bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

ASEAN

Asean-Korea trade deal sealed soon
26-Apr-2006 Manila Times
Member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations expect to conclude a free trade agreement with South Korea in a meeting to be held in the Philippines next month, the Department of Trade and Industry said.
India remove negative list in FTA talks: Asean
25-Apr-2006
India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement talks are in troubled waters with Asean insisting on New Delhi to eliminate its big list of negative items, contrary to the stand taken by the former.
North Korean goods pose local threat
24-Apr-2006
Cheaper products from North Korea’s Kaesong special economic zone, which is a part of the proposed Asean-South Korean free trade agreement, may flood into Thailand and hurt local producers, according to executives of the Board of Trade.
METI’s Asia-Oceania FTA pitch surprises but is predictable
18-Apr-2006 Japan Times
Trade minister Toshihiro Nikai’s announcement earlier this month that Japan plans to start talks with 15 other nations in 2008 to create an Asia-Oceania free-trade zone took many by surprise — not only experts but also those within government — sparking speculation about the ministry’s true intentions.
Indo-ASEAN free trade deal in trouble
11-Apr-2006 IPS
A proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the ten-nation Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has hit a major roadblock with India’s agriculture ministry objecting to the inclusion of commodities like pepper, rubber, palm oil, coffee and tea in an ambitious tariff liberalisation programme.
Change or risk losing market share, New Zealand told
10-Apr-2006
Asean has told New Zealand, whose big dairy and meat product trade to the regional grouping has slowed in recent years, that it risks losing market share to newer competitors muscling their way into the area unless its exporters turn more creative and move quickly to meet changing regional consumer needs.
Asian FTA would simplify trade rules
10-Apr-2006
Thai business leaders have welcomed a Japanese proposal to create an East Asian Free Trade zone to integrate economies in the region, but they were sceptical about whether Japan would liberalise its sensitive agricultural sector. If Japan’s idea comes true, they said, it would help countries in the region overcome the ’’spaghetti bowl’’ effect of proliferating bilateral free trade agreements with different trade rules.
Tariff timetables may get complicated
10-Apr-2006
New Zealand will probably end up dealing with 10 schedules for the gradual phase-out of tariffs, one for each of the Asean countries.
Goff calls prospect of Asia FTA ’interesting’
10-Apr-2006
Japan’s proposed Asian regional free trade agreement got tepid support today from Trade Minister Phil Goff, who told the Gateway to Asean Summit in Auckland that the plan was "consistent" with other activities already well underway.
Trade agreements come under Sonia scanner
10-Apr-2006 Business Standard
Concerns raised by a section of domestic industry against indiscriminate opening up of the Indian market to imports have touched a chord at the highest levels of the policy establishment.
Pressure builds to seal trade deals
9-Apr-2006
New Zealand could be sidelined from trading with some of the world’s fastest-growing economies if it fails to push ahead with a network of Asian free trade deals, Associate Minister for Trade Negotiations Jim Sutton says.
Panel pushes 16-nation FTA in Asia, mulls boosting foreign workers
8-Apr-2006 TMCnet
A government policy-setting panel on Friday welcomed a proposal by the trade minister to launch negotiations between Japan and its 15 Asian neighbors to create a free trade zone, and discussed whether to accept more foreign workers amid the aging of society, economic and fiscal policy minister Kaoru Yosano said.
US in relentless bid to forge FTA with Southeast Asia
7-Apr-2006 AFP
More than three years after President George W Bush unveiled an initiative to forge free-trade agreements with Southeast Asian nations, a deal aimed at prising open the 500-million-strong regional market remains elusive.
Japan proposes huge free trade zone
6-Apr-2006
Japan’s sponsorship of a vast free trade area including most of Asia, Australia and New Zealand is expected to be on the agenda when Associate Trade Minister Jim Sutton visits Tokyo later this month.
Japanese govt to propose big Asian free-trade zone
4-Apr-2006 AFX
The Japanese government plans to propose the formation of an Asian free-trade zone which could include half the world’s population and rival the EU and NAFTA, an official of the trade ministry said.
India-Asean FTA hits a roadblock
25-Mar-2006 NDTV
The India-Asean Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has hit a roadblock with Agriculture Ministry objecting to inclusion of farm products like pepper, rubber, palm oil, coffee and tea in the tariff liberalisation programme.
India in center of effort for world’s largest free trade area
22-Mar-2006 World Peace Herald
India is pushing ahead on negotiations for free trade agreements with a series of Asian and Middle East countries that are expected to result in the emergence of the world’s largest free trade area by population.
Decision on Asean-EU free trade pact in August
17-Mar-2006 Business Times
The European Union (EU) and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) are still studying the possibility of having free trade agreements (FTAs) either on a regional basis or bilaterally with individual countries, says European Commission ambassador and head of delegation Thierry Rommel.
Vietnam: FTA or not?
14-Mar-2006 VietNamNet Bridge
As Vietnam’s bid to join the WTO comes to its conclusion, economic experts are drawing the public’s attention to another topic: What should Vietnam do about free trade agreements (FTA) within ASEAN?
Japan to resume free-trade talks with Asean in April
13-Mar-2006 Manila Times
The Japanese government has decided to resume stalled talks with Asean over signing a free-trade deal from next month, as other Asian nations rush to conclude such agreements.