From Manchester Trade Associates, June 6, 2008
CARICOM appears to be sacrificing any possibility of continuing benefits under the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) by rushing into full Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the EU. Given the complexities that have arisen since the conclusion of the negotiations, a delay in finalizing the EPAs would be prudent…
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Filed under: CARIFORUM-EC EPA: TEXT AND EVALUATIONS |
From Professor Jane Kelsey, Professor of Law, University of Aukland, New Zealand
The EC has used the CARIFORUM EPA to secure ‘state of the art’ rules and commitments under Title II: Investment, Services and E-commerce1 that it hasn’t been able to achieve at the WTO. The EC is expected to use this to undermine their [...]
Filed under: CARIFORUM-EC EPA: TEXT AND EVALUATIONS |
Negotiation of MRAs is often a long, complex, costly and time-consuming…A country that wishes to be party to an MRA, first of all, has to meet some basic requirements, such as to have in place a domestic system for regulating the profession at stake, an accreditation system, and a national register of professionals…
Link to UNCTAD Study
Filed under: CARIFORUM-EC EPA: TEXT AND EVALUATIONS |
Competition rules are a key part of the EU’s trade promotion strategy as they assist in opening up overseas markets for EU exporters[1]. The European Union has a long history of aggressively pushing for competition rules in international trade negotiations….
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Filed under: CARIFORUM-EC EPA: TEXT AND EVALUATIONS |
Access in Trade Negotiations Insights, July-August 2008, pages 5-6
The EPA agreements introduce binding TRIPS-plus standards in the Caribbean with non-binding commitments for
cooperation in innovation, technology transfer and cultural industry development. Whether the Caribbean will benefit
from the provisions for cooperation in innovation and technology transfer depends on further implementation
arrangements and funding from the Europeans. However, if [...]
Filed under: CARIFORUM-EC EPA: TEXT AND EVALUATIONS |
New Technical Brief from the Commonwealth Secretariat:
Intellectual Property in European Union Economic Partnership Agreements with the African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries: What Way Forward, (April 2008) By Dalindyebo Shabalala*, Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), Geneva. Download
For much of late 2006 and 2007, the EU attempted to conclude comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) [...]
Filed under: CARIFORUM-EC EPA: TEXT AND EVALUATIONS |
This Chapter of the draft EPA text covers issues linked with key aspects of socio-economic development of the Cariforum states (CF). Section 1 largely provides for non-binding commitment, declaratory statements, and matters that will be defined during implementation. Section 2 largely establishes binding TRIPS-plus standards that should be implemented by the parties. If Section 1 [...]
Filed under: CARIFORUM-EC EPA: TEXT AND EVALUATIONS |
Series of articles by Diane Daley in the Jamaica Observer
Intellectual Property in the CARIFORUM EPA, Part I: Copyright & Related Rights and Industrial Designs,
Part II: Patents, Utility Models and New Plant Varieties
Part III, Trade Marks and Geographical Indications
Filed under: CARIFORUM-EC EPA: TEXT AND EVALUATIONS |
New Study from the Commonwealth Secretariat:
Government Procurement, one of the ‘Singapore Issues’ that was resisted from being included in the WTO DDA negotiations by developing countries are being negotiated within Free Trade Area Agreements. This paper analyses the likely costs and benefits for ACP states of incorporating within the EPAs, any possible rules on [...]
Filed under: CARIFORUM-EC EPA: TEXT AND EVALUATIONS |
From the International Trade Union Confederation, 22/04/08
Some elements of the EPA are welcome, such as Part I on sustainable development, the social chapter in Part II and the institutional provisions provided in Part VI. However other aspects of the EPA could have a negative social and economic impact, especially for workers in the developing countries [...]
Filed under: CARIFORUM-EC EPA: TEXT AND EVALUATIONS |
