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New mega-treaty in the pipeline: what does RCEP mean for farmers’ seeds in Asia?
RCEP is being negotiated behind closed doors and could sneak into Asia, destroying the livelihoods of billions of people.
US industry body says India agreed to not issue ’compulsory’ drug licences
India has given private assurances that it will not grant licences allowing local firms to override patents and make cheap copies of drugs by big Western drugmakers.
As South Sudan joins East African Community, some experts worry over its IP laws
Raising concern over the lack of proper intellectual property laws in South Sudan, as the world’s newest nation’s admission into the East Africa Community (EAC) spurs anticipation of increased investment.
Israel, EU negotiating new agreement; will replace the 2004 agreement on cooperation
The new agreement will redefine the implementation of cooperation between Israel and the EU in a range of areas.
Human rights, corruption and the Canada-Honduras free trade agreement: the assassination of activist Berta Caceres
Human rights leader Berta Caceres’ assassination now serves as a global symbol of the struggle for freedom and democracy as colonized peoples world-wide languish beneath the yoke of imperialism.
Japan’s prefectures map out damage to agriculture sectors by TPP trade pact
Adding to the national political debate will be local economic projections on how the TPP will affect prefectural agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sectors.
Will Vietnamese garment contractors win in the TPP?
Many contract manufacturers in Vietnam are likely to see little benefits if the TPP goes through.
RCEP talks to stretch longer on differences over services
The negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) involving 16 countries could slow down in the coming months due to a lack of consensus over services.
PACER Plus trade deal suffers a blow after PNG objections
PNG’s concerns about the current text on PACER-Plus makes common sense. Adam Wolfenden is from the Pacific Network on Globalisation, a group which has been critical of the deal explains.
A CETA investment court is not the solution
This is one of the problems with this regime of investor rights. It confers enormous discretion on an elite corps of lawyers.
US dairy industry thanks government for Honduras cheese name work
The dairy industry has thanked the US government for its extensive work aimed at securing clarifications regarding the right to use several generic cheese names in exports to Honduras.
How can governments deal with #ISDS claims?
A research provides a set of pragmatic tools for governments on the receiving end of legal claims.
EU asks Indonesia to eliminate import duties
The EU’s request for an import duty reduction of 95 percent for all trade items is a particular obstacle because Indonesian industrial products cannot compete with European products.
ASEAN economic ministers committed to implementing matters agreed to in RCEP talks
Several countries have said they find it difficult to eliminate 65 per cent of the tariff lines upon signing of the RCEP, rising to 80 per cent in 10 years.
Migrants from the South, the contemporary faces of exclusion and marginalization
Today’s migrations, as macro international displacements of hundreds of thousands of people with or without documents — in many cases in precarious conditions of transit — have been and are one of the social processes that characterize what is happening in different latitudes of the earth since in the new century, in the global context of neoliberal economic restructuring directed by transnational enterprises and the capitalist countries of the first world.
Japan-Iran BIT (2016)
S’pore, Iran ink bilateral treaty on investment
Singapore has moved quickly to sign an investment treaty with oil-rich Iran to support Singapore firms investing in an economy that is emerging after the recent lifting of global sanctions.
EU earns right to public contracts
For the first time, as a result of EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement commitments, European investors will be able to offer tenders for various public infrastructure projects in Vietnam.
CETA announcement shows it’s possible to fix trade deals
Corporations can still sue governments over public policy decisions they don’t like but the real lesson from the ISDS reforms, in fact, is that public opposition and political mobilization can change things.
Trans Pacific Partnership could change the apparel indusry
TPP could disrupt the fast fashion momentum and a fledgling made-in-America clothing rebound by renewing the attractiveness of offshore manufacturing via lower tariffs.