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bilateralism & multilateralism

One step closer
12-Oct-2005 Oxford Business Reports
Oman came to the closing stages of its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the US on October 3, after talks on the final details closed successfully. Omani and US officials say the final signing should now take place early in 2006.
Specter of failure haunts WTO trade talks
10-Oct-2005 Taipei Times
"The consequences of failure would be an even further switch to [bi-lateral] Free Trade Agreements [FTAs] and long-term weakness for multilateral trade. Trade would become more discriminatory," said Razeen Sally, visiting senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
OIC members urged to look towards establishing Islamic FTA
1-Oct-2005 Bernama
Governments and the private sectors of the member countries of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) should take a qualitative leap to establish an Islamic Free Trade Area (FTA) to overcome obstacles and bottlenecks that hinder the development of trade and investment between member states.
Intensive talks to solve disagreement over free trade agreement
1-Oct-2005 Arabic News
Intensive talks between Egypt and the USA, especially on intellectual property, are currently take place as a preliminary step toward concluding a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
Bahrain societies flay move to normalise ties with Israel
30-Sep-2005 Gulf News
Nineteen societies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have rapped moves to normalise relations with Israel and called for joint national and regional efforts to abort the US-initiated Broader Middle East project.
Thailand’s bilateral trade pacts face mixed reception
30-Sep-2005 VOA
Thailand has been aggressively negotiating bilateral and regional trade agreements in the face of the uncertainty over whether the WTO will reach a deal on liberalizing global trade. But the agreements fail to live up to expectations of increased trade and investment.
EU Trade Commissioner Mandelson on the future of free trade agreements
27-Sep-2005 European Commission
FTAs "can build upon WTO rules and its framework by going further and faster in promoting openness and integration than is sometimes possible at the multilateral level. And there is a clear downside to standing on the sidelines while others scoop the markets."
TWN seminar warns about WTO-plus issues and rules in bilateral and regional FTAs
22-Sep-2005
The Third World Network held a regional Asian workshop on bilateral and regional FTAs on 26-29 August in Kuala Lumpur. Many speakers and participants voiced concerns about how the developed countries are making use of such FTAs to get developing countries to accept issues.
Asian regional workshop on bilateral free trade agreements
22-Sep-2005
The Asian Regional Workshop on Bilateral Free Trade Agreements was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 26-28 August 2005. It was organized by the Third World Network and attended by about 120 participants from many Asian countries.
Bilateral/regional free trade agreements: An outline of elements, nature and development implications
22-Sep-2005
Several Asian countries and Asean as a bloc are now pursuing trade and economic frameworks and agreements with non-Asean countries.
Aggressive response suggested to US push
10-Sep-2005 Bangkok Post
Thailand should be more aggressive in its response to the US push for environmental and labour protection under the bilateral free trade area (FTA) agreement, a seminar sponsored by the Thailand Research Fund (TRF) was told.
Myths about bilateral free trade
31-Aug-2005 Dawn
Of late, there has been an outbreak of activism in the realm of bilateral free trade and investment agreements across the world. Many developing countries have found themselves swept off by the wave of bilateralism, not realizing it only weakens the cause of multilateralism.
Benefits and costs of FTAs
30-Aug-2005 The Star
Negotiations on bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) are going on at a blazing speed worldwide. Not much is known on how these talks are going. But they have a lot of effects on local industries and farms, on medicine prices and on what can be included in future development strategies.
US Middle East economic policy: Are trade-based initiatives an effective tool in the war on terrorism?
19-Aug-2005 Center for Contemporary Conflict
An assessment published by a US military research outfit.
Caribbean: Trade winds gusting as region faces WTO meet
18-Aug-2005 IPS
Recent developments in international trade highlight the difficulties facing the 15-member Caribbean Community (Caricom) as it prepares for a key World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in Hong Kong this December.
Sri Lanka to focus on putting its trade basket in order this year, before venturing into new agreements
9-Aug-2005
Sri Lanka’s Commerce Department says all recently started trade negotiations will go on hold over the rest of the year, until priority commitments are sorted out.
Sticky situation for Japan’s rice policy
28-Jul-2005 Asia Times
As Japan moves to sign more bilateral Free Trade Agreements, agriculture remains a sticking point with other rice producing nations such as Australia, India and China.
APEC & free trade agreements in the Asia Pacific
22-Jul-2005
This conference provides a useful opportunity to reflect on the present and possible future role of APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation). In recent years, veteran APEC-watchers have rather complacently dismissed the grouping as irrelevant. But we may have under-estimated its contribution to the new matrix of economic alliances that are emerging within the region.
ASEAN in tariffs progress
21-Jul-2005
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is said to be on track to achieve a zero-tariff regime by 2015, a key ingredient for its ambitious plan to create a single market and production base by 2020.
GCC-EU Free Trade Agreement: a political imperative
14-Jul-2005 Dubai Quality Group
The way to counter the momentum of the US bilateral push would be to quickly bring to conclusion the deal between the GCC and the EU and through such a mechanism reinvigorate the multilateral approach to regional relations.