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agriculture | farmers | food

Thai civil groups want IP off trade-talks agenda with US
12-Oct-2004 The Nation
Civil groups yesterday called for intellectual property (IP) to be excluded from the second round of the Thai-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiation because of fears it would give unjustified protection to rich IP developers at the expense of Thais.
Bilateral & regional negotiations on agriculture: competitive liberalization or protectionist confusion?
4-Oct-2004 FQAEA
Synoptic review of what is happening with US trade talks on agriculture, outside the WTO
Alert from Via Campesina Brazil on EU-Mercosur negotiations
4-Oct-2004
From September 20th to 24th the negotiators for Mercosul [Mercado Común del Sur] met in Brussels. Among them were the negotiators from Brazil and the European Union to make bids on tariffs and integration processes.
EU-Mercosur: EU presents completed offer to Mercosur
2-Oct-2004 EU DG Trade
In the on-going negotiations for an EU-Mercosur Association Agreement, the EU has today sent Mercosur a completed offer.
US-Dominican Republic FTA plan suspended
29-Sep-2004 Forbes
The U.S. government has suspended plans to ratify a free-trade agreement with the Dominican Republic after lawmakers passed a 25 percent import tax on corn syrup last week, a top U.S. official said Monday.
Farmers risk violating US patents
29-Sep-2004 Bangkok Post
Thai farmers risk being held liable for patent violations under patent application rights for genetically modified (GM) papaya being considered by American biotechnologists working with Thai scientists, experts said yesterday.
Taking liberties - new Christian Aid report
29-Sep-2004 Christian Aid
This bold new report from Christian Aid explodes the myth that free trade is the answer to poverty.
We denounce the Korea-Japan FTA
29-Sep-2004 Social Movements Network
The governments of Korea and Japan have come together today, 350km away from Seoul, for their fifth negotiation to consolidate a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries. Ever since the negotiations were initiated last December, many NGOs and people’s organizations have shown concern over the planned FTA.
Thai dairy farmers make U-turn on FTA plan
28-Sep-2004 Bangkok Post
Key dairy farmers are making a U-turn in their FTA strategy and are now seeking financial, technical and marketing assistance from the big players Australia and New Zealand.
Sugar beet farmers frame presidential election with troublesome trade deal
25-Sep-2004
Sugar beet farmers in a rural Minnesota district that turned out solidly for President Bush in 2000 are having second thoughts about his re-election now that the administration is supporting a trade agreement they see as a threat.
Rough going for D.R. free-trade agreement
21-Sep-2004
U.S. corn producers complained to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick after the Dominican Republic (D.R.) Congress decided to impose a 25% surcharge on imports of cheaper U.S. corn syrup for use as a sweetener.
Japan, Mexico ink landmark accord
20-Sep-2004 Asahi.com
After months of drawn-out negotiations, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi Friday signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Mexican President Vicente Fox.
Thaksin pushes Thai-Japan FTA
16-Sep-2004
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he has asked the Japanese government to help develop a Thai-Japan free trade area (FTA) agreement with Thailand agreeing to Japan’s plan to set rice and beef as sensitive products categories.
EU-SA trade deal set for a tune-up
1-Sep-2004 EU-SA Trade Deal Set for a Tune-Up, Not an Overhaul
It has been almost five years since SA and the European Union (EU) last sealed a bilateral trade agreement and the current deal comes up for review in November.
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.