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ASEAN

Thailand to be left out of ASEAN FTA with S. Korea
15-May-2006
Thailand will not be included in a free trade agreement to be signed between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)and South Korea this week, the Philippine trade secretary said Monday.
ASEAN trade ministers meet to accelerate creation of European-style economic community
14-May-2006 Philippine Star
Southeast Asian trade ministers, pressured by China and India’s growing economic might, will gather this week in Manila to chart plans to accelerate their daunting ambition of creating a European-style economic community. They will also assess progress of ASEAN’s various free trade negotiations.
RI envisions free trade among D-8 member countries
12-May-2006 Jakarta Post
After breaking the ice by launching the preferential trade agreement among Developing Eight (D-8) countries, Indonesian Trade Minister Mari E. Pangestu envisions that the agreement would lead to a free trade arrangement for member countries in less than 15 years.
Free trade pact not to hurt farmers
9-May-2006
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has assured Congress president Sonia Gandhi that the proposed Indo-Asean free trade agreement (FTA) would not affect Indian farmers.
Free-trade agreement: Thailand rejects deal with South Korea
9-May-2006 The Nation
Thailand is the only Asean member not planning to sign the free-trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea and will thus lose export competitiveness, due to higher import tariffs.
Sonia’s ire on Indo-ASEAN free trade moves
7-May-2006
The Indian Government’s move to go in for more Free Trade Agreements with Asian countries has run into difficulties with Congress President Sonia Gandhi asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to "very carefully scrutinise" India-ASEAN FTA to safeguard interests of domestic farmers.
India aiming for Pan-Asian FTA: Manmohan
6-May-2006
Having concluded free trade agreements with SAARC, Singapore and Thailand, India is pursuing similar arrangements with several other Asian countries, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, said here on Friday.
M’sia provides ideal base to penetrate Asean market
5-May-2006 Bernama
Bilateral and regional trade and investment liberalisation measures undertaken in the context of Asean complement the opportunities offered by Malaysia’s growing economy, thus providing an ideal base for companies to penetrate the Asean market, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said Thursday.
South Korea, Asean to cut ag tarrifs for FTA
4-May-2006 Wisonsin Ag Connection
Under the deal, South Korea designated 200 agricultural products that will be exempt from tariff reductions due to their effect on local farmers
Kaesong goods to be included in ASEAN FTA
30-Apr-2006 Korea Times
ASEAN’s free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea would recognize products made in the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the inter-Korean project, as South Korean products. This is in stark contrast to the politically sensitive nature of Kaesong in concurrent negotiations for an FTA with the United States.
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.