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agriculture | farmers | food

SPS: New requirement imposed on Thai fruit exports to China
7-Apr-2005 Bangkok
Thai fruit exporters seeking to enjoy tariff-free access to China must ensure that their products come from orchards certified by local authorities, starting on May 1.
1,200 march to urge dropping of intellectual property from US-Thai deal
6-Apr-2005 Bangkok Post
More than 1,200 Thai farmers, slum dwellers and HIV/Aids patients from 30 civic groups staged a six-kilometre walkathon yesterday from a temple in Jomthien to the Royal Cliff Beach Hotel to drive home their demand that intellectual property rights be removed from free trade talks with the United States.
Thai-US FTA will make medicine unaffordable
4-Apr-2005
A Democrat Party MP has expressed fresh concerns over the possible social and economic implications of the free trade agreement currently being negotiated between Thailand and the US.
Thailand: Debate, poll on FTA demanded
2-Apr-2005 Bangkok Post
Two Senate committees are pushing for a general parliamentary debate and public referendum on the proposed Thai-US free trade agreement (FTA), which is likely to affect people from all walks of life, farming, investment, intellectual property, environment and national sovereignty.
Japan, Thailand strike pact on FTA talks’ farm aspects
31-Mar-2005
Japan and Thailand have struck a basic deal on the contentious farm products segment of trade talks, Japanese government sources said Wednesday.
Japan, Thailand strike pact on FTA talks’ farm aspects
31-Mar-2005 Japan Times
Japan and Thailand have struck a basic deal on the contentious farm products segment of trade talks, Japanese government sources said Wednesday. The deal is a major step toward striking a bilateral free-trade agreement as early as next month.
Analysis: S. Korea’s FTA push
31-Mar-2005 UPI
Upbeat about surging exports following its first free trade accord with Chile a year ago, South Korea unveiled an ambitious plan on Wednesday to push for free trade agreements with more than 15 countries by 2007.
Open letter from civil society on the US-Thailand FTA negotiations
29-Mar-2005 FTA Watch
On 4-8 April 2005, negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Thai and the US will take place in Pattaya. Following two previous rounds in Hawaii, the US is expected to submit demands on remaining issues, the most important of which is the issue of patents. This is a sign-on statement to call on the Thai government to halt the third round of negotiations in order to conduct a through review of the outstanding points and the negotiating position towards the FTA.
Mideast building trade ties with US
29-Mar-2005 LA Times
The Bush administration’s plan: to negotiate a series of trade agreements that would eventually fuse one of the world’s most economically and politically unstable regions into a giant free-trade zone.
China fears FTA’s impact on farming
22-Mar-2005
As the prospect of Australia and China negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) appears increasingly likely, China has flagged that Australian farmers may not get all they wish for.
S. Korean fruit growers hurt by S. Korea-Chile FTA
17-Mar-2005 Yonhap
South Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said 12,644 local peach, kiwi and grape farms across the country have decided to halt operations since the FTA’s ratification, indicating that the opening of the domestic market is taking a toll on the growers.
Southern African countries have taken firm stand against EFTA demands on intellectual property rights in free trade agreement
7-Mar-2005
A letter sent by South African Trade Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa to the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa confirms that the demand of EFTA Countries (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) to include provisions on intellectual property rights relating to medicines and agriculture in the Free Trade Agreement with SACU (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland) has been rejected.
Pakistan, China to sign trade agreement in April
28-Feb-2005 Hi Pakistan
Pakistan and China want finalisation of an early harvest programme to finally sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
Japan trying to resume FTA talks with S. Korea
23-Feb-2005 Kyodo
The bilateral negotiations have made little progress as South Korea has criticized Japanese-planned liberalization of farm product imports as being far from sufficient.
Japan to sign FTA with Switzerland
22-Feb-2005 New Kerala
An FTA with Switzerland, to be reached by April, would allow Japan to strengthen its position to fight back pressure to open up its agricultural market.
US cites progress in Andean talks but agriculture remains sticking point
16-Feb-2005 BNA
Negotiators working on a free trade agreement between the United States and the three Andean countries of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru made "strong advances" in the latest round of talks in a number of areas — including market access and dispute settlement — but still have much work to do on agriculture, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Americas Regina Vargo said.
Groups say the govt to lose P16.9B in revenues
26-Jan-2005 ABS-CBN
Two members of the Philippine House of Representatives are pushing for a congressional inquiry into the bilateral trade and investments agreements entered into by the government, which did not go through proper public consultations despite their far-reaching impact on the economy as well as the provisions of the Constitution.
US-Middle East Free Trade Coalition congratulates Moroccan Parliament
26-Jan-2005 National Foreign Trade Council
As an important lynchpin between Europe, Africa and the Middle East, access to the Moroccan market is essential for the U.S. banking, insurance and telecommunications industries.
Trade pact proposal has US upside
25-Jan-2005 NWAnews
A proposal to liberalize US trade with six Central American and Caribbean nations has received broad support from US agricultural groups. But the fate of the US-Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement remains uncertain.
Europe: support for change carries agendas
22-Jan-2005 Trinidad & Tobago Express
As 2005 proceeds, some Caribbean nations may find themselves faced with an unusually specific strategic choice: Europe may suggest the need to consider the relative weight they intend to give to the development of sectors such as tourism in preference to the role presently afforded to traditional agriculture.