21-Aug-2006
The Federal Industry Minister has ruled out abolishing import tariffs in the automotive and clothing industries as part of a free trade agreement with China.
20-Aug-2006
The Age
Industry plans for Australia’s manufacturing, textile and clothing industries are not up for negotiation in a free trade deal with China, the federal government says.
20-Aug-2006
Bernama
Labour and environmental issues will still be included in the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiation between Australia, New Zealand and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a senior New Zealand trade official said.
15-Aug-2006
Labor leader Kim Beazley has accused a China-based Australian of growing rich on Australian intellectual property and wants the Government to slowly ditch trade negotiations with China.
14-Aug-2006
As free trade deals go, it’s got the potential to be a whopper.
The Australian manufacturing industry though, is nervously awaiting the outcome of a Federal Cabinet debate today on a free trade deal with China. Cabinet ministers will consider if it should offer to cut tariffs on Chinese imports in return for greater access to China’s services industry.
13-Aug-2006
How is the debate inside cabinet about what should be put on the table for the free trade agreement with China and what should be kept in the cupboard, playing in Beijing’s secretive pagodas of power?
12-Aug-2006
Defending himself and his government against criticisms of free trade area (FTA) agreements Thailand negotiated with foreign countries, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Saturday said that the FTAs had helped boost trade and increase the country’s exports.
10-Aug-2006
A free trade agreement between Australia and Indonesia is back on the table, after business leaders from both countries lobbied for an initiative to stimulate trade and investment between them.
10-Aug-2006
Australia, which is keen to tie up a free trade agreement (FTA) with Asean) by the end of 2007, wants the services sector and protection of intellectual property (IP) be given top priority in the trade pact.
10-Aug-2006
Australia and Indonesia are thinking about studying a free-trade deal between the two nations.
10-Aug-2006
Thailand is suffering a nearly Bt9 billion (about US$239.5 million) trade deficit chalked up between October last year and May this year as a result of the free trade agreements (FTAs) it has entered with China, India, Australia and New Zealand.
9-Aug-2006
Federal Labor Leader Kim Beazley has urged caution in negotiating a free trade agreement with China, as federal cabinet shows signs of a split over parts of the proposed deal.
9-Aug-2006
Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer says Australia does not want to disrupt investment plans in the automotive and clothing industries through its free trade negotiations with China.
9-Aug-2006
A free trade agreement (FTA) between Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) and China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia and India (East Asia FTA) is possible in the next 10 years, Asean secretary-general, Ong Keng Yong, said Tuesday.
7-Aug-2006
AFP
Free trade negotiations between China and Australia are sensitive for both countries, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said amid reports the cabinet is split over whether to abandon tariffs protecting Australia’s clothing and motor vehicle industries.
5-Aug-2006
The Age
Australia could join an Asia-wide free trade bloc or create its own deal with other free-trading nations across the globe. Trade Minister Mark Vaile has floated at least two options for Australia if the current round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations collapse.
2-Aug-2006
Australian companies have been urged to use Malaysia as a regional hub for their businesses, taking advantage of the free trade agreements (FTAs) that Malaysia had signed with several countries.
2-Aug-2006
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer ended a Tokyo visit yesterday confident that negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan, the most lucrative bilateral deal available to Australia, can start next year.
2-Aug-2006
Visiting Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer expressed hope that Canberra could enter into official negotiations on a free trade agreement with Japan next year by concluding the ongoing feasibility study at an early date, Japanese officials said.
2-Aug-2006
A free trade deal between Australia and Japan could be a multi-billion dollar bonanza for both countries, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has suggested.
