Monday, March 26, 2012

The EU aviation CO2 charge: Prompting the evolution of bilateral trade & economic agreements?

On Friday, the BBC reported that "the EU has directed Indian carriers to submit the emissions details of their aircraft by 31 March. But Mr Singh told parliament that "no Indian carrier is submitting them in view of the position of the government"".

I have been arguing for years now that bilateralism in not only trade but all 4 "freedoms" (capital, goods, services and labour) may be an option given the systemics and dynamics in the world, which include:

1) The failure of the Doha WTO talks which has been leading many countries or regional blocs towards bilateral agreements which cover not only trade but other economic areas as well.

2) The willingness to bring immigration inside the WTO agenda and bilateral agreements (India comes to mind)

3) The pressures placed on the US and EU markets (especially the Euro zone of the EU) due to China's WTO membership.

The Indian government has pointed out that there is no international agreement on charges of aviation CO2 emissions. Time for bileteral deals on all matters trade, economic and beyond to lick in?

Food for thought!

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