- About
- About bilaterals.org
-
Announcements
- Feb-2016: New ISDS platform launched
- Sep-2004: Launch announcement
- Feb-2015: Relaunch of bilaterals.org
- Mar-2013: Relaunch of bilaterals.org
- Jun-2009: Relaunch of bilaterals.org
- Dec-2008: An update from bilaterals.org and logo design contest announcement
- Dec-2006: bilaterals.org in Spanish & French
- Sep-2006: Update from bilaterals.org
- Help
- How to participate
- Negotiations
- Key issues
- Texts of agreements
- Links




SAFTA meet likely next month
posted 25-March-2016
The Himalayan Times | 25 March 2016
SAFTA meet likely next month
The ministerial council meeting of South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) has been proposed for the second week of April, in Kabul of Afghanistan.
Till date, only two member states namely, Bhutan and Pakistan, have registered confirmation among the eight member states, according to the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu. This is the ninth series of meeting of the commerce ministers of South Asian nations. The eighth meeting was hosted by Bhutan in July 2014.
The commerce ministers will discuss on enhancing intra-SAARC trade flows under SAFTA and vision for further trade liberalisation by reducing non-tariff and para-tariff barriers, reduction of sensitive lists and implementation of SAARC Agreement on Trade in Services (SATIS). Finalisation and endorsement of SAARC Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Investments and Motor Vehicles and Railways Agreements are also on agenda for this meeting. There is also an agenda for implementation of a common South Asian regional standard and establishment of SAARC CEO Forum.
Though SAFTA has envisaged moving towards South Asian Economic Union in the longer term, the bleak status of current intra-regional trade and investment relation are not encouraging and it may be difficult to achieve this target. The intra-regional trade of South Asia stands at just five per cent on the share of intra-regional trade in overall trade in South Asia. Similarly, foreign direct investment is also dismal. The intra-regional FDI flow stands at around four per cent of the total foreign investment.
Over 50 per cent of intra-regional imports are on the sensitive list shielded from tariff cuts. The issue of reducing sensitive list has always been a burning issue during SAFTA ministerial council meetings but progress on this front has been very slow. It is reported that more than 85 per cent of non-tariff barriers in South Asia are accounted for by technical barriers and sanitary measures.
News from the movements
-
17-Apr-2018 La Vía Campesina
Hoy #17Abril: Exigimos que se garanticen los Derechos de lxs Campesinxs ¡Basta de TLC, basta de impunidad!
La Vía Campesina llama a resistir de manera organizada a los tratados que intentan apoderarse de nuestros bienes naturales y mercados locales, para beneficio del capital transnacional y del agronegocio con el encubridor silencio de los Estados. -
17-Apr-2018 News Click
Peru: Final statement from the people’s summit
The representatives of social and popular organizations of Peru, Latin America and the Caribbean, met in Lima, Peru from April 10 to 14, 2018 to discuss the political, social and economic reality of Our America. -
16-Apr-2018 Marcha
Frente a los TLC: Día Internacional de las Luchas Campesinas
El movimiento internacional de organizaciones campesinas, trabajadores/as rurales migrantes y jornaleros/as sin tierra, hace un llamado a articular acciones para visibilizar las graves consecuencias sufridas por los Tratados de Libre Comercio (TLC). -
11-Apr-2018 La Via Campesina
Día Internacional de las Luchas Campesinas 2018: ¡Llamado de La Vía Campesina a articular acciones unitarias descentralizadas!
¡Por tierra y por la vida! ¡Basta de Tratados de Libre Comercio, basta de impunidad! -
10-Apr-2018 La Via Campesina
Journée internationale des luttes paysannes 2018 : Appel de La Vía Campesina pour des actions unitaires décentralisées !
Pour la terre et la vie ! Assez des Traités de Libre Échange, assez de l’impunité ! -
10-Apr-2018 La Via Campesina
International day of peasants’ struggles 2018: La Via Campesina calls for the coordination of decentralised, united action!
For land and for life! Enough free trade agreements, enough impunity! -
5-Apr-2018 La Vía Campesina
17 de Abril: ECVC – ¡Liberen a los campesinos de los tratados de libre comercio!
Las violaciones de los derechos fundamentales de lxs campesinxs, que, por desgracia, ocurren a diario, se acrecientan ahora por los tratados de libre comercio (TLC) que están exclusivamente al servicio de las multinacionales. -
4-Apr-2018 Waging Nonviolence
Zapatista women inspire the fight against patriarchy
When the Zapatista National Liberation Army went public, they called NAFTA a death sentence for the indigenous peasants of Mexico
bilaterals.org is a collaborative space to share information and support movements struggling against bilateral trade and investment deals which serve corporations, not people. Multilingual. Global. No one owns it. Open publishing. Get involved.
Comment on this article