agriculture | farmers | food
17-Apr-2005
It’s been deemed the “best market access package of any U.S. free trade agreement with a developing country to date” by the Office of the US Trade Representative. So can the new trade agreement between the United States and Morocco actually live up to such spectacular billing?
17-Apr-2005
Australia’s prospects of a trade breakthrough with Japan this week have been undermined by new regional tensions and growing domestic opposition.
9-Apr-2005
A free trade agreement (FTA) between Japan and Australia would not deal a serious blow to Japanese agricultural sectors, a senior Australian Government official says.
7-Apr-2005
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.