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Repsol in $5 billion settlement with Argentina
Repsol, the Spanish oil company agreed to a $5 billion compensation deal with Argentina for the seizure of the company’s operations in that country, ending a bitter two-year dispute.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership: No end in sight
“Significant gaps” remain after the Singapore talk, no date or place has been chosen for their next meeting, and it is hard to avoid the conclusion that any agreement is months or years away, writes The Economist.
De Gucht comments on TTIP ’stocktaking’ talks
Karel De Gucht has said that while good progress is being made on the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), negotiators must now "step up a gear" if they hope to find common solutions to the problems facing them.
Senegal: Regional ministers endorse compromises for EPA negotiations
West Africa’s ministers of finance and trade have adopted the compromise proposals for concluding the decade-long negotiations of the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union for a free trade area of the two regions.
Churchill Mining announces tribunal rejection of Indonesia challenge
The thermal coal producer said the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes rejected Indonesia’s jurisdictional challenges and it can now pursue claims for damages under the respective Bilateral Investment Treaties Indonesia entered into with the United Kingdom and Australia.
India reviewing its 83 bilateral investment pacts: Anand Sharma
The government today said it is reviewing all its bilateral investment promotion and protection pacts amid global firms raising concerns about India’s investment policies.
Australia looks to conclude FTA with Japan in April
Australia’s trade minister said he’s ready to strike a free trade deal with Japan in April when Prime Minister Tony Abbott is expected to visit Tokyo, according to a Liberal Democratic Party member active in trade matters.
No end in sight yet for Trans-Pacific trade pact
Ministers in 12-nation Trans-Pacific trade talks said on Tuesday they had yet to reach agreement on tariffs and other market access issues, with the timing of a completed deal looking increasingly unclear.
Korea-Australia FTA (2014)
Text of Korea-Australia FTA released – ISDS provisions revealed
The text of the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) was released on 17 February 2014, following the conclusion of negotiations on 5 December 2013.
Call for Papers "The Pacific Rim and International Economic Law: Opportunities and Risks of the Pacific Century"
The formidable scale and pace of economic and legal development in the Pacific Rim region offers considerable opportunities, but also carries certain risks. The forthcoming Pacific Rim TDM Special Issue will collect views of experienced practitioners, academics, and policymakers on key economic and legal opportunities and risks in the Pacific Rim region today.
ISDS: the devil in KAFTA’s detail
The Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) opens up the potential for Korean-domiciled corporations to sue Australian governments - federal, State and local - over decisions that a company believes to have unfairly affected investments they have made in Australia.
US pushes for greater transparency in EU business regulation
The US is using transatlantic trade negotiations to push for a fundamental change in the way business regulations are drafted in the EU to allow business groups greater input earlier in the process.
Obama admin’s TPP trade officials received hefty bonuses from big banks
Officials tapped by the Obama administration to lead the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations have received multimillion dollar bonuses from CitiGroup and Bank of America, financial disclosures obtained by Republic Report show.
EU-US trade talks seen dragging on until mid-2016
As the European Union and the United States wrap up a week of talks on the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) in Washington, the EU still says it hopes to have something to show before the European elections in May. But observers say the real, final deadline is mid 2016, just before the US elections.
American-European trade pact could dwarf TPPA if it becomes a reality
Economies like Malaysia would have to adhere to the tariff levels agreed to between both the EU and the US if they want to export to these markets and those of other potential members such as Japan and South Korea.
Obama’s ambitious trade agenda hits Asian resistance
America’s ambitious trade agenda is running into fierce resistance in Asia, but negotiators say a draft Pacific free-trade deal that papers over some differences may be ready by the time US President Barack Obama visits the region in April.
Farmers to resist free trade with India
Punjab’s farmers forged an alliance on Thursday to resist any move to allow free trade with India in agricultural products from Wagah-Attari land route, claiming that such a decision would destroy country’s agriculture and throw its growers out of business.
Assessing the exposure of Asian states to investment claims
Although some IIAs have generated a few disputes for technical reasons, it is rather predictable that Asian states are currently entering an era in which foreign investors are likely to multiply claims.
Japan willing to concede on agricultural products for free trade agreement
A key government official has said on Tuesday that Japan is willing to concede several points on crucial agricultural issues as they officially begin talks with the United States in preparation for the high-level multilateral negotiations next week in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.