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agriculture | farmers | food


S. Korea, US remain divided in FTA agriculture talks
Agriculture free trade talks between South Korea and the United States remained in a stalemate on Monday as neither side made any concessions on critical issues, South Korean negotiators said.
Key sticking points in talks for South Korea-US free trade deal
Chief trade negotiators from South Korea and the United States are set to meet in Washington on March 19-21 to settle their differences over sensitive issues as they are eager to conclude a free trade deal by the end of this month.
Goff pushes Mexican trade deal
Trade Minister Phil Goff leaves for Mexico this morning to push for a trade deal that could boost exports to New Zealand’s fourth largest market dairy market.
Agriculture sticking point in Japan, Australia free trade deal
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has come under increasing pressure from Japan’s farming sector not to sign a free trade deal involving agriculture with Australia.
Agriculture minister expresses opposition to US bone-in beef imports
In talks with a farmers’ group in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province, Park Hong-soo said beef must not be sacrificed for the sake of a possible free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
Mexico, US presidents promise to extend free trade
Presidents Felipe Calderon of Mexico and George W Bush of the United States held a series of meetings on Wednesday, promising to extend the free trade agreement between the two nations.
S Korea will not give up key farm goods at FTA talks with US: official
South Korea’s chief agriculture negotiator for free trade talks with the United States reiterated Wednesday that key agricultural goods must be excluded from a bilateral trade deal.
S Korea, US at odds over key agriculture issues at FTA talks: official
South Korea and the United States have not been able to close the gap on key issues at the latest free trade agreement (FTA) talks in Seoul, a government official said Tuesday.
Beef heading overseas
South Korea announced Thursday that it will lower its quarantine standards for US beef imports and resume imports of American beef that do not contain bone fragments.
US pears and apples first beneficiaries of the FTA US-Dominican Republic
The US export of 25 MT of pears and apples to the Dominican Republic was the first transaction following the application of the free trade agreement between both countries.
S. Korea, U.S. make no headway at agriculture FTA talks
South Korea and the United States made no headway in high-level talks to resolve outstanding agricultural issues that have been a sticking point in bilateral free trade negotiations, the government said Tuesday.
Cabinet to state its stand on M’sia-US FTA issue
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry would be presenting to the Cabinet this Wednesday the stand taken by all the respective ministries and agencies involved in the Malaysia-US Free Trade Agreement negotiations.
Out of the cage: FTA must promote fair, not free trade
I was travelling in the northern regions recently and casually asked Haji Manaf, a padi farmer and Umno stalwart in his late 50s, if he had heard of the Malaysia-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which is currently being negotiated. He said he had read about it in the Malay newspapers but really didn’t understand what it was all about.
Korea, US agree to exclude rice from FTA
South Korea and the United States have in principle agreed to exclude rice from their free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations, an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday.
Gambia Social Forum condemns EU-EPA negotiations
The executive members of the Gambia Social Forum have condemned the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) that is being negotiated between the European Union and ECOWAS member states. They say that these proposed free trade agreements would exacerbate the current agricultural crisis that farmers already face, increase poverty, and violate human rights.
Declaration of Nyéléni
What are we fighting against? Imperialism, neo-liberalism, neo-colonialism and patriarchy, and all systems that impoverish life, resources and eco-systems, and the agents that promote the above such as international financial institutions, the World Trade Organisation, free trade agreements, transnational corporations,and governments that are antagonistic to their peoples...
Mexico: Staple foods at risk from free market
When the Mexican government negotiated the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), in force since 1994, it estimated that 14 years of safeguards for its maize and beans would be enough time for local production of these crops to become competitive. But things did not work out that way.
Entering into a dangerous battle
The military-installed Thai government is entering into a risky new battle with farmer’s groups and the anti-FTA movement by pressing ahead with the Thai-Japan free trade agreement. Thousands of farmers, environmental activists and medical patients now plan to stage a mass protest next month against the government’s pro-FTA policy.
S Korean trade official hints at resolution of beef spat with US
South Korea’s chief negotiator in free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the United States on Friday said the two sides could resolve a trade dispute over his country’s rejection of US beef shipments, one of a few lingering obstacles in the nine-month-old negotiations.
US "free trade": Death, drugs and despair in Colombia
The so-called "free trade" deal between Colombia and the US would likely displace hundreds of thousands of poor rural Colombians from their lands, sending them into far deeper economic despair-and forcing many of them to work for the very groups that violently displaced them from their lands. You can not make this agreement—or any similar past agreement—better by tinkering around the edges.