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agriculture | farmers | food

Korea seeks to keep 288 farm products out of FTA
24-Aug-2006
Korea has asked the US for “exceptional treatment” of 288 agricultural products or 20 percent of 1,452 agricultural items in their planned free trade agreement, a high-ranking government official said Wednesday.
Korea, Thailand- rice issue not resolved
24-Aug-2006
Thailand and South Korea failed Thursday to reach an agreement in negotiations into the issue of rice trade between the two nations, impeding the implementation of a regional trade pact between Southeast Asia and Seoul.
US-India Knowledge Initiative on Agriculture: Indian proposal (May 2006)
20-Aug-2006
A proposal to implement the US-India KIA from India
Farmers’ suicides may hit FTA deal
20-Aug-2006 Gulf Daily News
India is citing the fear of political fallout and its suicide epidemic among farmers as obstacles to hammering out a free-trade deal with Southeast Asia, officials said yesterday.
ASEAN wants agriculture to be in ASEAN-East Asia FTA
19-Aug-2006 Tehran Times
ASEAN does not discount the possibility of having a free trade agreement (FTA) with all East Asian countries as a whole, said the Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry director Ramon Vicente T. Kabigting. However, it must first consider including agriculture in the agreement for this to materialise, he told reporters.
Making free trade fair
15-Aug-2006
Ukrit Kungsawanich, a fruit grower in Rayong, was worried when he read in the news that a US company is trying to patent a drink made with mangosteen extract.
Malawian farmers union wary of EU trade deal
15-Aug-2006
Farmers in Malawi have warned government to tread carefully before endorsing the European Union’s Economic Partnership Agreement, saying signing the deal will put the country’s agricultural products at the risk of not finding the international market.
Executive committee is established to oversee Taiwan-Guatemala FTA
15-Aug-2006
n executive committee was established in Taipei yesterday to oversee the execution of a Taiwan-Guatemala free trade agreement (FTA) that took effect July 1.
Lost in statistics
13-Aug-2006 Bangkok Post
The figures show Thais are winning with free trade - yet many of the nation’s small farmers, struggling just to scrape by, are looking to lessons learned around the world.
Politics of corn loom for divided Mexico
9-Aug-2006 ABC News
The disputed election has raised tensions over a pending NAFTA deadline to halt corn and bean import tarriffs.
Guatemala to sue US for dumping
7-Aug-2006 Prensa Latina
After a month and five days of implementing the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with United States, Guatemala is suffering from this pact’s asymmetries and is suing the northern country for unfair competition.
Farmers in poorer southern region demand changes to free-trade treaty
7-Aug-2006 Charlotte Observer
Felipe Calderon’s contested, razor-thin victory in Mexico’s presidential election last month is likely to force his attention toward the underdeveloped south, where poor farmers want to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
US FTA to cause big drop in agriculture output: report
4-Aug-2006 Hankyoreh
A free trade pact with the United States is expected to cause South Korean agricultural output to fall by 1-2 trillion won (US$1.03-$2.07 billion), a report by a state-run think tank said Friday.
Expert: Keep Delaying CAFTA for DR
31-Jul-2006
Fernando Alvarez Bogaert, former Finances minister, said Friday that the validity of the Central American-Dominican Republic-US Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), put off for this month, could wreck national production if enacted.
Chinese Flower Power Hits Thai Growers
31-Jul-2006
On the misty hill slopes of northern Thailand the chill in the air encourages roses to grow to a size larger than apples. Hundreds of these large blooms, in colours ranging from red and crimson to orange and white, are harvested daily to feed the flower markets of Bangkok.
Zim defiant on Bippas
31-Jul-2006
Zimbabwe is not going to change its stance on Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (Bippas) that were violated under the country’s controversial land reform programme, a position that could further strain diplomatic relations with affected nations.
Fighting the US-South Korea free trade agreement
28-Jul-2006 S&L
Participants in the growing movement inside South Korea who are opposed to the proposed U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement held demonstrations in Washington, D.C. during the first week of June while negotiations were being conducted.
Kenya: Horticulture industry in treaty plea
22-Jul-2006 AllAfrica.com
Kenya’s horticultural sector is appealing to the Government to lobby other east and southern Africa countries for agreement on the ongoing trade talks between the region and the European Union.
FTAs may not be worth their weight, says academic
20-Jul-2006 Bangkok Post
Thailand’s benefits from bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) may not be worth the cost, according to an academic.
Dreaming of a different kind of FTA
19-Jul-2006 Hankyoreh
NGOs such as the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief suggest a new FTA as an alternative of unfair trade situations. The new FTA is not a free trade agreement, but rather a "fair trade agreement."