International and Bilateral Issues

Logjam in India-EU FTA talks

Expressing concern over the ‘painfully slow' progress of negotiations between India and the European Union (EU) on the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA), Germany said that there was no way the treaty could be signed before the India-EU summit to be held in February, 2012 in New Delhi.
Both sides have locked horns over the issue of high tariffs on automobiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, machinery products, procurement policy, agriculture and wines and spirits.
India had agreed to bring down tariffs on high-end automobiles from the present 60 per cent to 30 per cent and further to 20 per cent after five years. Similarly, for small cars it had proposed bringing down tariffs to 50 per cent from 60 per cent and after five years to 40 per cent which was not acceptable to the EU negotiators who were demanding drastic cuts in tariffs on automobiles and wines and spirits.
On its part, India had been demanding that the EU should without any hindrances allow the free movement of professionals within the 27-nation bloc.
India is no longer a least developed country (LDC). In fact, it is a developed economy in many aspects and it cannot negotiate and seek concessions as an LDC.
The EU has sought substantial reduction in tariffs for export of its automobiles, wines and spirits to India.
EU also wants India to open financial sectors such as banking and insurance, postal, legal, accounting, maritime as well as security and the retail sector.
India and the 27-nation EU have been negotiating a comprehensive Free Trade Pact, officially known as Broad-based Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), since June, 2007. The EU is India's largest trading partner; bilateral trade in 2009-10 which is aggregated to $75 billion.

Vulture funds targeting world's poorest nations

Now, though, a fragile peace in the town, outside the capital Kinshasa, means mines are reopening and the factory is coming back to life. The school has been rebuilt and has running water. In the DRC, that represents hope.
The DRC should be one of Africa's richest countries. It has a mineral wealth estimated to be around $24-trillion (£15-tn). There are huge deposits of cobalt, diamonds, gold, copper, oil and 80 per cent of the world's supplies of coltan ore — a valuable mineral used in computers and mobile phones.
One in three children in the DRC will never get anything more than primary education.
One of the reasons the country has been unable to recover is that it is being pursued by international debt speculators, known as vulture funds, through offshore tax havens such as Jersey, for debts that were run up during 30 years of war and civil war.
Vulture funds operate by buying up a country's debt when it is in a state of chaos. When the country has stabilised, vulture funds return to demand millions of dollars in interest repayments and fees on the original debt.
The DRC has been a particularly fruitful target for vulture funds, being ravaged by conflict but rich in natural resources.
So far, according to the World Bank, the top 26 vultures have managed to collect $1-bn from the world's poorest countries and still have a further $1.3-bn to collect.
The World Bank has described vulture funds as “a threat to debt relief efforts”
In terms of public donations, the impact of the vulture funds is huge. The $1-bn collected by the funds is equivalent to more than double the International Committee of the Red Cross's entire budget for Africa in 2011.
One billion dollars could fund the entire U.N. appeal for the famine in Somalia and is more than twice the amount of money raised by Save the Children last year.
In 2010, Britain passed a law banning vulture funds from collecting in U.K courts. But the legislation failed to mention Jersey. Because Jersey is not specifically mentioned, it is automatically excluded under British law, a loophole that FG Hemisphere immediately exploited.
Jubilee Debt Campaign U.K., which has been campaigning for debt relief for over a decade, is sending a representative to Jersey next week to put the case directly to the island's government to close the vulture funds' loophole.
Jubilee Debt Campaign, said: “The DRC is the second poorest country in the world. The country desperately needs to be able to use its rich resources to alleviate poverty, not squander them on paying unjust debts to vulture funds left by the dictator Joseph Mobutu. Jersey has to shut vulture funds down.”
The World Bank estimates that more than one-third of the countries which have qualified for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) debt relief have been targeted by vulture funds.
HIPC countries are those whose debt is unsustainable and qualify for loans from the World Bank's International Development Association or the IMF's poverty reduction and growth facility.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is poised on the edge of a fragile peace but elections later this month could again destabilise the country.

Occupy protesters back

Occupy Wall Street protesters have been allowed to return to a New York City park where they were cleared out hours earlier.
Protesters were allowed back into lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park two by two Tuesday evening. They each could take only a small bag. No sleeping bags or tents are allowed.
A state Supreme Court judge ruled earlier on Tuesday the protesters didn't have a right to camp in the plaza. The site is open to the public but is privately owned.
Protesters are dismayed by the ruling and worry what the future will hold for the anti-Wall Street movement.

U.S.-Australia deal ruffles China

China on Wednesday expressed concern over a security agreement signed by the United States and Australia, saying the military alliance “may not be in the interest” of the region.
the agreement would help maintain security in the Asia-Pacific region.
As for using the form of a military alliance, China has its own concepts of friendly cooperation with all countries. China never engages in military alliances.
The Communist Party-run Global Times , a nationalistic tabloid, took a stronger view of the military deal, warning that Australia risked harming economic ties with China, the country's largest trade partner and the biggest destination for Australia's thriving exports of minerals.

Haryana “pro-investment”:Israel

Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has sought technological assistance from Israel for setting up more centres of excellence and saline water technology and sewage water treatment projects in the State.
Mr. Hooda also asked for Israel's assistance in setting up a Centre of Excellence for Fruits-Mango and Persimmon in Ladwa, a Centre of Excellence for Bee-keeping in Mewat, a Centre of Excellence for Floriculture Crops, and a Centre of Excellence for Organic Farming in Fruits and Vegetables.
These projects have been proposed for the second phase of the Indo-Israel Action Plan.
The Centre of Excellence for Fruits at Mangiana in Sirsa and the Centre of Excellence for Vegetables at Gharaunda in Karnal have already been set up.