pact | Common News Update

Jan312021 by adminNo Comments

UK applying to join Asia-Pacific free trade pact CPTPP

Business

Department for International TradeThe UK is applying to join a free trade area made up of 11 Asia and Pacific nations, under its post-Brexit plans.The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership - or CPTPP - includes Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand.In total, it covers a market of around 500 million people, generating more than 13% of the world's income. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss will make the request on Monday, with negotiations expected in the spring.There are 11 countries in the CPTPP trade agreement formed in 2018: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.The US was originally in talks to be part of the CPTPP, but former President Donald Trump pulled out when he took office.The ma...

Nov232020 by adminNo Comments

Greece, UAE agree to mutual defense pact

Business

Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Greece and the United Arab Emirates, countries opposing recent Turkish policy, agreed to a strategic partnership on Monday. "I had the pleasure of meeting Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Prime Minister of Greece," UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed announced in a Twitter message after the two met in Abu Dhabi on Monday Advertisement "I am happy to announce the establishment of a strategic partnership to enhance political, economic and cultural cooperation between our countries," bin Zayed. The clause regarding mutual defense, calling for aid if one country's territorial integrity is threatened, is likely the most significant element of the pact. Although Greece and the UAE do not share a border or belong to a common alliance, each country regards Turkey as a threat. Greece dis...

Jan272020 by adminNo Comments

Northeast governors slow to embrace regional climate pact

Technology

CONCORD, N.H. -- Supporters of a regional pact that would tackle transportation emissions are struggling to win over several New England governors concerned that the climate change initiative will increase gas prices. After the Transportation and Climate Initiative was announced last month, New Hampshire's Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said the state won't join, citing fears of a gas price hike. Vermont's Republican Gov. Phil Scott said he couldn't support the initiative if it amounts to a tax on carbon. A spokesman for Maine's Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said the state has yet to sign a draft memorandum of understanding for the TCI, citing the unique challenges of addressing transportation in a rural state. The initiative is aimed at a dozen Northeast and mid-Atlantic states an...

Aug32019 by adminNo Comments

Trump says China and Russia ‘very excited’ about his new nuclear pact idea

World

Donald Trump has said he wants a new nuclear pact signed by Russia and China.The president's comments come after he withdrew the US from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia. Mr Trump said of the proposed new pact: "I've discussed it with President Putin. I've also discussed it with China. And I will tell you China was very, very excited about talking about it and so is Russia. So I think we'll have a deal at some point." For more than three decades, the Cold War-era pact banned land-based missiles with a range of between 310 and 3,400 miles.But Mr Trump said on Friday the US would quit the INF Treaty, blaming Moscow for violating the agreement with its development and fielding of certain weapons. Adver...

Aug22019 by adminNo Comments

INF nuclear treaty: US pulls out of Cold War-era pact with Russia

World

The US has formally withdrawn from a key nuclear treaty with Russia, raising fears of a new arms race. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) was signed by US President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987.It banned missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 km (310-3,400 miles).But earlier this year the US and Nato accused Russia of violating the pact by deploying a new type of cruise missile, which Moscow has denied.The Americans said they had evidence that Russia had deployed a number of 9M729 missiles - known to Nato as SSC-8. This accusation was then put to Washington's Nato allies, which all backed the US claim."Russia is solely responsible for the treaty's demise," Secretary of State Mike P...