The paradise paradox: Maldives, a sinking country?
- Environment and Energy, Human Rights and Migration, Op-ed
- 24/03/2019
The Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (JEEPA) is especially beneficial for the Japanese car industry as it reduces tariff barriers on car imports from Japan. This new deal reinforces Japan’s trade strength in the car industry and asserts their growing dominance in the sector. The flip side of the deal ‘coining’ reveals two interesting aspects. One, in exchange of tariff reduction for Japanese cars, the EU will obtain tariff reductions mainly on its agricultural exports to Japan; more significantly on cheese. Two, the EU automobile market is offering a larger latitude to a country which is already a daunting competitor in the sector. Is the deal sending the EU on an uneven road?
READ MOREAfter recent declarations by Theresa May and David Davis, the UK’s conservative government seems to be convinced that a “hard” Brexit is the best option for the country. Discussions with the EU over the UK’s participation in the single market seem to have been halted and the Norwegian European model rejected. This is terrible news for UK trade and especially for the services sector which is the UK’s most important trading sector, with a trade surplus equating to 5% of the national income (about $138 billion).
READ MOREFollowing widespread criticism towards the ISDS mechanisms, the search for alternatives is on and different court systems are being considered. On the 10th of July 2017, the UN started discussions on investment dispute settlement and the establishment of an MIC (Multilateral Investment Court). The opportunity to correct the shortcomings of the previous dispute settlement systems, notably, corporate bias and the unfairness that results from it is NOW.
READ MOREIndia is the world’s largest provider of affordable medicine to developing countries. Given its ethical and economic implications, should India join a partnership agreement containing a provision as damaging as TRIPS Plus?
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