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bilateralism & multilateralism


Free trade agreements draw flak
Thailand and Australia - two countries at the forefront of a regional proliferation of bilateral free trade agreements - will be worth watching at the World Trade Organization talks starting in Hong Kong on December 13.
Competition provisions in regional trade agreements: How to assure development gains
During the last decade, Regional Trade Agreement (RTA) containing competition policy provisions have proliferated. These are part of a trend for ’deeper’ RTAs which often include articles for liberalizing trade in services, investment, labour and other trade-related provisions.
Two-nation trade talk of town at summit
As world leaders gathered Friday for their annual talks on building a free trade zone that circles the Pacific, they were also spending time in sideline huddles forging one-on-one agreements.
Apec admits dangers of bilateral deals
Criticised by business leaders and alarmed by the possible failure of next month’s world trade talks in Hong Kong, Asia-Pacific governments are acknowledging for the first time the dangers of the tangled "spaghetti bowl" of bilateral trade deals they have spawned in the past few years.
EU group sees regional deals’ potential
European Union (EU) trade organisations have called for regional free trade agreements to complement World Trade Organisation negotiations for a global open market.
Goff calls for APEC FTA progress, Doha pressure
Noting that a "spaghetti bowl of rules" would result from multiple bilateral free trade agreements among APEC members, Minister of Trade Phil Goff has called for coherence between FTAs in the region.
Understanding FTAs: going back to the basics
Despite being a late starter in pursuing bilateral free trade agreements, Korea has been actively seeking Free Trade Agreement talks with its trading partners around the world.
Leaders fail to agree on free trade talks
Leaders debating whether to revitalize talks on a free trade zone spanning the Americas ended their two-day meeting Saturday without an agreement.
Australia attacks EU on farm subsidies
In the event of failure in Hong Kong next month, foreign minister Alexander Downer said Australia would speed ahead with "Plan B" to sign further bilateral and regional trade agreements.
Bush says Latam free-trade idea stalled for now
"The FTAA has stalled, I agree," Bush said on Tuesday. "On the other hand, at this point in time, the Doha round really trumps the FTAA as a priority, because the Doha round not only involves our neighborhood, it involves the whole world."
America’s free trade agenda: The state of bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations
A Heritage Foundation summary of the role of FTAs in the US trade agenda.
Trade deals mushroom, with or without WTO
A World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Hong Kong in December is looming as key to the shape of free trade in Asia in the 21st century as countries within the region intensify their interest in integrating their markets.
Singhing in a new free trade zone
Move over World Trade Organization (WTO), regional trade arrangements are here to rule.
A Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (SEP): a case study report with a Chilean perspective
One of the main consequences of globalization has been the expansion of international trade. Bringing down trade barriers and witnessing the alleged ongoing deregulation of the global market seems to be a picture that many find quite alluring.
UNESCO adopts convention to protect diversity
The United Nations cultural body adopted an international treaty Thursday to protect cultural diversity. This a moral victory, but the real test is whether developing countries will resist US pressure to commit their audiovisual and information services to bilateral trade agreements.
The dynamics of regional trading arrangements
There has been a spate of trade agreements signed between countries in recent years - from the same region and even beyond. And this may not necessarily have to do with the fact that it has been a tough going for the multilateral trading system. Regionalism may have its own dynamics.
Social standards in bilateral and regional trade and investment agreements
Is the stalemate over the incorporation of core labour standards at the multilateral WTO level being compensated for by progressive promotion of labour rights in bilateral and regional agreements?
Bilateral and regional trade agreements: Report of a GURN online discussion
In order to increase and improve trade union participation in trade agreements an online discussion was organised in March 2005, over 4 weeks, which considered the involvement of trade unions in trade agreements, the role they play and the influence they have on the final outcome of trade agreements.
Dangerous liaison
Under the guise of freeing trade, bilateral trade agreements (BTAs) are being used as a tool to further an absolute top-down Northern agenda, at the victimization of the poor and marginalized groups and communities of the South.
Developed world undermining WTO spirit through FTAs
FTAs are being designed by the developed countries to get more than what the WTO and TRIPS could give at this stage.