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Panama president cancels Colon land sale after clashes
24-Oct-2012 BBC
Panama’s President Ricardo Martinelli says he will scrap plans to sell off state-owned land in the duty-free zone of Colon after violent protests - one week before the US-Panama FTA comes into effect.
Residents in Panama protest privatization of canal zone as US trade deal nears
24-Oct-2012 FSRN
next week, a trade deal with Panama will go into effect. Anti-corruption advocates have criticized Panama for providing tax havens for wealthy corporations and its policies have drawn protest from within the country. This week, residents of Colon are under a curfew after protesters hit the streets in response to the government’s plan to privatize land.
South American Silver notifies Bolivia of investment dispute
24-Oct-2012 Mining Weekly
TSX-listed South American Silver (SAS) on Tuesday said it had notified the Plurinational State of Bolivia of an investment dispute between the company and Bolivia, after the company’s subsidiaries had lost its mineral tenements.
Govt depts unwilling to sign BIT
24-Oct-2012 The Nation
Despite US desires to sign a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with Pakistan without any delay, various government institutions still seem not on the same page making it a serious headache for the ruling PPP to get it through at the earliest.
Free trade with the US but not at any price, say MEPs
24-Oct-2012 European Parliament
MEPs called for talks on a possible trade deal with the US to start early next year, in a resolution adopted on Tuesday. They point to the huge potential for growth and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic but caution that the EU’s interests must be protected, especially in the farm sector.
Panama protests against free-trade zone land sales
23-Oct-2012 RT
Police in the sea-port of Colon have fired tear-gas and rubber bullets to disperse angry protesters. A total of 50 were arrested during the clashes, a continuation of public outcry against the governments decision to sell land in the free-trade zone.
African countries plan single trading bloc
23-Oct-2012 Daily News
The President of the African Organization for Standardization maintains that SADC, ECOWAS and EAC will continue to exist alongside the new African Free Trade Area.
EU refuses French bid to monitor Korea car imports
23-Oct-2012 Reuters
The European Commission has turned down France’s request that imports of cars from South Korea be subject to checks, which could have led to duties being reimposed despite a free-trade deal struck last year.
US-Panama Free Trade Agreement enters into force Oct. 31
23-Oct-2012 Agri-Pulse
United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk announced today the United States-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement will enter into force on October 31, 2012.
Robust growth keeps PH on track to AEC 2015
23-Oct-2012 Rappler
In an interview with Rappler before the October 23 forum on ASEAN 2015, ASEAN Deputy Secretary General Dr. Lim Hong Hin said the Philippines’ progress in meeting the agreements under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has been significant.
Egypt & Malaysia to start FTA talks
23-Oct-2012 North Africa Post
Egypt and Malaysia look forward to setting up a free trade zone to boost the weak trade exchanges between the countries having great economic potentials and huge consumer markets.
Libre-échange Canada-UE: les négociations pourraient être prolongées d’une année
23-Oct-2012 La Presse Canadienne
L’ambassadeur de l’Union européenne au Canada a indiqué lundi que bien que les négociations en vue de conclure un accord de libre-échange entre les deux régions soient entrées dans leur phase finale, les problèmes les plus épineux n’ont toujours pas été résolus.
Minister targeting top Swiss banks’ ’new business units’
23-Oct-2012 Tribune 242
Bahamas’ Minister of Financial Services is this week aiming to encourage three of the largest Swiss private banks to domicile “new business units” in the Bahamas, under the auspices of a new deal under the EU EPA.
Treaty tolls death knell for Mexican countryside
23-Oct-2012 IPS
The Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations, which Mexico is to join in December, are threatening to eliminate the last defences of the country’s agricultural sector.
ASEAN+6 set to launch world’s biggest free-trade market
23-Oct-2012 Asia One
ASEAN and six Asian leaders will this November announce the official establishment of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which will be the biggest free-trade market on the globe, offsetting the power of the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement
EU trade policy cannot ignore the Geneva conventions: the European Parliament must reject the ACAA protocol with Israel
22-Oct-2012 AITEC
Civil society statement calling fpr rejection of the Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products protocol attached to the European Union-Israel Association Agreement
Vietnam, Russia to speed up trade pact talks: report
22-Oct-2012 Thanh Nien News
Vietnamese and Russian officials have said they will push harder for a free trade agreement as the countries aim to more than double their trade value in the next three years.
Industry frets over Swiss-EU bilateral impasse
22-Oct-2012 swissinfo
Switzerland’s manufacturing and science industries have again urged negotiators to patch up differences with the European Union, warning of grave risks to the Swiss economy if the current impasse cannot be resolved.
How will Senkaku dispute affect 3-nation FTA?
22-Oct-2012 Asahi Shimbun
The friction over the Senkaku islands, which China calls the Diaoyu Islands, is starting to cast a dark shadow over the direction of the FTA negotiations between Japan, China and South Korea. The Asahi Shimbun asked two experts for their opinions on the matter.
The role of bilateral investment treaties in mitigating project finance’s risks: The case of Colombia
22-Oct-2012 SSRN
Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) have been widely used as a warranty against political risks in developing countries. This paper analyzes the most substantive provisions of the Colombian signed BITs and the investment chapter of the US-Colombian FTA in order to determine their impact on risk mitigation.