Suchergebnisse

This forward-looking book examines dispute resolution issues in the context of Belt and Road Initiative dealings between parties in ASEAN Member States, China and other trade partners. It discusses a range of commercial dispute issues and economic agreements including free trade agreements and investment agreements, both bilateral and regional.

"The last two decades have seen great economic change in Asia and this has impacted upon the vexed question of access to affordable healthcare and medicines in many Asian states. In this book Locknie Hsu examines the issue of access to medicines in Asia from a fresh perspective which embraces trade and investment law, innovation, intellectual property law, competition policy and public health issues. Hsu explores the key evolving legal issues in these areas, including ASEAN integration, free trade agreement negotiations (such as those for the TPP), bilateral investment agreements and significant court decisions. The book goes on to present proposals for steps to be taken in addressing access to medicines in Asia and will be useful to academic researchers, regulators, law-makers and global organizations involved in the issues surrounding access to affordable healthcare and medicines"--

ABSTRACT
This article explores the 'Trade and …' 'Debate' in the context of trade and environment issues. It provides an explanation of the evolution of discussions of such issues in a non-dispute settlement context, using developments in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' integration efforts as illustrations. It also highlights a number of opportunities for trade and environment collaboration in negotiations for free trade agreement and Digital Economy Partnership Agreements.

Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs), as they have come to be known, are a hybrid type of foreign investor. They invest beyond their own borders with an aim to maximize returns as a foreign investor is expected to. At the same time, they are closely associated with governments, by ownership, source of funding, and/or investment objectives. Even as within this group, individual SWFs take various forms and may have divergent investment priorities and risk approaches. There is not even a universal definition of SWFs. As a result, they are often not viewed as typical foreign investors. The association of a SWF with a foreign government has raised various issues such as national security, trade protectionism and nationalism in the recipient countries. At the same time, due to the government ownership of some SWFs, they may fall into the group of business entities known as state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Given that SOEs are highly influential in some states, some recipient states have sought to subject SOEs to greater disciplines, such as in ensuring competition law and transparency principles apply to them, in order to level the playing field for other enterprises. Such disciplines have begun to appear in trade and investment treaties, and are coupled with the usual broad definitions of "investor" in such treaties. It is perhaps too early to state that there is a trend of greater legal and cross-border scrutiny over SOEs, and along with them, SWFs, in treaties. The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement that is under negotiation is an example of a potentially game-changing treaty which could affect SWFs qua SOEs. The challenge for SWFs is to carve a distinct identity in the twenty-first century, as more treaties that impose binding requirements arise. This article examines some recent developments, how SWFs may need to forge a unique identity and challenges of recipient states in balancing investment openness and the above concerns.

Singapore has entered into a number of bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with its trading partners. These FTAs vary in scope and commitments. As a result, Singapore's legal environment and laws have seen some changes. Many of these changes would interest those who do business with or invest in Singapore. While this section does not attempt to provide comprehensive information on all changes resulting from treaty commitments, it highlights salient changes for those trading or investing in Singapore. The developments highlighted here include changes made to Singapore legislation, as well as legal commitments made by Singapore as a result of its treaty obligations. Users are advised to consult the texts and related documents of each FTA for a full appreciation of the benefits that they or their countries may be eligible for. Information about Singapore's concluded agreements, and agreements still under negotiation, can be found here.

Almost 30 per cent of the adult population of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) smokes. All but one of the ASEAN members are currently parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). The outlier is Indonesia, the most populous of the ten ASEAN countries. Multilaterally, all ten ASEAN members are World Trade Organization (WTO) members and subject to its trade rules. Regionally, ASEAN is in the process of accelerated economic integration, with the aim of establishing the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015. A Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) system, set up under the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) arrangement, has existed since 1992, propelling members towards trade liberalisation and elimination of tariffs. At the same time, ASEAN has been negotiating trade and investment treaties with external partners, which have separate liberalisation targets and implications. In tandem, the overarching ASEAN Strategic Framework on Health and Development (2010–15) was established under the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Blueprint, to introduce and implement healthrelated initiatives in ASEAN. One area of focus of this framework is healthy lifestyles. In 2010, under these auspices, ASEAN health ministers committed to addressing tobacco control as a priority to promote healthy living. As a result, legislative and non-legislative initiatives have been introduced. In July 2012, ASEAN health ministers announced that tobacco would not be included in tariff liberalisation of the AFTA.

In this article, Locknie Hsu discusses the implications of the various legal claims being pursued in various fora in relation to plain packaging of tobacco products laws, especially in relation to Singapore and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ('ASEAN'). The article proceeds as follows: (1) In Part 1, Hsu examines the current state of Singapore's regulation of tobacco; (2) part 2 of the article then considers Singapore's current investment treaty commitments and their likely compatibility with plain packaging legislation, were it to be introduced into Singapore.

There is no single approach to government procurement regulation among Asian countries. While some are signatories to the WTO's Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), others are not. Some have deliberate policies which confer preferences on domestic suppliers of goods and services. Even so, some have embarked on changing their GP regimes independently of WTO requirements. Yet others appear to be prepared to make changes in tandem with the negotiation of bilateral or regional free trade agreements. This article examines government procurement from these varied perspectives of Asian countries.