Archive

OWINFS organized an event at WTO Pubic Forum 2014, "Prospects for Trade, Development, and Reducing Inequality: Doha, post-Bali, and the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals" on 2nd October 2014

The OWINFS network organized an event "Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA): Emerging Opportunities and Challenges for Sustainable Development" at the WTO Public Forum 2014 on 1 October 2014.

Presentación de la UITA en el Foro Público de la OMC 2014 - Panel de Uni Global Union / Internacional de Servicios Públicos "Por qué un acuerdo de comercio de servicios (TISA) nos concierne a todos".

This OWINFS network's brief on the proposed Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), explains how the proposed TISA push more dangerous deregulatory policies on Financial services and endangers future financial regulatory capacity of governments.

The United States and its close ‘allies' in industrialised countries, appear to be bent on continuing their campaign to paralyse all negotiations and talks at the WTO - on the other parts of the Bali package, a post-Bali work programme, and the Doha Round - by refusing ‘to work' on other issues, until the US-EU cherished protocol on the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) is agreed to and delivered. In this SUNS - South North Development Monitor article By Chakravarthi Raghavan analyses latest state of play in WTO negotiations and US & allies' negotiation strategies.

Following a hearing on TTIP in the Luxemburgish Parliament, CESI President Romain Wolff sees TTIP as a distraction to another important trade agreement, the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA). Here, Mr Wolff warns of a threat to public services by the back door.

On the occasion of Global Trade Summit convened by PSI and it's affiliates in Washington, D.C., on 15-17 September 2014, PSI and Our World is not For Sale (OWINFS) launched a new Special Report by Ellen Gould entitled "The Really Good Friends of Transnational Corporations Agreement" on the first day of the Global Summit. The report was launched with the objective to overcome the secrecy and complexity surrounding the negotiations on trade in services agreement (TISA) and bring it into the public sphere for a democratic debate.

A new report TISA versus Public Services by Public Services International (PSI) warns that governments are planning to take the world on a liberalisation spree on a scale never seen before. According to the report, this massive trade deal will put public healthcare, broadcasting, water, transport and other services at risk. The proposed deal could make it impossible for future governments to restore public services to public control, even in cases where private service delivery has failed. It would also restrict a government’s ability to regulate key sectors including financial, energy, telecommunications and cross-border data flows.

In this timely article one of the most sensible commentator on trade policy issues of our time, throws more light on misplaced claims of deadline sanctity for Trade Facilitation Agreement in the backdrop of US-WTO propaganda about the missed deadline for the adoption of a Protocol of Amendment to incorporate the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) into Annex 1A of the Marrakesh agreement.

This short article argues that the support to WTO trade facilitation agreement is insufficient and misdirected