Business Week 27 April
Angela Merkel did not rule out the possibility of a future free trade area between the EU and Russia. She also assured that the agreements of the EU with
In sum the draft confirms the will to impose greater regulatory "convergence" and "harmonization" of future regulations between the EU and the US in the only interest of transnational corporations and the financial industry. The vagueness of the draft would allow the Commission great freedom to achieve this. Social, labour and environmental rights in both sides of the Atlantic are under fire.
30.000 Menschen haben sich am vergangenen Samstag unter dem Motto "Wir haben es satt!" auf dem Potsdamer Platz in Berlin versammelt und anschließend im Regierungsviertel für eine Agrarwende und gegen das geplante Freihandelsabkommen EU-USA (TTIP) demonstriert. Denn die Große Koalition fährt die Agrarpolitik an die Wand. Wer Megaställe genehmigt und subventioniert, wer auf Export und Freihandel setzt und dann auch noch darüber nachdenkt, Gentech-Pflanzen auf Europas Äckern zuzulassen, der lässt die Bäuerinnen und Bauern im Stich und handelt gegen Verbraucher_innen und Umwelt. Am Samstag haben wir gesehen, wie schnell die Bewegung für eine sozialökologische Agrarwende wächst. Das ist gut so – und auch notwendig: Noch 2014 müssen wir TTIP verhindern!
There is a ruler — Jeff Bezos, even though he has stepped down as CEO — and there are lesser officials, not just senior vice presidents but fulfillment center managers, human resources employees, and the heads of Amazon’s delivery service partners, which, while legally separate entities, pop up in Amazon’s wake and often exist solely to carry out its delivery needs, the separation so fictitious that many of their drivers wear Amazon-branded uniforms and drive Amazon-branded vans.
BBC / Jorn Madslien 6 jun 2011 "Corruption in the arms trade contributes roughly 40% to all corruption in global transactions," the think tank said in its 2011 yearbook. The problem could be tackled by a global arms trade treaty, Sipri said The industry's "deep and abiding link to matters of national security obscures many deals from oversight and accountability", according to yearbook authors Andrew Feinstein, Paul Holden and Barnaby Pace.
"The biggest Brazilian investor in Africa - and one of the biggest investors in the continent from anywhere - is Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, which is usually known as Vale. It is one of the three biggest mining companies in the world and is the world's biggest iron ore miner, controlling about 27% of the global market. It also produces coal, nickel, copper, bauxite, alumina, aluminium and a wide range of other commodities. As a result of the needs of its mining operations, it also invests heavily in power plants, railways and port infrastructure. Vale currently has investments totalling $7.7bn in nine African countries and plans to invest more than $18bn in Africa over the next five years but much will depend on the direction of global markets over that time." "The firm's biggest investment, however, is its Moatize coal mining project in the Moatize Basin of Tete Province in northwestern Mozambique."
For the first time in centuries China has overtaken the US as the world’s biggest trading nation, with total trade standing at $4.16 trillion in 2013. The world's second-largest economy has raised its exports by 7.9 percent to $2.21 trillion, while imports increased by 7.3 percent to $1.95 trillion, bringing the total trade to $4.16 trillion, up 7.6 percent from 2012, according to the Financial Times.
European Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström has made a bad choice in appointing Jan Eric Frydman as Special Adviser on EU-US Trade Policy. Frydman, whose ongoing work for Swedish law firm Ekenberg & Andersson creates potential conflicts of interest, has a strong pro-ISDS background and a tricky revolving door history. He's part of the problem, not the solution.
Ein Paradebeispiel für solche Geschäfte ist der Verkauf von 170 Panzern, die Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) bis vor kurzem an die Griechen lieferte. Dafür sollte das Unternehmen 1,7 Milliarden Euro erhalten. Bei solchen Deals fließen in der Regel Millionen für Beratungsleistungen. Was genau da beraten wird und warum die Firmen meist in Steueroasen sitzen, wird selten bekannt. Die geheimen Firmen gehören in der Regel griechischen "Vermittlern" - oft honorige Industrielle. Die, so besteht häufig der Verdacht, verteilen dann die Gelder an Entscheidungsträger.
DN 2014-02-21 Vi i Sverige producerar numera bara hälften av det vi äter. Höga krav på miljö förväntas kombineras med global frihandel, samtidigt som jordbruksstöden kritiseras. Vi måste tänka om och ta ansvar för vår del av matproduktionen på en jord som ska försörja allt fler, skriver tre forskare på SLU.Anders Wästfelt, docent i kulturgeografi, SLU och Stockholms universitet Camilla Eriksson, fil dr i landsbygdsutveckling, SLU Erik Westholm, professor i landsbygdsutveckling, SLU