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agriculture | farmers | food

Farm tariffs, IPRs seen as main obstacles to US-Andean FTA
27-Aug-2004
Tariffs on agricultural products and definitions of intellectual property rights, particularly for pharmaceuticals, are shaping up as the most contentious issues in the free trade negotiations between the United States and three Andean nations, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
EU, Israel resolve trade dispute over settlements
27-Aug-2004 EU, Israel resolve trade dispute over settlements
Goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will no longer be allowed to enter the European Union tariff-free under an agreement initialed on Thursday.
China-ASEAN agro trade on fast track
24-Aug-2004 China-ASEAN agro trade on fast track
The trade of agricultural produce between China and her ASEAN neighbours has benefitted from an early-harvest programme that was put in place earlier this year.
Thais lift ban on GMO planting, will regulate trials
24-Aug-2004
Thailand has lifted a three-year ban on planting genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by allowing the crops to grow in open-field trials with non-GMO plants.
POLICY REVERSAL: Green light for GMOs
22-Aug-2004 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.
Thousands in Panama protest free trade talks
8-Aug-2004 Thousands In Panama Protest Free Trade Talks
Thousands of students, activists and farmers marched through downtown Panama City Thursday to protest U.S.-Panama free trade talks taking place in another part of the city.
Jamaica: Sugar protest
6-Aug-2004 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.
CAFTA: Recolonizing Central America
6-Aug-2004 CAFTA: Recolonizing Central America
Managua, Nicaragua — "Prices are so low we have to grow more and more just to meet ends." That’s how a leader of a new Nicaraguan campesino organization, FEDICAMP, describes the current situation for small farmers here.
URGENT: Stay GE-Free: Reject the US-Australia FTA
30-Jul-2004
If Howard and Bush’s so-called ’free trade’ deal is confirmed by the Australian parliament and senate (WHICH CAN ONLY HAPPEN IF THE ALP VOTES WITH THE GOVERNMENT), genetically engineered crops and foods will be forced down our throats and onto our farms, and our hopes for GE-free Australia will end!!
Philippines: Market access for fruits sought in FTA with Japan
20-Jul-2004
The Department of Agriculture will work for a better market for tropical vegetables in a proposed Philippines-Japan free trade agreement (FTA) as Japan is believed to be more inclined to favor tropical vegetables grown by small farmers over tropical fruits grown by multinational companies that already widely dominate its market.
Mandatory checks on Chinese fruit
16-Jul-2004
The Agriculture Ministry will soon require selected lots of apples and pears from China to pass mandatory tests for chemical residues, pests, micro-organisms and heavy metals before they can enter the country.
Thailand’s free trade tactics under fire
8-Jul-2004 Thailand’s free trade tactics under fire
Thailand’s free-trade agreement (FTA) tactics are under fire for being opaque and shrouded in secrecy. Critics worry such methods are handing Thailand a poor deal, perhaps working to serve minority vested interests, and may even be undermining the informal social safety net provided by the country’s agriculture.
Farmers to lobby King over FTA
6-Jul-2004
Dairy farmers across the country have pledged to petition His Majesty the King for help as part of their objection to the government’s freetrade agreement (FTA) with Australia, the chairman of a dairy farmer’s cooperative group said yesterday.
Australia-US Free Trade Deal a Disaster
6-Jul-2004 Australia - U.S. Free Trade Deal a Disaster
President Bush promised the Australian government an economic sweetener in exchange for support of the U.S. led invasion, and under fast track authority Congress must vote up or down on the Australia U.S. Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) by early July.
The FTA: A regulatory framework transcending the constitution and democracy
22-Jun-2004 El TLC como marco regulatorio supraconstitucional y supra-democratico
Contrary to the widespread notion, fundamental aspects of the FTA with the US include a number of areas that are highly comprehensive and have ramifications and implications that go way beyond simply regulating cross-border trade in goods.
THAI-AUSTRALIA FTA: 1,500 dairy farmers to protest
17-Jun-2004
Around 1,500 farmers from 10 dairy co-operatives will gather at Kasetsart University today to repeat their call for the government to withdraw dairy products from the free-trade agreement with Australia.
Mexico free trade founders on Japan’s farmers
28-May-2004
The failure of bilateral trade talks between Mexico and Japan on October 16 has shocked both sides, particularly Japan. The talks foundered on the question of what to do about Japan’s farmers, among the most highly subsidized in the world and the power base of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
Diplomatic gaffe during Chile trade deal
27-May-2004
A diplomatic gaffe by "jet-lagged" Trade Minister Jim Sutton is thought unlikely to deter Chile from signing a three-way trade deal with New Zealand and Singapore next year.
Acuerdo Mercosur-UE clave para destrabar ALCA | EU-Mercosur deal key to unlocking FTAA
20-May-2004
Un rápido acuerdo entre la Unión Europea (UE) y el bloque sudamericano Mercosur, que lidera Brasil,ayudaría a destrabar las negociaciones para crear el Area de LibreComercio de las Américas (ALCA) el 1 de enero próximo, tal como originalmente se planeó.
Panama Proposal Is One of Many: Onslaught of FTAs Threatens U.S. Sugar Industry
11-May-2004
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.