trade agreement Australia and China sign historic free trade agreement By www.invest.vic.gov.au Published On :: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 13:59:00 +1000 Australia and China have signed an historic free-trade agreement (FTA) which will increase opportunities for foreign direct investment in Victoria. The deal, which is suggested to be worth A$18 billion to Australia’s economy, was announced after almost a decade of negotiations between the nations. The agreement will increase the threshold at which private companies attract scrutiny by the Foreign Investment Review Board from A$247 million to A$1 billion. This will allow corporations to more easily take advantage of the competitive and dynamic business environment that Melbourne has to offer. Full Article
trade agreement Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement begins By www.invest.vic.gov.au Published On :: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 09:51:00 +1000 The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) will enter into force on 12 December 2014, opening up new investment opportunities for Victorian and Korean businesses that will enhance their relationships. KAFTA will increase export opportunities across a wide range of industries: from beef, wheat, sugar, dairy, wine, horticulture and seafood, to automotive suppliers, and the resources and energy industries. It will also open up significant opportunities for service providers. Full Article
trade agreement 1921: Trade Agreement Between His Brittanic Majesty's Govern... By www.atour.com Published On :: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 11:07:00 UT 1921: Trade Agreement Between His Brittanic Majesty's Government and the Government of the Russian Socialist Federal Soviet Republic Full Article United Nations Information
trade agreement Undercurrents: Episode 60 - Protecting Human Rights in Trade Agreements By brightcove.hs.llnwd.net Published On :: Mon, 29 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0100 Full Article
trade agreement Clearer Role for Business Regulators Needed in Monitoring Trade Agreements By www.chathamhouse.org Published On :: Mon, 06 Jul 2020 17:23:33 +0000 6 July 2020 Dr Jennifer Ann Zerk Associate Fellow, International Law Programme As the economic recovery from coronavirus is worked through, careful steps are needed to ensure actions to enforce human rights commitments in trade agreements do not worsen human rights impacts. 2020-07-06-Cambodia-Workers-Rights Garment workers hold stickers bearing US$177 during a demonstration to demand an increase of their minimum salary in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images. Trade policy is a blunt instrument for realizing human rights. Although many trade agreements now include commitments on human rights-related issues - particularly labour rights - not everyone agrees that linking trade to compliance with human rights norms is appropriate, let alone effective.Sceptics point out that such provisions may become an excuse for interference or ‘disguised protectionism’ and admittedly anyone would be hard-pressed to identify many concrete improvements which can be directly attributed to social and human rights clauses in trade agreements.This lack of discernible impact has a lot to do with weak monitoring and enforcement. A more fundamental problem is the tendency of trading partners to gloss over – both in the way that commitments are framed and in subsequent monitoring efforts – significant implementation gaps between the standards states sign up to, and the reality.Working from ‘baseline’ international standards and treating each state’s human rights treaty ratification record as an indicator of compliance does offer objective verifiability. But it also means underlying economic, structural, cultural, social, and other problems, often go unidentified and unaddressed in the trading relationship.Regulatory failings of trading partnersThose with sufficient leverage can use dispute resolution or enforcement proceedings to signal displeasure at the regulatory failings of their trading partners, as recently shown by the European Commission (EC) in relation to labour violations by trading partners – against South Korea under the 2011 EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and Cambodia under the EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) scheme.These actions do show a more proactive and rigorous EU approach to monitoring and enforcement and have been largely welcomed – especially by trade unions – as a necessary political response to persistent failings by the states to address violations of fundamental labour rights. However, claiming any major victories on behalf of the workers who produce the goods being traded seems premature.The ‘implementation gaps’ - between human rights commitments made in a state-to-state context and the reality of the human rights situation on the ground - mean there may be cases where enforcement action under a trading arrangement, such as the removal of trade preferences, may actually make things worse. Some local unions have expressed concern that the EU action against Cambodia may be detrimental to vulnerable migrant women factory workers, especially in the context of a worsening economic situation due to the pandemic.Making stakeholder voices heardThere are routes through which people with first-hand knowledge of human rights-related problems arising from trading relationships – such as labour rights abuses in global supply chains – can make their voices heard. Unions have used consultative bodies set up under trade agreements to highlight labour abuses in trading partner countries - this helped to shift the Commission’s strategy towards South Korea.But the rather vague and open-ended mandates of these consultative bodies, and their reliance on cash-strapped civil society organisations to do much of the heavy lifting, means they are not a solid basis for systematic follow-up of human rights problems.And yet, every country is likely to have a number of agencies with interests and expertise in these issues. Beyond labour inspectorates, this could include environmental regulators, licensing bodies, ombudsmen, national healthcare bodies, special-purpose commissions, ‘responsible business’ oversight and certification bodies, local government authorities and national human rights institutions.At present these groups are barely mentioned in trade agreements with monitoring frameworks for human rights. And if they do feature, there tends to be little in the agreement terms to guarantee their participation.To seriously address implementation gaps, there needs to be much greater and more systematic use of these domestic regulatory bodies in human rights monitoring and enforcement activities. These bodies are potentially vital sources of information and analysis about the many different social, economic, environmental and human rights consequences of trade, and can also contribute to designing and delivering ‘flanking measures’ needed to assist with the mitigation of human rights-related risks or adverse impacts which have been detected.Looking further ahead, monitoring practitioners may find - as those involved in the EU GSP+ scheme have already noticed - that close and visible engagement with domestic regulatory bodies helps strengthen a regulator in getting clearer political support and better resources. It can also help with greater ‘buy-in’ to human rights reform agendas, creating conditions for a positive legacy in the form of more confident, committed, and capable domestic regulatory bodies.Paying more attention to synergies that exist between the work of domestic regulatory bodies and the principles and objectives which cause states to seek human rights commitments from their trading partners is a vital contribution to the concept of ‘building back better’ from the present crisis.The goal should be to move from the present system – which veers between largely ineffective consultative arrangements and adversarial, often high stakes, dispute resolution – to more cooperative and collaborative systems which draw more proactively from the knowledge and expertise of domestic regulatory bodies, not only in the identification and monitoring of risks, but also in the delivery of jointly agreed strategies to address them.This article is part of the Chatham House Global Trade Policy Forum, promoting research and policy recommendations on the future of global trade. 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trade agreement Insight – The impact of recent South American free trade agreements on Australian agriculture By www.austrade.gov.au Published On :: Thu, 02 Mar 2023 23:34:00 GMT Recent South American free trade agreements will have implications for Australian agricultural exports. Full Article Insights
trade agreement Inquiry to strengthen our Trade Agreements (Ministerial) By www.austrade.gov.au Published On :: Thu, 10 Aug 2023 05:03:00 GMT This week I asked the Joint Standing Committee for Trade and Investment Growth consider the Australian Government’s approach to negotiating trade and investment agreements with international partners. Full Article Media Releases
trade agreement Tassal reels in export success thanks to trade agreement with India By www.austrade.gov.au Published On :: Fri, 25 Aug 2023 01:47:00 GMT Tassal is exporting to India for the first time, aided by tariff cuts under the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. Full Article Success stories
trade agreement By 2017 Most Aussie Deals Covered by Free Trade Agreements - 15 Jun By www.pwc.com.au Published On :: Mon, 15 Jun 2015 09:00:00 +1000 The Abbott Government's tough negotiations in an effort to seal an Indian Free Trade Agreement (FTA) next year should see 70 per cent of Australia's two-way trade covered by a free trade agreement. Full Article
trade agreement India-Australia free trade agreement to be effective Dec 29 By www.thehindubusinessline.com Published On :: Wed, 30 Nov 2022 18:40:32 +0530 Dawn of a new era for businesses, people, says Goyal Full Article Economy
trade agreement What Do Trade Agreements Really Do? [electronic journal]. By encore.st-andrews.ac.uk Published On :: National Bureau of Economic Research Full Article
trade agreement Renegotiation of Trade Agreements and Firm Exporting Decisions: Evidence from the Impact of Brexit on UK Exports [electronic journal]. By encore.st-andrews.ac.uk Published On :: Full Article
trade agreement Preferential Trade Agreements and Global Sourcing [electronic journal]. By encore.st-andrews.ac.uk Published On :: Full Article
trade agreement The New Economics of Trade Agreements: From Trade Liberalization to Regulatory Convergence? [electronic journal]. By encore.st-andrews.ac.uk Published On :: National Bureau of Economic Research Full Article
trade agreement Beyond Tariff Reductions: What Extra Boost From Trade Agreement Provisions? [electronic journal]. By encore.st-andrews.ac.uk Published On :: Full Article
trade agreement 21st Century Trade Agreements and the Owl of Minerva [electronic journal]. By encore.st-andrews.ac.uk Published On :: Full Article
trade agreement Developments in Regional Trade Agreements and the Environment: 2012 Update By www.oecd-ilibrary.org Published On :: Thu, 04 Jul 2013 13:35:00 GMT This paper provides an update on recent developments in the field of Regional Trade Agreements and the environment. Issues arising in the implementation of RTAs with environmental considerations are examined as well as experience in assessing their environmental impacts. Full Article
trade agreement OECD Workshop on Greening Regional Trade Agreements: Opportunities and Insights from International Experience By www.oecd.org Published On :: Fri, 10 Jun 2016 15:03:00 GMT The OECD will convene its 6th Workshop on Regional trade agreements and the environment on 10 June 2016, at the OECD Headquarters. The focus of the workshop will be on chapters of regional trade agreement (RTAs) that are concerned mainly with issues other than the environment, such as market access, investment, or government procurement, TBT, regulatory coherence or dispute settlement. Full Article
trade agreement Assessing Implementation of Environmental Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements - Trade and Environment Working Paper By dx.doi.org Published On :: Wed, 28 Mar 2018 09:13:00 GMT This report focuses on the extent to which governments have complied with the environmental commitments made in the trade agreements to which they are a Party. The report takes a two track approach. First, a review of implementation and evaluation reports associated with environmental provisions in such agreements is performed. Second, a survey of government officials, trade negotiators and other experts is carried out. Full Article
trade agreement Greening regional trade agreements: Subsidies related to energy and environmental goods - Environment Working Paper By www.oecd-ilibrary.org Published On :: Tue, 07 Jan 2020 14:32:00 GMT This report investigates in what ways Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) could incorporate environmental objectives in chapters and articles related to subsidies for energy and environmental goods. It highlights the current state of play in incorporating provisions related to environmentally related subsidies in RTAs. Full Article
trade agreement ASEAN trade agreement will hurt Kerala farmers By indiatogether.org Published On :: Mon, 16 Jul 2007 00:00:00 +0000 India's share in international trade has increased from 0.7 percent to 1 percent, which is a remarkable achievement, some say. In the meantime, lakhs of farmers in Kerala are being adversely affected by reduction of import tariffs on edible oils, spices and other cash crops. Thomas Varghese delves deeper. Full Article
trade agreement National Farmers Federation lobbying for a greater influence on free trade agreements By www.abc.net.au Published On :: Tue, 23 Jan 2018 12:32:00 +1100 Full Article ABC Local canberra Rural:Agricultural Policy:All Australia:ACT:Parliament House 2600
trade agreement Senator Bernie Sanders speaks out against the Trans Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement to the United States Senate May 12 2015 By www.cpa-connecticut.com Published On :: Tue, 12 May 2015 23:01:25 +0000 The Senate considered H.R. 1314, the legislative vehicle for trade promotion authority reauthorization.?It would give the president broad fast-track authority when negotiating trade agreements and require Congress to consider treaties without an amendment process. Senator Bernie Sanders speaks out against this bill before the Senate on May 12, 2015. Continue reading → Full Article Accountants CPA Hartford Articles H.R. 1314 the legislative vehicle for trade promotion authority reauthorization May 12 2015 Senator Bernie Sanders Senator Bernie Sanders speaks out against the Trans Pacific Partnership Trade Agreement to the United States Senate May 12 2015 TPA TPP trade promotion authority Trans Pacific Partnership transcript United States Senate video
trade agreement Human Rights Impact Assessment of Trade Agreements By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Thu, 07 Feb 2019 14:35:02 +0000 Research Event 26 February 2019 - 6:00pm to 7:30pm Chatham House | 10 St James's Square | London | SW1Y 4LE Event participants James Harrison, Reader and Associate Professor, University of Warwick School of LawRichard James, Evaluation Co-ordinator, Directorate-General for Trade European CommissionJennifer Zerk, Associate Fellow, International Law Programme, Chatham HouseChair: Andrea Shemberg, Chair, Global Business Initiative on Human Rights The idea that trade agreements should be subject to human rights impact assessment has been gathering momentum in recent years. This idea springs from concern – particularly on the part of trade unions and civil society organizations – that states are not presently doing enough to anticipate and address the human rights-related issues that arise from their trading arrangements with other countries.This meeting will coincide with the launch of a research paper on human rights impact assessment by Dr Jennifer Zerk. It will bring together experts from law, trade policy, human rights impact assessment practice and civil society to take stock of progress so far and consider the future prospects for human rights impact assessment as a risk-analysis and policymaking tool in the trade context. The meeting will explore the key risks and benefits of the human rights impact assessment of trade agreements. What legal, political and practical challenges have been encountered so far? In what ways could communication, stakeholder consultation and follow-up of findings be improved? And what is needed to build political and stakeholder support for these kinds of processes? This meeting will be followed by a reception. Department/project International Law Programme, Rights, Accountability and Justice Chanu Peiris Programme Manager, International Law +44 (0)20 7314 3686 Email Full Article
trade agreement Telecommunications Firm to Pay Us $1 Million to Settle Alleged Violations of the Trade Agreements Act By www.justice.gov Published On :: Mon, 9 Jul 2012 16:53:06 EDT ADC Telecommunications Inc. will pay the United States $1 million to resolve allegations that the company submitted false claims to federal agencies when it sold telecommunications goods manufactured in countries prohibited by the Trade Agreements Act (TAA). Full Article OPA Press Releases
trade agreement Africa in the news: SACU-UK trade agreement, Nigeria’s border closures, and Sudan’s transitional government By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Sat, 14 Sep 2019 12:45:13 +0000 Southern African Customs Union and Mozambique sign post-Brexit trade agreement with the United Kingdom On Tuesday, the United Kingdom signed an economic partnership agreement with six African countries, including the five-country Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and Mozambique, that would take effect after the U.K.’s official exit from the European Union. SACU includes Botswana, eSwatini,… Full Article
trade agreement Democrats should seize the day with North America trade agreement By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: The growing unilateralism and weaponization of trade policy by President Trump have turned into the most grievous risk for a rules-based international system that ensures fairness, reciprocity and a level playing field for global trade. If this trend continues, trade policy will end up being decided by interest groups with enough access to influence and… Full Article
trade agreement CANCELLED: China-Australia Free Trade Agreement: Partnership for change By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 10 Oct 2016 16:41:39 +0000 This event has been cancelled. Throughout its year-long G-20 presidency, China highlighted the theme of “inter-connectedness,” calling on countries to deepen ties by investing in infrastructure and liberalizing trade and investment. So far, the initiative has proved easier in word than in deed. Little progress has been made on global trade agreements, or even regional… Full Article
trade agreement Stuck in a patent policy rut: Considerations for trade agreements By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 17 Dec 2015 07:30:00 -0500 International development debates of the last four decades have ascribed ever greater importance to intellectual property rights (IPRs). There has also been a significant effort on the part of the U.S. to encourage its trade partners to introduce and enforce patent law modeled after American intellectual property law. Aside from a discussion on the impact of patents on innovation, there are some important consequences of international harmonization regarding the obduracy of the terms of trade agreements. The position of the State Department on patents when negotiating trade agreements has consistently been one of defending stronger patent protection. However, the high-tech sector is under reorganization, and the most innovative industries today have strong disagreements about the value of patents for innovation. This situation begs the question as to why the national posture on patent law is so consistent in favor of industries such as pharmaceuticals or biotech to the detriment of software developers and Internet-based companies. The State Department defends this posture, arguing that the U.S. has a comparative advantage in sectors dependent on patent protection. Therefore, to promote exports, our national trade policy should place incentives for partners to come in line with national patent law. This posture will become problematic when America’s competitive advantage shifts to sectors that find patents to be a hindrance to innovation, because too much effort will have already been invested in twisting the arm of our trade partners. It will be hard to undo those chapters in trade agreements particularly after our trade partners have taken pains in passing laws aligned to American law. Related to the previous concern, the policy inertia effect and inflexibility applies to domestic policy as much as it does to trade agreements. When other nations adopt policy regimes following the American model, advocates of stronger patent protection will use international adoption as an argument in favor of keeping the domestic policy status quo. The pressure we place on our trade partners to strengthen patent protection (via trade agreements and other mechanisms like the Special 301 Report) will be forgotten. Advocates will present those trade partners as having adopted the enlightened laws of the U.S., and ask why American lawmakers would wish to change law that inspires international emulation. Innovation scholar Timothy Simcoe has correctly suggested that harmonization creates inflexibility in domestic policy. Indeed, in a not-too-distant future the rapid transformation of the economy, new big market players, and emerging business models may give policymakers the feeling that we are stuck in a patent policy rut whose usefulness has expired. In addition, there are indirect economic effects from projecting national patent law onto trade agreements. If we assume that a club of economies (such as OECD) generate most of the innovation worldwide while the rest of countries simply adopt new technologies, the innovation club would have control over the global supply of high value-added goods and services and be able to preserve a terms-of-trade advantage. In this scenario, stronger patent protection may be in the interest of the innovation club to the extent that their competitive advantage remains in industries dependent of patent protection. But should the world economic order change and the innovation club become specialized in digital services while the rest of the world takes on larger segments of manufactures, the advantage may shift outside the innovation club. This is not a far-fetched scenario. Emerging economies have increased their service economy in addition to their manufacturing capacity; overall they are better integrated in global supply chains. What is more, these emerging economies are growing consumption markets that will become increasingly more relevant globally as they continue to grow faster than rich economies. What is more, the innovation club will not likely retain a monopoly on global innovation for too long. Within emerging economies, another club of economies is placing great investments in developing innovative capacity. In particular, China, India, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa (and possibly Russia) have strengthened their innovation systems by expanding public investments in R&D and introducing institutional reforms to foster entrepreneurship. The innovation of this second club may, in a world of harmonized patent law, increase their competitive advantage by securing monopolistic control of key high-tech markets. As industries less reliant on patents flourish and the digital economy transforms US markets, an inflexibly patent policy regime may actually be detrimental to American terms of trade. I should stress that these kind of political and economic effects of America’s posture on IPRs in trade policy are not merely speculative. Just as manufactures displaced the once dominant agricultural sector, and services in turn took over as the largest sector of the economy, we can fully expect that the digital economy—with its preference for limited use of patents—will become not only more economic relevant, but also more politically influential. The tensions observed in international trade and especially the aforementioned considerations merit revisiting the rationale for America’s posture on intellectual property policy in trade negotiations. Elsie Bjarnason contributed to this post. Authors Walter D. Valdivia Image Source: © Romeo Ranoco / Reuters Full Article
trade agreement Democrats should seize the day with North America trade agreement By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: The growing unilateralism and weaponization of trade policy by President Trump have turned into the most grievous risk for a rules-based international system that ensures fairness, reciprocity and a level playing field for global trade. If this trend continues, trade policy will end up being decided by interest groups with enough access to influence and… Full Article
trade agreement Tax-News.com: European, African States To Review Free Trade Agreement By www.tax-news.com Published On :: Fri, 16 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT The European Free Trade Association states (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland), and the South African Customs Union have begun negotiations to review their existing free trade agreement. Full Article
trade agreement Tax-News.com: EU, Japan Ink New Trade Agreement By www.tax-news.com Published On :: Mon, 23 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMT The EU and Japan have signed an Economic Partnership Agreement that will remove the majority of the EUR1bn (USD1.2bn) of duties paid annually by EU companies exporting to Japan. Full Article
trade agreement OECD welcomes announcement of new trade agreement between US, Mexico and Canada By www.oecd.org Published On :: Mon, 01 Oct 2018 13:30:00 GMT OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría has welcomed the announcement of a new, modernised United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Full Article
trade agreement OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomes the signature of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) By www.oecd.org Published On :: Mon, 31 Oct 2016 18:36:00 GMT “I congratulate Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, and President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker on the signature of the Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA). The deal comes at a crucial time when slowing trade growth and low investment are contributing to the weakness of the global economy. Full Article
trade agreement OECD welcomes announcement of new trade agreement between US, Mexico and Canada By www.oecd.org Published On :: Mon, 01 Oct 2018 13:30:00 GMT OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría has welcomed the announcement of a new, modernised United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Full Article
trade agreement WTO issues new report on treatment of medical products in regional trade agreements By www.wto.org Published On :: Mon, 27 Apr 2020 17:00:00 GMT The WTO Secretariat has published a new report on the treatment of medical products in regional trade agreements (RTAs) amid current supply shortages caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report examines the extent medical products are traded among preferential partners and the difference in liberalization rates within and outside these trade agreements. Full Article
trade agreement By 2017 Most Aussie Deals Covered by Free Trade Agreements - 15 Jun By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mon, 15 Jun 2015 09:00:00 +1000 The Abbott Government's tough negotiations in an effort to seal an Indian Free Trade Agreement (FTA) next year should see 70 per cent of Australia's two-way trade covered by a free trade agreement. Full Article
trade agreement From little things big things grow : supporting Australian SMEs go global : inquiry into accss to free trade agreements by small and medium enterprises / Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade By prospero.murdoch.edu.au Published On :: Australia. Parliament. Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, author, issuing body Full Article
trade agreement Potential economic effects of the proposed Dominican Republic-Central America free trade agreement (DR-CAFTA) on the state of Florida By digital.lib.usf.edu Published On :: Sat, 25 Jan 2014 15:40:36 -0400 Full Article
