

Desafíos Laborales para América Central de Cara a al Firma del Tratado de Libre Comercio con la Unión Europea

Acuerdos de Comercio e Inversión en Amercia Latina y Caribe (CSI-ORIT)

Las Negociaciones Comerciales entre la Union Europea y America Latina
y Caribe. Presentación finalmente los TLC (CSI-ORIT)

CGT Comment on EEUU-Colombia FTA (Feb 07)

AFL-CIO/MTUC: Joint Statement on a Possible US - Malaysia Free Trade Agreeement (Jan 07)

EPAs: A threat to workers (Jan 07)

"Best Practice" in the Regulation of International Labor Standards Lessons of the U.S.-Cambodia Textile Agreement (Oct 06)

Revisiting NAFTA - Still not working for North America's workers (Sep 06)

Afrique de l'Ouest: Déclaration - Séminaire Secteur Privé / Syndicats de Travaileurs sur les Négociations APE entre l'UE et la CEDEAO à Saly, Sénégal (Déc 06)

The Australia-US Free Trade Agreement: A Contest of Interests (Journal of Australian Policial Economy, no. 57, Jun 06)

SOMO: EPA negotiations do not promote the right investment policies in Africa (Sep 06)

SOMO: The risks and dangers of liberalisation of services in Africa under EPAs (Sep 06)

CAW/East Asia: Employment Implications of Trade Liberalization with East Asia (Sep 06)

CAW/EAst Asia: Understanding East Asian Industrial Success: Implications for Canadian Trade & Development Policy (Sep 06)

OXFAM: Unequal Partners: How EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) could harm the development prospects of many of the world's poorest countries (Sep 06)

Declaración de Córdoba (Jul 06)

Preference erosion in textiles and clothing due to NAMA negotiations in the WTO (Jul 06)

Oxfam: Why the US-Andean FTAs undermine sustainable development and regional integration (Jun 06)
Oxfam: Por qué los TLCs de Estados Unidos con los países andinos socavan el desarrollo sostenible y la integración regional (Jun 06)

AFL-CIO/FKTU/KCTU: Declaration on the Proposed Korea-US FTA (Jun 06)

Declaration of the Southern Africa Trade Union Coordinating Council (SATUCC) on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), Gaborone, Botswana, 16-17 Feb 06

Derechos Laborales y Acuerdos de Libre Comercio en America Latina, FES (05)

Integración, libre comercio y la acción sindical en América Latina y Caribe, ORIT (Feb 06)

Investment Provisions in Free Trade Agreements and Investment Treaties, Asia-Pacific Trade and Investment Initiative UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo (Dec 05)

Free Trade Agreements and Southeast Asia, by Dennis Arnold, Thai Labour Campaign (Nov 05)

The Global Governance of Foreign Direct Investment: Madly Off in All Directions (FES paper, N° 19, May 05)
The Global Governance of Foreign Direct Investment: Madly Off in All Directions (FES paper, N° 19, May 05) (bilateral investment treaties included)

Los Tratados de Inversión: hechos y políticas en el Cono Sur (Jul 05)

Report of the GURN online discussion on bilateral and regional trade agreements, which took place in March 2005 (Jul 05)
Acuerdos comerciales bilaterales y regionales. Informe de la discusión en línea de la red GURN, marzo de 2005, (Jul 05)

La Comunidad de América del Norte El nuevo regionalismo liberal, Hilda Sánchez y Álvaro Orsatti (15 Mar 05)

Social Standards in Bilateral and Regional Trade and Investment Agreements Instruments, Enforcement, and Policy Options for Trade Unions (FES Mar 05)

Position paper on the US-CAFTA trade agreement by the Costa Rican social organizations which includes the trade union movement (19 Feb 05)

Labour Rights in the Free Trade Agreement between Chile and the United States (Oxfam 04)

12th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting, Santiago Declaration "One Community, Our Future", Santiago de Chile, 20-21 Nov 04

Contradiction in WTO rules could develop into trade fight, Jane Bussey, Miami Herald, 01.11.04

Divide and Conquer: Bilateral Trade Agreements, Yuill Herbert, 06.04.04

Protecting Labor Rights through Trade Agreements: An Analytical Guide

Cambodia Blazes a New Path to Economic Growth and Job Creation, Sandra Polaski, Trade, Equity, and Development Project, Number 51 Oct 04

Venezuela joins Mercosur, Mexico provisionally

Costa Rica delays CAFTA Ratification

13th Meeting of the MERCOSUR/EU Bi-Regional Negotiations Committee, 3-7 May 04, final conclusions

Manifesto de Cali (Apr 04)

The Cotonou Convention and Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)
The Cotonou Convention is a partnership agreement between the member states of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the European Union and its member states. The agreement was signed in 2000. While the development assistance and political sections of the Cotonou Convention run until 2020, in the trade area, in order to comply with WTO rules the current non-reciprocal arrangements need to be replaced by free trade areas.

Launch of EPA negotiations between EU and Caricom
On 16 April, Ministers from 15 Caribbean countries in the Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) Group of States joined their EU counterparts in Jamaica to launch the EU-CARIFORUM (Caribbean Forum of ACP States) 'Economic Partnership Agreement' (or EPA) negotiations. The First Joint EPA Ministerial Negotiating Meeting, which followed the launch, aimed at agreeing on a "road map" for the work ahead, as well as a joint work programme and timeline for the negotiations, which are to conclude by the end of 2007. All participants welcomed the opportunity to enhance the "longstanding friendship, political cooperation, shared history and economic partnership" of the two regions. However, some participants from the Caribbean reiterated concerns over the future of preferential market access arrangements. Civil society group Eurostep also sent a letter to EC Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy raising concerns over the negotiations Negotiators for the EU-CARIFORUM agreement will be organised on three levels: ministerial, principal negotiator and subject-specific negotiators. For the Caribbean countries, Dame Billie Miller, Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade for Barbados will serve as Lead Ministerial Spokesperson. The Principal Negotiator will be Ambassador Richard Bernal, the Director-General of the Caribbean RNM; and the technical negotiations will be led by the 'EPA College of Negotiators'. For the EC, Pascal Lamy will lead the talks at the Ministerial level. A senior official at the EC's Directorate General (DG) Trade will act as the Principal Negotiator, with others in DG Trade coordinating the technical talks. To act as a bridge between the trade negotiations and development cooperation, both sides will take part in a Regional Preparatory Task Force (RPTF). In addition to representatives from the regional and national authorising officers (ACP ministers in charge of managing their countries preferential arrangements with the EU), members on the RPTF for the Caribbean will include officials from regional secretariats, academia, civil society, and a CARIFORUM Member of the ACP Development Finance Committee. For the EC, members will include officials from DG Trade, DG Development, the EuropeAid Cooperation Office, and a delegation based in the Caribbean.

The schedule of negotiations is to proceed in four phases. The initial phase, running from April to September 2004, will look at establishing the EPA negotiating priorities for both parties. The second phase, running from September 2004 to September 2005, will aim to identify the requirements for bolstering CARIFORUM regional integration. The third phase, from September 2005 to December 2006, is for consolidating the various discussions held to date and working towards a first draft of the EPA document. The final phase, expected to last from January 2007 to December 2007, will concentrate on finalising all areas of the negotiations. The Cotonou Partnership Agreement, signed in Cotonou, Benin on 23 June 2000 between 77 ACP countries and the EU, provides the framework for the negotiation of new reciprocal WTO-compatible trading arrangements (EPAs)between the EU and the ACP. ACP countries are able to enter into such arrangements individually, or as part of a group -- the latter intended to build upon existing regional integration schemes. The current EPA negotiations are the fourth of their kind to be launched between the EU and ACP countries. Negotiations began between the EU and West Africa,Central Africa, and East & Southern Africa (ESA) in February this year.
(source: ICTSD)

EU-MERCOSUR: Steps towards a Bilateral Agreement
EU officials met in Buenos Aires from 18-19 April with the coordinators of the four Mercosur member nations -- Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay -- as well as with Mercosur associates Bolivia and Chile, to continue hashing out a deal for a free trade agreement, expected to be completed in October this year. According to trade sources, significant progress was made and "specific methodologies for accessing the European market with agriculture produce as demanded by Mercosur have begun to be considered". For Brazil and Argentina, priorities lie in securing increased access to EU markets for beef, poultry and especially sugar, while the EU wants improved offers from Mercosur in the areas of services, government procurement, investment and non-agricultural market access. If the agreement were completed to expectations, bilateral trade with the EU, Mercosur's main trading partner and investor, would increase by 15 percent in the first two years. The latest progress in the talks, which have been going on for five years, comes after Brazil and Argentina encountered hurdles in negotiating the Americas-wide free trade agreement with the US. According to Marcos Saway of the Sao Pãolo-based Institute for International Trade Negotiations, "Two years ago, nobody through the talks with the EU were serious; everyone said the FTAA would come first. What is so surprising is that now it's the other way around". The two blocs are scheduled to meet again in Brussels from 3-7 May. The first draft of the deal might be available as soon as 28 May for the summit between the EU and Latin America on in Guadalajara, Mexico. (Source: ICTSD)

Thailand expects to sign its comprehensive free trade agreement with Australia in May
BANGKOK - (Dow Jones Feb. 25, 2004) - Thailand expects to sign its comprehensive free trade agreement with Australia in May, as many key issues have been settled, the commerce ministry's Permanent Secretary, Karun Kittisataporn, said Wednesday. "Negotiations on many trade issues have been concluded. Now we just have a few things to sort out," Karun told reporters. If the talks go according to plan, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is expected to attend the deal signing ceremony in Australia in May, Karun said. The deal with Australia would be Thailand's first free trade agreement with a foreign country that covers a comprehensive list of goods and services, Karun said. "It will cover an array of things ranging from agricultural goods to services, investment and intellectual property rights," he said. Last year, Thailand signed a preliminary free trade agreement with Bahrain and started free trade in agricultural products with China. Karun said Thailand and Australia have concluded more than 95% of the negotiations, with three areas to be discussed further next month. "We are asking whether we might be allowed to temporarily keep tariffs unchanged on some agricultural items in case Australian goods flood into our market right after the FTA is implemented," Karun said. Under the initial agreement, Thailand and Australia will eliminate trade barriers within 10 years, Karun said. Currently, Thailand's import tariffs average around 16%, he said. "Secondly, we are negotiating ways to deal with trade disputes in the future. We are discussing the details about arbitration," Karun said. The third pending issue is whether permanent residents in both countries are eligible for the free trade privileges. Thailand's free trade deal with New Zealand is likely to be concluded in October, Karun said. Apiradi Tantraporn, director-general of the commerce ministry's trade negotiations department, said Thailand is also likely to sign free trade agreements with Japan and Bahrain this year, and with China, the U.S., India and Peru in 2005. Apiradi expects talks with U.S. trade officials to start in June.