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Agriculture: Arab trade agreement may be fatal for Lebanon’s farmers
Lebanese farmers say the Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement (Gafta) could wipe them out when it goes into effect Jan. 1. If that happens, they promise to take to the streets in protest.
Agriculture reforms go against Korea’s grain
In excluding agriculture from FTA negotiations, the South Korean government is setting itself up for even greater domestic backlash when multilateral negotiations pry open a sector insulated from any form of competition.
SPS issues and free trade agreements
While the main US goal on agriculture in many FTA negotiations often is to secure non-SPS related concessions such as lower tariffs, the foreign partners often see the FTA as an opportunity to resolve outstanding SPS issues with the US as well as seek accelerated new market access to the US for their animal and plant products.
Agriculture: Thais urged to reject political parties which support bilateral FTAs and GM crops
Thailand’s leading agricultural activist network has urged Thais not to vote for political parties which back free trade agreements and genetically modified (GM) crops research at next February’s general election.
Trading in food safety? The impact of trade agreements on quarantine in Australia
Australia has always enjoyed rigorous national food standards that were applied equally to both domestically produced and imported food. The capacity to maintain and apply these standards, however, is now being undermined by international trade agreements and procedures for settling trade disputes with a result that challenges to public health are being significantly increased.
The Thai dairy sector under liberalised trade conditions
Special report by Rabobank - PDF file
Bush won’t dissolve sugar jobs
Handled with care. That is the best way to describe how the Bush administration has dealt with sugar in America’s international trade agreements.
Agriculture and the Andean FTA: What’s at stake in Colombia?
On May 18, 2004, trade representatives from the United States and the Andean region met in Cartagena, Colombia to begin negotiations for a new set of bilateral trade agreements known collectively as the Andean Free Trade Agreement.
Comparing EU free trade agreements: Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards
Sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) are receiving increasing attention within the framework of international trade. SPS measures are meant to ensure that imports do not undermine national health and safety.
Bilateral & regional negotiations on agriculture: competitive liberalization or protectionist confusion?
Synoptic review of what is happening with US trade talks on agriculture, outside the WTO
POLICY REVERSAL: Green light for GMOs
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra yesterday bestowed the government’s tacit blessing on the planting and trading of genetically modified (GM) crops by revoking an earlier ban on their commercial use, in defiance of wide opposition from farmers, environmentalists and consumer networks.
Jamaica: Sugar protest
Trade unions which represent sugar industry employees plan to stage peaceful demonstrations outside the European Union delegation offices this week to help press Jamaica’s case for more time to adjust to Europe’s planned sharp reduction in the price it pays Caribbean countries for sugar.
Food, Trade And US Power Politics In Latin America
The difference between what Bush officials say to Congress and the pap they feed foreign audiences makes interesting reading for anyone trying to figure out US government rhetoric on Latin America.
Panama Proposal Is One of Many: Onslaught of FTAs Threatens U.S. Sugar Industry
A representative of the American sugar industry cautioned the Office of the United States Trade Representative today that a proposed trade agreement with Panama cannot be viewed in isolation.