Uncategorized Archive

  • TPP – 21st century agreement or 19th century?

    TPP – 21st century agreement or 19th century?

    A second round of negotiations towards the Transpacific Partnership Trade Agreement (TPPTA) will open next week in San Francisco. New Zealand is one of eight parties along with the US, Australia, Singapore, Chile, Peru, Brunei and Vietnam, and others may join.

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  • New website launched to promote debate on Trans Pacific partnership negotiations

    New website launched to promote debate on Trans Pacific partnership negotiations

    A new website, Trans-Pacific Partnership Digest, has been launched to provide a comprehensive data base of material on the negotiations for a Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement involving New Zealand and seven other countries (the US, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam).

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  • Thinking the Unthinkable: Could America Repeal NAFTA?

    Thinking the Unthinkable: Could America Repeal NAFTA?

    Four congressmen have now moved a bill to repeal NAFTA. Superficially, this means little, as passage of this bill is unlikely in the near future. But more fundamentally, it means a lot because, unbeknownst to most Americans inside and outside the Washington Beltway, free trade...

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  • Chinese Buy Up of Dairy Farms: Get Used To It.

    Chinese Buy Up of Dairy Farms: Get Used To It.

    This Is What A “Free” Trade Agreement Looks Like. The most unbelievably naïve reaction to the news that a mysterious Chinese company is hoping to buy up to $1.5 billion worth of dairy farms came from Federated Farmers, which said that this is an “unintended...

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  • Trans-Pacific Partnership: New Zealand jumping onto a sinking ship

    Trans-Pacific Partnership: New Zealand jumping onto a sinking ship

    Talks started in Melbourne today for the US, Australia, Peru and Vietnam to join an expanded Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP, currently comprising NZ, Chile, Brunei, and Singapore, known as the P4 Agreement), with November 2011, when the US hosts APEC, as the target to seal the deal. This will be used as the backdoor means to secure a US/NZ Free Trade Agreement. Already the Americans have said that they see this as more than a mere free trade deal but as a vehicle for broader Asia/Pacific economic integration, which has enormous political implications. Alarm bells should be loudly sounding.

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  • Hillary Clinton comes bearing a poisoned chalice for New Zealand

    Hillary Clinton comes bearing a poisoned chalice for New Zealand

    Hillary Clinton’s visit this weekend will highlight the fact that negotiations will commence in March for the US to join an expanded Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (currently comprising NZ, Chile, Brunei, and Singapore, commonly known as the P4 Agreement), with 2011 as the target to...

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  • US/NZ Free Trade Agreement: Learn From Sad Experience Of US’ “Chief Ally”

    US/NZ Free Trade Agreement: Learn From Sad Experience Of US’ “Chief Ally”

    New Zealanders who kid themselves that “we” stand to gain from a Free Trade Agreement with the US would be wise to reflect on the rueful words of Sir Christopher Meyer, Britain’s Ambassador to the US in the runup to the US/UK invasion of Iraq. Speaking to the current public Inquiry...

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  • US free trade agreement a poisoned chalice for New Zealand

    US free trade agreement a poisoned chalice for New Zealand

    The announcement that the US is ready to start negotiations in 2010 to join an expanded Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (currently comprising NZ, Chile, Brunei, and Singapore, commonly known as the P4 Agreement), with 2011 as the target to seal the deal, confirms that it...

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  • CTU Submission on P4 (December 2008)

    CTU Submission on P4 (December 2008)

    New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Submission on P4 agreement, 8 December 2008  Download PDF (152 Kb)

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  • LIANZA submission on free trade copyright issues

    LIANZA submission on free trade copyright issues

    Download the submission on the trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations with the United States by LIANZA, the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa / Te Rau Herenga o Aotearoa, on copyright issues lianza_submission (PDF, 124 Kb)

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