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Swiss say big yes to EU labour
8-Feb-2009 AFP
The Swiss shook off right-wing fears over job losses on Sunday, voting resoundingly to prolong an EU free labour agreement and extending the policy to workers from bloc newcomers Bulgaria and Romania.
RP-EU partnership-agreement talks start
8-Feb-2009 Business Mirror
The Philippines and the European Union (EU) will formally start on Monday the negotiations for the Partnership Cooperation Agreement (PCA) that qualifies Manila to the comprehensive free-trade agreement between the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that seeks to facilitate trade and investments between two influential regional blocs.
FTA with Nepal at initial stage
8-Feb-2009 The Island
The President of the Sri Lanka Nepal Business Council of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka said that Nepal had approached Sri Lanka about entering into a free trade agreement.
Developing countries turn to South-South trade
8-Feb-2009 Reuters
Developing countries hoping to compensate for slumping demand in rich countries and falling commodity prices are looking at ways to bolster one of the most dynamic parts of their economies — South-South trade.
Spain expects to sign Peru-EU deal when takes bloc presidency in 2010
8-Feb-2009 Andina
Peru’s Foreign minister Jose Antonio García Belaunde said Saturday that Spain wants to sign formally the Association Agreement between Peru and the European Union (EU), when this country takes on presidency of the bloc in 2010.
Trade: South Africa in growing conflict with EU
8-Feb-2009 IPS
Brussels officials have rejected calls from three southern African governments for a reassessment of a new trade accord with the European Union.
Philippine negotiator criticized for supporting EU proposal for bilateral trade negotiations
7-Feb-2009
The EU-ASEAN Campaign network, with members in Europe and Southeast Asia, assailed the statements made recently by Philippine Assistant Secretary Ramon Cabigting of the Department of Trade and Industry expressing support to the EU proposal to proceed with bilateral talks with the EU and the country’s willingness to liberalize its services sector.
Jordan, Pakistan to negotiate FTA in March
6-Feb-2009
Jordan and Pakistan are expected to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) this year, with negotiations to finalise the draft deal slated for March, Pakistan’s envoy to Jordan said on Wednesday.
Ministers pledge to remove trade barriers
6-Feb-2009
East African Community (EAC) Council of ministers has set up a monitoring mechanism to deal with non-tariff trade barriers (NTBs) that have ruined investor confidence.
FTA with Nepal at initial stage
6-Feb-2009
The President of the Sri Lanka Nepal Business Council of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) said that Nepal had approached Sri Lanka about entering into a free trade agreement.
EU car makers want to scrap EU-S. Korea trade pact
5-Feb-2009 IHT
European car makers called Thursday for the European Union to scrap a draft free-trade deal with South Korea, saying it won’t let them increase exports during a sales slump at home.
Australia to check US-Australia FTA for American protectionism
5-Feb-2009 Xinhua
Australia will examine its free trade deal with the United States to see if Washington is flouting its obligations under the pact if the United States adopts a "Buy American" clause for new stimulus projects.
South Korean firms keen to invest in NZ
5-Feb-2009 NZ Herald
South Korean companies are eyeing the investment potential of prime New Zealand resources as both countries prepare to start bilateral free trade negotiations.
The end of free trade?
5-Feb-2009 Socialist Worker
The US will find it harder and harder to maintain neoliberalism abroad and some sort of financial state capitalism at home. As unemployment grows, it will also become more difficult to use access to the US market as leverage to incorporate client states abroad into the fold of US imperialism. We are at a major turning point. Like most of neoliberal ideology, free trade has lost its allure. However, what will replace it isn’t entirely clear. There are many possibilities, and they all depend on the level of class struggle. In the US, the most crucial question is whether workers get pulled into a nationalist, protectionist "Buy American" campaign—or whether they take an internationalist approach in concert with workers in other countries
EU, India may reach free trade agreement deal: official
5-Feb-2009 Thaindian
India’s ambassador to the European Union Jaimini Bhagwati has expressed confidence that the 27-member European Union and India will reach a deal on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Quebec leader calls for closer trans-Atlantic ties
5-Feb-2009 IHT
Quebec Premier Jean Charest said Wednesday it was now "more urgent" for the 27-nation EU bloc and the North American countries to move faster to seek new free-trade pacts.
No such thing as free trade
5-Feb-2009 Vue Weekly
When Canadian Minister of International Trade Stockwell Day signed the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in Peru on November 21, it was a happy day for Canada’s oil and gas sector, but the deal was celebrated instead as a landmark for human rights and democracy in Colombia.
Blue House scales back its rush to FTA ratification
5-Feb-2009 Hankyoreh
Both the Korean government and the ruling party seem to be waiting for the Americans to make up their minds
Japan-US FTA vital: ACCJ chief
5-Feb-2009 Japan Times
Getting a free-trade agreement between Japan and the United States is a much-needed goal, but it will require close multilevel exchanges, according to a top executive of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
FTA talks with the US to be revived
5-Feb-2009 The Nation
Thailand and the United States will resume free-trade agreement talks after a three-year suspension of negotiations, as concerns over slumping economic growth affect the two nations’ overall trading prospects.