» CPI Manifesto and Parliament scrutiny
The Communist Party of India (CPI) has released its election Manifesto for the 15th Lok Sabha Elections, being held in five phases starting April 16th. With reference to FTAs, it states “when the government has been pursuing FTAs, party will demand complete transparency and democratic process in the negotiations, consultations with state governments and also consultations with all stake holders. Read more...

» EU-India FTA
A two-part article from Kavaljit Singh discusses the implications of liberalisation of trade and investment in financial services (financial services cover a wide range of sectors such as banking, insurance, brokerage and asset management) under a FTA between the European Union (EU) and India. Read more...

EC memo tells staff how to dodge difficult questions
Telegraph Media Group | April 14th, 2009
A leaked document issued by the European Commission's trade department to staff has been attacked by campaigners for encouraging officials "to conceal information from public scrutiny". "The best thing to do is to make two separate documents," states the advice. "By doing this, we avoid having to 'whiten' certain parts of the report, which creates an additional work burden."

» ASEAN–India FTA
The signing of the Association of South East Nations (ASEAN)-India FTA has been delayed again due to the postponement of the ASEAN Summit scheduled to held on April 11 at Pattaya, Thailand, following anti-government demonstrations there. A possible date for finalizing the agreement will be August during the ASEAN Economic Summit, in Bangkok. Read more...

» Workshop on implications of FTAs in the North-East
Madhyam (New Delhi) is conducting a series of workshops with activists, social movements and public interest groups, on India-EU FTA in the country. In January 2009, a workshop was held in Bangalore for the participants from Southern India. Read more...