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Philippines’ TPP plea backed by precedent?
14-Feb-2011 BusinessWorld
An Australian envoy has hinted at favorable reception for the Philippines’ request that any invitation to join the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal come with easier terms.
Protesters want details of free-trade agreements
14-Feb-2011 Stuff
Protesters will descend on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade today as they join calls for the New Zealand Government to release Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade agreement details.
EU-South Korea free trade agreement: green light a step away
13-Feb-2011 EP
MEPs are expected to give green light for ratification on Thursday (17 February) of the most ambitious free trade accord the EU so far negotiated.
Indo-Lanka CEPA deadlock ends
13-Feb-2011 Sunday Times
The Sri Lankan government has broken an impasse over the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement which has been dragging for several years, and decided to renegotiate some sections of the proposed agreement with India.
Basic agreement on a bilateral investment treaty between Japan and Papua New Guinea
11-Feb-2011 MOFA
Japan and Papua New Guinea have reached a basic agreement on a bilateral investment treaty between the two countries
Free trade deal will be bad for workers
11-Feb-2011 Portland Insight
The International Trade Commission even predicts that the US service sector will be a net loser as a result of the US-Korea pact.
Free trade with Europe could hinge on oilsands, seal hunt
11-Feb-2011 Montreal Gazette
Sealing and oilsands, two issues that have darkened Canada’s image in some sectors of European society, could affect ratification of the proposed Canada-European Union free trade agreement, suggests a report from the House of Commons parliamentary committee on trade.
Mexico-Brazil begin free trade talks on Feb. 28, Reforma says
11-Feb-2011 Bloomberg
The governments of Mexico and Brazil will begin formal negotiations on Feb. 28 to reach a free-trade agreement, newspaper Reforma reported.
India: FTA will boost Malaysia palm oil sector
11-Feb-2011 The Star
Next week’s free trade agreement (FTA) signing between Malaysia and India will be a further boost for the country’s palm oil sector and Sabah, in particular, stands to benefit.
US negative in excluding rice in trans-Pacific FTA
10-Feb-2011 Kyodo
US Trade Representative Ron Kirk indicated Wednesday in a congressional panel that the United States is unlikely to treat Japan’s rice as an exception in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
Maehara denies US pressure on Japan to join Pacific FTA talks
10-Feb-2011 Kyodo
Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara denied that the United States has been pressuring Japan to join a US-backed Pacific free trade agreement, saying some Americans have expressed a sense of caution on the possibility of Japan entering the talks.
EU keen to secure an early Mercosur deal
9-Feb-2011 UPI
EU officials visiting Latin America have given the clearest signal yet they are keen to seal a wide-ranging economic collaboration pact with Mercosur regional trade bloc.
Australian trade deal real test of gov’t resolve on ’Heisei opening of Japan’
9-Feb-2011 Mainichi
"Essentially, a deal with Australia is a prerequisite for participation in the TPP, making this a do-or-die moment for the Japanese administration," says the Mainchi Daily News
US to press South Korea, Panama, Colombia and Russian trade
9-Feb-2011 Reuters
Apart from passage of the three pending FTAs, the White House also wants Congress to remove a Cold War-era stain on relations with Russia by approving "permanent normal trade relations."
Gov’t, ruling party discuss ratification of S. Korea-US FTA
9-Feb-2011 Yonhap
"The GNP will never railroad the KORUS FTA through parliament," Grand National Party floor leader Kim Moo-sung said
India urges Saarc states to ratify services trade deal
9-Feb-2011 Economic Times
India on Tuesday urged all member-states to ratify the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Agreement on Trade in Services, terming it a "big step forward" for increasing trade within the region.
US asparagus growers get help
9-Feb-2011 Recordnet.com
California asparagus growers are eligible for a share of $15 million in federal funds to help offset losses suffered as imports from Mexico and Peru erode their market share due to FTAs.
Southeast Asia embraces China trade, but how’s the relationship? It’s complicated.
9-Feb-2011 CSM
Lower export barriers are spurring trade and investment from China, but local producers now worry that a flood of cheap Chinese imports will put them out of business.
Japan cuts Filipino nurses some slack
9-Feb-2011
Since the Japan Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) was implemented in 2009, only one Filipino nurse qualified to work in Japan after going through rigorous application and hiring procedures, an official of the Japanese embassy in Manila said Tuesday.
USTR considering pharmaceutical pricing restrictions in TPP; refuses to follow May 10th agreement on IP-medicines issues
8-Feb-2011 Info Justice
Public Citizen and Forum on Democracy and Trade met with US Trade Representative staff on January 3 to be briefed on the Obama administration’s negotiation of the TPP with respect to the planned IP chapter and the rumored chapter on pharmaceutical reimbursement programs.