bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

agriculture | farmers | food

Positive progress on NZ-EU trade talks
20-May-2019 Newsroom
Negotiators leading trade talks between New Zealand and the European Union are hopeful a deal can be concluded by the end of 2019, although agriculture still looms as a potential stumbling block.
EU and Mercosur make progress on trade agreement, but…
15-May-2019 The Rio Times
Meat sector in France expressed concern in an open letter to the European Commission regarding the possibility of Brussels reaching a trade agreement with the four countries.
24 farmers injured as UT police use sticks, water cannons to break stir
15-May-2019 Times of India
Hundreds of farmers from Punjab, under the banner of the Kisan-Mazdoor Sangharsh committee, were lathi-charged and faced water cannons by UT police.
PepsiCo controversy: Globally, India has always refused to give in on IPR on plant varieties
13-May-2019 The Wire
The struggle for farmers’ rights over their seeds and planting materials is not playing out only in India – it’s a global phenomena.
Sharon Treat: Mainers right to be skeptical that USMCA will fix farmers’ woes
13-May-2019 Sun Journal
The new NAFTA checks in at nearly 2,000 pages, with corporate giveaways larded throughout that directly impinge on state and federal authority to protect the public.
Why the new US-EU trade talks may be doomed before they even start
9-May-2019 Fortune
That’s in part because of a long-running catch 22: the US won’t contemplate a deal that doesn’t include agricultural goods, and the EU, keen to protect its own farmers and maintain food standards, refuses to allow a deal that does include them.
European companies quick to seize opportunities of new trade deal with Canada
29-Apr-2019 The Star
Canadians have complained that European barriers to trade, especially in the areas of agriculture, have impeded Canada’s ability to take advantage of the new markets.
C’est bon: French politicians check out Alberta cattle ranch
23-Apr-2019 Alberta Farmer Express
Bringing European officials to cattle country is part of a multi-pronged effort to sell beef to the EU.
US opts for quick agreement with Japan on agriculture
22-Apr-2019 Nikkei Asian Review
Latest trade figures show that the trade imbalance persists, #US had a $6.67 billion goods trade deficit with Japan. So the tariff reductions under a bilateral trade pact will be kept to levels set by the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The “push” factor: Central American farmers, free trade, and migration
18-Apr-2019 New Security Beat
Landless, subsistence, and small-scale farmers bear the brunt of the influx of competitive crops and price shocks that came with trade liberalization through CAFTA.
Don’t fall for the hype of free trade agreements
18-Apr-2019 Common Dreams
NAFTA 2.0 is not about feeding people or doing right by American farmers or Canadian farmers or Mexican farmers—it is about furthering corporate profit.
Rein in dairy exports to our continent: African farmers to EU
17-Apr-2019 Down to Earth
African dairy farmers protested outside the European Union HQ to demand that they don’t over-produce milk and then flood African markets.
Japan and US kick off first day of trade talks with focus on cutting tariffs on goods
16-Apr-2019 Japan Times
Japan and the United States agreed to focus mainly on tariffs on goods such as agricultural and industrial products.
US wants more from Japan than under TPP
10-Apr-2019 NHK World Japan
US wants bigger compromise from Japan on tariffs for American farm goods than the two countries had agreed on for the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Indonesia blocks imports, EU scrambles
4-Apr-2019 Palm Oil Monitor
In a dramatic escalation in the war over palm oil, Indonesia has upped the stakes and this week tightened imports of European spirits as a direct response to the Renewable Energy Directive Delegated Act.
Implementation of AfCFTA in Nigeria will increase unemployment among farmers – NANTS warns
3-Apr-2019 Independent.ng
The National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS) has warned that the implementation of African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in Nigeria would increase unemployment among farmers, and farm workers in the country.
China FTA safeguard sting
2-Apr-2019 Queensland Country Life
If safeguard is triggered, tariff reverts to the lesser of WTO most-favoured-nation (MFN) applied rate of customs duty in effect on the date the safeguard measure is applied or the original base rate of the tariff reduction schedule.
The Belt and Road Initiative: Chinese agribusiness going global
29-Mar-2019 GRAIN
The Belt and Road Initiative provides a framework for Chinese investment to enhance existing infrastructure as well as build new production sites and trade routes to better connect China with the rest of the world.
How insane is global trade?
26-Mar-2019 Local Futures
The way trade works in the global economy can be insane – it wastes resources, worsens climate change, and undermines the livelihoods of millions of small-scale producers worldwide.
How palm oil sparked a diplomatic row between Europe and southeast Asia
25-Mar-2019 Unearthed
From threats to cancel UK defence deals to pledges to stop imports of Norwegian salmon, European moves to restrict palm oil have enraged Malaysia and Indonesia.