bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

EU

EU to recognise Vietnam having market economy if...
6-Oct-2007 VietNamNet Bridge
"I want to make clear that the EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement that we are building is with only seven member nations of ASEAN. Laos and Cambodia have their own trade deals with the EU while we plan to put an embargo on Myanmar," says a member of the European Parliament.
West Africa to miss EU trade partnership deadline
6-Oct-2007 Reuters
West Africa will miss a Dec. 31 deadline to sign a new trade partnership with the European Union and hopes to keep its preferential commercial privileges for up to two years while it negotiates, a West African official said.
EU, Pacific countries to seek interim trade deal
5-Oct-2007 Reuters
The European Union and Pacific countries agreed on Tuesday to seek an interim new trade deal, to enter into force on 1 January, while they continue negotiating an EPA by end of 2008.
EU, India to make major offers on duty cut
5-Oct-2007 The Hindu
EU sees a new readiness on the part of the Indian side which, for the first time, has put poverty reduction, labour standards and environmental protection under the bilateral trade framework.
The gloves are off — Europe dismisses sugar, insults tourism ahead of ’make-or-break’ trade talks
5-Oct-2007 Jamaica Gleaner
Tempers flare as Caricom trade negotiators and the European Commission work with an October 15 deadline to initial an EU-Caribbean EPA
EU group urges Vietnam to speed ASEAN trade deal
5-Oct-2007 Thanh Nien
European parliamentarians urged Vietnam on Wednesday to fast-track negotiations for an EU-ASEAN free trade agreement as European businesses worry about competition from the United States and elsewhere.
Clark pushes free trade deal in Europe
4-Oct-2007 Stuff
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has made a renewed push for a free trade deal between New Zealand and the European Union, though she admits it is likely to be five years before real negotiations begin.
Singapore bank secrecy threatens EU trade talks - MEP
3-Oct-2007 Reuters
Singapore’s refusal to soften its strict bank secrecy laws could scupper talks with Europe about a trade agreement, a European politician said on Tuesday.
520 items to get tariff shield under India-EU trade pact
3-Oct-2007 Times of India
India’s commerce department is on a drive to identify 520 items that would be shielded from tariff cuts planned under the proposed India-EU bilateral trade and investment agreement. Tariffs on all other items will have to be reduced to zero in 10 years from the date of implementation of the agreement.
Caribbean grapples with loss of EU sugar deal
3-Oct-2007 IPS
Last week, the EU unilaterally renounced a 32-year sugar protocol that had guaranteed fixed quotas and prices for ACP countries, with no clear indications of how exactly sugar will be treated in the new EPAs.
Myanmar should be excluded from ASEAN-EU free trade deal - EU parliamentarians
2-Oct-2007 Sharewatch
Myanmar should not be included in the free trade agreement (FTA) between the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the EU following the Yangon military regime’s crackdown on mass protests last week, according to members of the European Parliament visiting Singapore.
An analysis of the EC non-paper on the objectives and possible elements of an IP section in the EC-Pacific EPA
1-Oct-2007 ICTSD
The combination of the time-factor, the TRIPS-plus implications of many of the elements suggested by the EC, the challenges that would face non-WTO Pacific countries to even adhere to TRIPS and the general level of development in these countries, it is strongly recommended that Pacific countries do not agree to the inclusion of an IP section in the EC-Pacific EPA.
EU’s scrapping of sugar pact ’a slap in face’, says Caribbean
1-Oct-2007 Jamaica Observer
Caribbean trade and political officials are fuming at the European Union’s decision last Friday to scrap a 32-year-old agreement with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) sugar-exporting countries, describing the action as "a slap in the face" of the region.
State’s favourite fish may escape duty-free import net
1-Oct-2007 The Hindu
Oil sardine and mackerel are likely to escape the list of duty-free import from Europe in the Indo-European Union trade and investment agreement, set to be signed late next year. The exemption is a major victory for fish workers.
Hope diminishing for new Caribbean-EU trade agreement
30-Sep-2007 Jamaica Gleaner
As September draws to a close, the likelihood diminishes that an economic partnership agreement (EPA) is achievable this year between the European Union and the Caribbean.
New EU envoy for pushing trade pact with India
30-Sep-2007 Indian Muslims
Ahead of the India-European Union (EU) summit on Nov 30, Daniele Smadja, the new envoy of the European Commission, Friday called for pushing negotiations on a broad-based trade and investment agreement between the two sides.
Ghana: Organised labour worried over EPA
29-Sep-2007 GNA
Mr. Kwasi Adu-Amankwah, Secretary-General of the Trades Union Congress, said the leadership of organised labour had discussed the main issues of the EPA negotiations and concluded that the current efforts to negotiate a free and fair trade agreement between the world’s single most powerful economic bloc and weaker economies was impossible.
Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner visits Central America and announces aid packages
29-Sep-2007 FOCUS Information Agency
Three weeks before the first round of negotiations on an Association Agreement between the EU and Central America to be held in Costa Rica at the end of October, Ms Ferrero-Waldner wishes to send a strong signal to the region of the importance the EU accords to this agreement.
Stop EU trade talks with ex-colonies - protesters
27-Sep-2007 Reuters
Demonstrators in Brussels and Nairobi demanded on Thursday a halt to trade and investment negotiations between the European Union and former colonies, saying the proposed deal would harm poor countries.
World Bank asks for more time on EPAs
27-Sep-2007 IPS
Senior World Bank staff have asked the European Union to consider extending the end-of-year deadline it has set for a series of free trade agreements with Africa.