bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

bilateralism & multilateralism

Divide and conquer: The FTAA, US trade strategy and public services in the Americas
20-Jan-2005 PSI
Documents the progress of “competitive liberalization,” a strategy advanced by the United States Trade Representative to establish a network of bilateral international trade agreements as steps toward the multilateral GATS agreement.
Tokyo tries dual trade diplomacy
20-Jan-2005 Asahi Shumbun
The government wants to have it both ways with its trade diplomacy this year, focusing on bilateral free trade agreements in the first half and multilateral negotiations at the World Trade Organization in the second.
Regional, bilateral deals seen as impeding trade
18-Jan-2005
Far from being a stepping stone to freer trade, the NAFTA and other regional and bilateral trade deals have created a conflicting web of preferential arrangements that may be impeding rather than spurring trade, the authors of a report commissioned by the World Trade Organization have concluded.
Vaile defends trade deals
18-Jan-2005
Trade Minister Mark Vaile today defended Australia’s free trade deals with foreign countries after a new World Trade Organisation (WTO) report said such agreements could be discriminatory.
WTO hampered by ’spaghetti bowl’ deals
18-Jan-2005 FT
The World Trade Organisation is being undermined by the intransigence and short-sightedness of its member countries, according to the report of a high-level commission released on Monday.
Bill Day: Bring back the multilateral pact
16-Jan-2005
Now that Trade Representative Robert Zoellick is moving to the State Department as Condoleezza Rice’s deputy, U.S. trade policy may see a shift from small bilateral pacts back to big, sweeping multilateral trade agreements.
Global week of action on trade: 10-16 April 2005
12-Jan-2005 Global Week of Action on Trade
The main aims of the week are to challenge the free trade myth, put forward our alternatives, strengthen the already existing trade campaigns and show the strength of the global movement, campaigning in solidarity.
Stiglitz raps bilateral trade pacts
10-Jan-2005 Bangkok Post
Unilateralism, in which the largest economies, notably the United States, impose their will on smaller ones, is the main driver for the proliferation of bilateral trade agreements and represents a growing risk for the global economy, according to Joseph Stiglitz, the 2001 Nobel laureate for economics.
Competitive Liberalization and a US-SACU FTA
28-Dec-2004
This paper evaluates a possible US-SACU (Southern African Customs Union) free trade agreement as part of a US approach to new preferential trade agreements characterized by the term ’competitive liberalization.’
Japan adopts FTA policy focusing on partners in Asia
22-Dec-2004 Japan Times
The government on Tuesday approved a basic plan to promote free-trade agreements, prioritizing accords with Asian trading partners to help build an East Asian community. It also adopted a set of 12 criteria to choose potential FTA partners, envisioning future negotiations with trading partners outside East Asia.
Labour: The spread of bilateral trade agreements
14-Dec-2004 GURN (135kb PDF)
This report looks at major Customs Unions, Free Trade Areas, and economic association agreements around the world, with particular attention to any clauses covering social issues, core labour standards and trade union participation.
Tectonic trends in trade [Christian Science Monitor viewpoint]
13-Dec-2004
Two political tremors in recent days reveal that the global trading system may be creaking and groaning into isolated blocs of countries - without the United States.
Free trade at a heavy cost for India
12-Dec-2004 Asia Times
The recently signed India-Thailand FTA has stirred a hornet’s nest in India. It is being argued that India has shown unnecessary haste in signing the agreement without fully comprehending its economic implications for Indian industry.
India: Bilateral pacts to go beyond trade
11-Dec-2004 Indian Express
In a major policy shift, the government has decided to convert all preferential/free trade agreements (PFA/FTA) into comprehensive economic cooperation agreements (Ceca).
Govt cautioned not to rush FTAs
10-Dec-2004 Nation
Proponents and opponents of free-trade agreements stood firm Tuesday on their respective positions, while a government adviser warned against completing negotiations in haste.
Agriculture reforms go against Korea’s grain
10-Dec-2004 Asia Times
In excluding agriculture from FTA negotiations, the South Korean government is setting itself up for even greater domestic backlash when multilateral negotiations pry open a sector insulated from any form of competition.
EIU: Free-trade free-for-all
7-Dec-2004 EIU ViewsWire
If proof were needed that an Asian free-trade "arms race" has begun in earnest, then the 10th ASEAN summit in Vientiane on November 29th-30th provided it in abundance. The highlight of the summit was the signing of an FTA between China and ASEAN, but equally striking was the number of other trade pacts that were, variously, agreed, worked on or proposed during the meeting in the Lao capital.
India, WTO lock horns over FTAs
6-Dec-2004
India made it clear on Monday that it would aggressively push for more regional trade agreements, though it attached importance to the multilateral trading system.
A serendipitous exception in FTAs
26-Nov-2004
At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile last weekend, leaders discussed economic issues, especially trade. Singapore and Peru, for example, agreed to initiate talks for a free trade agreement.
APEC leaders duck free-trade plan
22-Nov-2004 Channel News Asia
Asia-Pacific leaders have ducked a call from business advisors to study an ambitious FTA among APEC members.