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Trade unions in Europe and in Colombia are speaking out against a new free trade agreement charging that it provides political support to a regime in Colombia that is deeply implicated in gross violations of human rights and labour standards.

The second round of negotiations for a Canada-Europe Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) took place in Brussels in January amid growing trade union and civil society concerns about the scope and impact of the treaty.

Senior trade officials are increasingly pessimistic that a deal to conclude the stalled Doha Development Round of trade negotiations can be reached this year.

A Dutch company is suing the Slovak Republic for allegedly breaching the terms of a bilateral investment treaty following passage of a law requiring that health insurance be provided on a not-for-profit basis.

Final ratification of a free trade agreement with the United States has been delayed in the Costa Rican legislature amid a growing controversy over the deal’s intellectual property provisions.

The EC Commissioner-designate for the internal market, Michel Barnier, has admitted that the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) will require changes to domestic law.

In early November, negotiators from the United States, Japan, the European Union, Canada and a select handful of other nations huddled together in a closed-door session in Seoul, South Korea.

Trade Ministers from around the world meeting in Geneva ended their discussions on 2 December by reaffirming their political commitment to concluding talks on a new global trade pact in 2010, even as deep differences remain.

The second day of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva has seen trade ministers shift their deliberations about the future of the multilateral trading system to closed working sessions.

At the World Trade Organization’s 7th Ministerial Conference in Geneva, EI is urging trade ministers to keep education and other public services off the table.

Education and other public services are basic human rights, which must not be viewed as commodities or be subjected to commercial trade rules.

Developing countries need to approach current negotiations aimed at liberalizing the trade in services with caution, a high level seminar has concluded.

Backtracking on earlier commitments, the government of India announced last month it will not require foreign educational institutions to meet quotas or adhere to caps on tuition fees.

Following a year-long stalemate, members of the World Intellectual Property Office endorsed a new round of negotiations to develop an international agreement on the protection of traditional knowledge and genetic resources.

Experts are warning that WTO trade rules could affect some measures that countries are taking to combat climate change.

Teacher unions and NGOs, including Education International, have played a critical role in limiting the inclusion of education services in the WTO’s GATS agreement, according to a new book by Antoni Verger of the University of Amsterdam.

Members of the World Trade Organization will hold a “scaled-down, no frills” ministerial conference in Geneva November 30 to December 2, the first formal gathering of trade ministers since 2005.

The European Union and Canada have agreed on the main areas to be negotiated in a possible comprehensive economic agreement.