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China hopes for breakthrough in RCEP negotiations: premier
China hopes for substantive breakthroughs made in negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said here on Monday.
EU-Japan FTA text (Dec 2017, updated Apr 2018)
As released by the European Commission
EU-Singapore trade and investment agreements: Final text (Apr 2018)
Authentic texts as of April 2018
EU-Mexico FTA: Agreement in principle text (Apr 2018)
As published by the European Commission
PACC Offshore seeks compensation from Mexico for vessel charter investments
PACC Offshore Services Holdings has filed a notice of arbitration against Mexico under the bilateral investment treaty between the United Mexican States and Singapore governments.
Conoco moves to take over Venezuelan PDVSA’s Caribbean assets - sources
US oil firm ConocoPhillips has moved to take Caribbean assets of Venezuela’s state-run PDVSA to enforce a $2 billion arbitration award over a decade-oil nationalization of its projects in the South American country.
Telefonica Mexico withdraws EUR 850 mln arbitration request - report
Telefonica Mexico has withdrawn its arbitration claim against the Mexican government in which it had requested compensation amounting to around EUR 850 million after reaching an agreement with the country.
NAFTA talks enter critical week with US still pushing hard line
Talks to update the NAFTA trade deal enter a make-or-break week, as ministers from Canada, the United States and Mexico seek to resolve an impasse in key areas before elections in Mexico and the United States complicate the process.
Sri Lanka Thailand to begin talks on FTA from May
Sri Lanka and Thailand will begin talks on setting broad parameters for a free trade deal from May 2018, officials said.
Asean gets tough on the US over trade, but tiptoes around South China Sea build-up
With Singapore as chair of the regional bloc this year, China has an advantage as the focus shifts from geopolitics to trade and investment.
EU- Japan EPA presented to the European Council, ratification begins
On 18 April 2018 the European Commission (the “Commission“) presented the finalised text of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (“EPA“) to the European Council and thereby took the first step in the EPA’s ratification process at the EU level.
The EU caught in the trap of Nigeria’s refusal to sign the West Africa Economic Partnership Agreement and the Continental Free Trade Area
President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria very explicitly stated to the new Ambassador of the European Union that Nigeria was determined not to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement for West Africa.
Ratifying CETA after ’Achmea scandal’ is anti-European
Keeping the European project alive requires EU members to abide by the principle of loyalty to European institutions.
NAFTA ruling on quarry worries experts
Environmental law experts are concerned about the broader implications of a recent federal court dismissal of Canada’s application to overturn a NAFTA tribunal ruling.
EU open to ’limited’ US trade deal: Top official
Malmstrom spoke just days after Washington granted Europe and other allies a one-month delay from imposing controversial tariffs on steel and aluminium, averting a trade war for now.
Swiss farmers dig in against South American trade deal
The Swiss Farmers’ Union, on the other hand, has made its position very clear: it is against a free-trade deal.
ASEAN leaders call for boosting connectivity, resolving RCEP trade talks "expeditiously"
Leaders of the ASEAN gathered in Singapore on Saturday 28 April to review the bloc’s goals going forward, with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong calling for greater regional collaboration and integration as a way to bolster against external pressures, including trade tensions among major economies such as the US and China.
RCEP trade round: Singapore host privileges business over people’s rights
Trade officials from 16 countries that are negotiating RCEP are meeting in Singapore this week. But Singapore government has gone backwards excluding trade unions, farmers and civil society organisations who will be adversely affected by RCEP that has gain a voice in previous rounds, although not nearly enough.
Why we must ban secret corporate courts from trade deals
The ISDS system impedes on national sovereignty to the benefit of corporations, yet places no obligations on investors to behave responsibly, creating an asymmetric system that gives multinationals the same rights as sovereign states.
International Trade Committee launches probe into UK investment policy as Brexit approaches
The International Trade Committee launches an inquiry concerning the UK’s investment policy, which will examine the Government’s performance in promoting and facilitating inward and outward investment and its approach, upon UK exit from the EU, to negotiating agreements that liberalise and protect foreign investment.