Colombia looks likely to make concessions on agricultural imports (in particular chicken, corn, beef) as pressure for liberalisation is applied by US multinationals for "comprehensive liberalisation."   more »

The US multinational giant, Bechtel, has backed down after a major international campaign and dropped a legal suit for $50 million against Bolivia. Instead the Bolivian Government will pay only 2 Bolivianos (14 pence) to end the case. Bechtel was thrown out of Bolivia in what was known as the "water war" in 2000 as a result of popular revolt caused by major rises in water rates and the expropriation of communal water systems.   more »

The Commission for Admission to the Constitutional Tribunal has accepted that the legal demand for unconstitutionality made by social movements against six bilateral investment treaties has a legal basis to proceed. Campaigners argue that the BITS which allow foreign jurisdiction over disputes between States and foreign investors contradicts a central principle of the Constitution.   more »

The World Bank hosted International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) has ruled that it is perfectly acceptable for multinationals to change the country of their legal headquarters in order to protect their investments. The controversial ruling was made on 21 October in a judgement to establish whether ICSID had jurisdiction to rule on a case between Bolivia and private water utility Aguas del Tunari, owned largely by US multinational Bechtel.   more »

(International Trade Daily) Argentina's Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said insufficient progress on farm trade liberalization at the latest round of World Trade Organization talks held in Hong Kong bode badly for the U.S.-sponsored Free Trade Area of the Americas.   more »

Campaigners and activists in the US are calling on US citizens to write to the Congress calling for a new trade model, saying that the Andean Free Trade Agreement will make people in the Andes poorer and lead to loss of jobs in the US.   more »

Bolivia faces ten litigations by multinational companies in the coming year, saying that the Bolivia Government’s actions on water and gas undermine their investors’ rights protected by Bilateral Investment Treaties. Within Bolivia, lawyers have joined forces with Congressman Wilson Magne to challenge the treaties saying they are unconstitutional. Activists have warned that any attempt to sue Bolivia will lead to massive international campaigns against the multinational companies involved.   more »

Two recent letters to the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) have expressed concerns with respect to the continuing trade negotiations of the Andean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA). The letters bring to attention concerns for agriculture, intellectual property and labor.   more »

A recent paper ‘A Contentious U.S. – Andean Free Trade Agreement: Do it Right or Not at All’ by Helen Cardena and Katherine Vyborny, (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), expresses concerns for the ongoing negotiations of the Andean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA). Through interviews with individuals from the US, Ecuador, Peru and Columbia (representatives from diverse sectors; negotiation teams, policymakers, NGO’s, associations of industry, labor and farmers), the paper identifies key recommendations for the continuing negotiations and calls for a slower and more thorough negotiation process with specialist treatment of the Andean countries.   more »

(Raúl Zibechi, upsidedownworld.org) The US failed to get consensus to move forward on its pet project of the "Free Trade Agreement of the Americas" at the Summit of the Americas in early November, due to opposition from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Venezuela. However it is not likely to stop the free trade jugernaut for long, as these nations remain deeply divided on trade issues themselves which have prevented the articulation of alternatives or the strengthening of alliances such as Mercosur.   more »

A Mini-Ministerial Green Room meeting at the WTO headquarters highlights the core fractures and key differences in the trade negotiations and results in both the lowering of expectations for the forthcoming Hong Kong Ministerial in December and the setting back of the proposed timetable.   more »

Two years ago, in the lead up to the WTO negotiations in Cancún 2003, the World Bank and various institutions predicted that developing countries would benefit in the region of $500 billion through the liberalization of trade. Now, in the lead up to the WTO negotiations in Hong Kong the predictions are more modest, with estimated benefits to developing countries no higher than $100 billion.   more »

(Wall Street Post) Summit of the Americas ends with major divisions on free trade, and strong opposition to advancing ALCA (Free Trade Agreement of the Americas) from Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina and Venezuela. It has cast a shadow on possibilities of advancing the "free trade" agenda at WTO meetings in December.   more »

The theme of investment is currently causing divisions amongst Andean countries in negotiations for the Andean Free Trade Agreement (TLC in Spanish) with Ecuador raising concerns about a new investment chapter after several bad experiences under an existing Bilateral Investment Treaty with the US.   more »

Hundreds of workers marched on Saturday apparently calling on the Bolivian government to sign a free trade treaty with the US. However the real focus was the understandable desire to secure their jobs. The Bolivian Movement against TLC (AFTA) and COB supported the fight for jobs. However they warned of the dangers of calling for a treaty that will only benefit a handful of exporters responsible for less than 10% of national sales, yet holds many disadvantages and dangers for much of Bolivian society.   more »

Peruvian trade officials speaking in US said they were still hopeful that Andean Free Trade Agreement would be signed off this November despite ongoing conflict on patents and agriculture.   more »

It was due to be signed off in November with the final round in Colombia, but continuing debates over intellectual property and rising popular opposition have delayed the signing of the Free Trade Treaty (TLC in Spanish) between the Andean states of Peru, Ecuador and Colombia and the US.   more »

Health workers joined with stilt-walkers and representatives of teachers, campesinos, women’s organizations and various social movements in calling on the Bolivian Government to reject a proposed Free Trade Agreement with the US and other Andean States (TLC). The demonstration outside the Ministry of Health in La Paz took place as the 12th round of negotiations began in Colombia. Speakers at the march warned that a treaty could put at risk both public health and the future of Bolivia’s democracy.   more »

Hundreds of campesinos, indigenous peoples, women’s organizations, union leaders, and representatives of social movements meeting in Camiri resoundingly rejected a free trade agreement with the US saying it would severely restrict Bolivians’ ability to define a new constitution within the Constituent Assembly.   more »

The Bush administration remains committed to the stalled Free Trade Area of the Americas but the issue of U.S. farm subsidies and support policies, which Latin nations blame for the impasse, should be dealt with at the World Trade Organization, not in regional negotiations, a U.S. trade official said.   more »

Governments and institutions like the IMF and World Bank frequently say there is no alternative to free trade. However Bolivia's social movements are not afraid to speak out for change, given that two decades of "free market" policies have merely exarcebated poverty and damaged the environment. In April, 2005, representatives of hundreds of popular organizations including campesino (rural farmers) groups, women’s organizations, trade unions, faith groups, teachers and other professions came together to discuss how to enshrine a just and solidarity-based trading system within the rules of a new Constitution.   more »

Bolivia has been threatened with the initiation of legal action by a series of multinational companies in the last month. All have said their actions are based on Bolivia breaching its commitments under Bilateral Investment Agreements or BITs. But what are BITs and why are they undermining people's rights to clean water, health and sovereignty over their own resources?   more »

Bolivia is currently an observer at negotiations for a free trade agreement between the US and Andean countries. The Bolivian movement against the TLC outlines ten reasons why a trade deal would do more harm than good.   more »

As the US administration battle for votes to approve the Central American Free Trade agreement in Congress, the New York Times quotes Fundación Solon as it catalogues the growing opposition to free trade across Latin America and highlights the likely negative impact of free trade agreements on Bolivia's pharmaceutical industry.   more »

More than 160 civil society organizations from around the world sent a letter to WTO ambassadors in Geneva Thursday expressing their deep concerns regarding the current round of negotiations on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which is part of the 'single undertaking' under the July 2004 Framework.   more »