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actions | resistance

Civil Society unhappy with interim EPA
28-May-2012
The Economic Justice Network (EJN) has accused the Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Hannah Tetteh, of stabbing ECOWAS in the back by indicating that the country can no longer linger on the idea of signing and ratifying the interim agreement on Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
Civil Society Group alleges Trade Minister is rushing to sign Interim EPAS
25-May-2012 Ghana Web
Ghanaian workers, manufactures, faith-based groups and civil society organisations have said they are alarmed by the knowledge that the Trade and Industry Minister is allegedly pushing for the signing of the Interim Economic Partnership Agreement (IEPA).
Secrets revealed: The Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement
23-May-2012 Huffington Post
Tight-lipped police officers and security guards: not exactly what I expected to see when I walked onto the second floor of the Intercontinental Hotel in Addison, Texas where trade negotiators convened last week.
Dallas Party ends badly for U.S. trade reps and federal agents
21-May-2012 http://www.yeslab.org/tpp
Two dozen rogue "delegates" disrupted the corporate-sponsored welcome gala for the high-stakes Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations yesterday with a fake award ceremony and "mic check." Other activists, meanwhile, replaced hundreds of rolls of toilet paper (TP) throughout the conference venue with more informative versions, and projected a message on the venue’s facade.
Canadian human rights report on Colombia a ’sick joke’
17-May-2012 Canadian human rights report on Colombia a ’sick joke’
The Canadian government’s human rights report tabled in Parliament Tuesday regarding implementation of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement might as well have been a comic strip of three monkeys: "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."
Colombia-US: Trade deal "Throws country into jaws of multinationals," critics say
17-May-2012
The entry into force of Colombia’s free trade agreement with the United States was met by student protests and opposition from a segment of the business community, small farmers, and trade unionists.
Public interest groups issue strong critique of new US model bilateral investment treaty
15-May-2012
Representatives of public interest organizations have released a strong critique of the Obama administration’s new model bilateral investment treaty (BIT).
EPA Will Thwart Africa’s Industrialisation Efforts
14-May-2012
The Economic Justice Network (EJN), a coalition of Ghanaian civil society organisations fighting for economic justice, has cautioned African countries involved in the negotiation of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) not to succumb to the pressure from European Union (EU) to sign the agreement as it has the potential of disintegrating African economies.
La Ville de Québec doit se prémunir contre l’AÉCG
11-May-2012 Tribune libre
À l’instar de Burnaby, Saskatoon, Kingston, Toronto, Montréal et Baie-Comeau, il est impératif que Québec adopte une résolution demandant une exemption complète de cet accord bilatéral.
Professors Demand TPP Transparency; USTR Says Detailed Response Forthcoming
10-May-2012
Key Development: A group of law professors sent a letter to the U.S. trade representative criticizing the process surrounding a multilateral trade agreement. The USTR says that a detailed response is forthcoming.
Quebec City must protect itself against CETA
10-May-2012 Quebec Hebdo
Following the example of Burnaby, Saskatoon, Kingston, Toronto, Montreal and Baie-Comeau, it is imperative that Quebec adopts a resolution demanding a complete carve out from this bilateral agreement.
Permanent People’s Tribunal will session in Mexico
9-May-2012 RMR
“Free trade, dirty war, impunity and peoples rights” is the title of the new national chapter of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal (PPT) that aims to expose “structural violence” in Mexico as a result of the implementation of free trade agreements.
Canada: The real cost of free trade
28-Apr-2012 Operation Maple
Thousands in Japan protest Asia-Pacific trade pact
25-Apr-2012 AFP
Thousands of farmers rallied in Tokyo Wednesday against a Pacific-wide free trade pact as Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s prepares for a visit to the United States.
Thousands in Japan protest Asia-Pacific trade pact
25-Apr-2012
Thousands of farmers rallied in Tokyo Wednesday against a Pacific-wide free trade pact as Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s prepares for a visit to the United States.
DR-CAFTA: A dismal delivery of workers’ hopes
24-Apr-2012 TWN
Late last month, the umbrella coalition of US unions, the AFL-CIO, linked up with major workers groups from Honduras to file a petition with the Department of Labor in Washington, DC. The petition censured the government of the Central American country over its failure to enforce provisions of the labour chapter of the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) with the United States.
Study investment provisions before an FTA says advocacy group
20-Apr-2012
The country should carefully study investment provisions before entering into foreign trade agreements (FTAs) as these may infringe on government’s regulatory power on foreign firms, an advocacy group on Friday said.
NAFTA and free trade do not belong in the same sentence
18-Apr-2012 Business Insider
The claim that all economists agree that "the benefits of free trade and NAFTA far outweigh the costs" is highly misleading, writes Dean Baker.
AFL-CIO declaration issued to re-examine Colombia FTA on worker rights
16-Apr-2012 USW
The United Steelworkers, the AFL-CIO and the Colombia labor movement firmly believes the US pronouncement that Colombia has complied with the Labor Action Plan — a move which will allow for implementation of the Free Trade Agreement starting next month — is premature as unionists continue to be killed in Colombia at a rate of 30 slain in 2011, and six already this year.
More tumult at the TPP: Secret negotiations against internet freedom continue in Chile; Big Pharma allies attempt to shut down critics’ event (again)
12-Apr-2012 CitizenVox
Talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, which the US is negotiating with Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam are continuing this week (April 9-13) in Santiago, Chile in the form of an “intersessional meeting” on intellectual property – focusing on internet policy.