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US drug makers pressure Canberra
28-Dec-2004
US drug manufacturers are planning a New Year’s push to pressure Canberra to unwind initiatives to cut medicine prices.
Japan adopts FTA policy focusing on partners in Asia
22-Dec-2004 Japan Times
The government on Tuesday approved a basic plan to promote free-trade agreements, prioritizing accords with Asian trading partners to help build an East Asian community. It also adopted a set of 12 criteria to choose potential FTA partners, envisioning future negotiations with trading partners outside East Asia.
Critique of the proposed Chile-New Zealand Closer Economic Partnership (P3 with Singapore)
21-Dec-2004 ARENA
The New Zealand, Chile and Singapore governments are promoting a P-3 whose primary - and arguably only - beneficiaries are the transnational companies that straddle two of the three countries, including opportunists who locate there to take advantage of the deal. The greatest potential beneficiaries are the agribusiness interests of Fonterra and Nestle as they promote their shared strategy to dominate Latin America’s dairy industry.
ABAC: Assessment of the Proposal for an FTAAP
12-Nov-2004 ABAC
An Issues Paper for the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC)
T Shinawatra, Aust partner await FTA
5-Nov-2004 The Nation
T Shinawatra Thai Silk (Thailand) Co Ltd, a family business of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is negotiating with an Australian fashion designer to form a joint venture that benefits from low import tariffs under the Thai-Australia free-trade agreement.
New Middle East trade promotion group formed
4-Nov-2004
A new trade promotion group — the US Middle East Free Trade Coalition (USMEFTA) — has been created to "expand free trade between the US and the Middle East and to encourage economic development, transparent and accountable governance, and enhanced prospects for the people of the Middle East region."
Australia may bow to pressure from US drug firms on FTA
22-Oct-2004 Asia Pulse
Prime Minister John Howard may bow to a concerted campaign by American drug companies against the amendments that the government was forced into accepting upon pressure from the Labor Party.
Stiglitz: New trade pacts betray the poorest partners
19-Oct-2004
In negotiating trade agreements with Morocco, Chile and other countries, the Bush administration has used the same approach that earned us the enmity of so much of the rest of the world. The bilateral agreements reveal an economic policy dictated more by special interests than by a concern for the well-being of our poorer trading partners.
Bahrein: FTA faces delay
13-Oct-2004 Gulf Daily News
A Free Trade Agreement between Bahrain and the US was signed last month but will not come into effect until it has been ratified by the US Congress, now in recess for the presidential election.
US business pushing for Middle East FTA
8-Oct-2004 IPS
Major US corporations are joining forces to lobby for a US-Middle East Free Trade Agreement (MEFTA) that President George W Bush proposed in 2003.
The secret trade courts - NYT editorial
2-Oct-2004 NYT
In Ecuador, residents of the country’s eastern rainforest are suing Chevron Texaco. They say that the methods Texaco used to drill for oil in the 1970’s and 1980’s caused billions of dollars in environmental damage and health problems that continue today.
Ecuador: Fight with Occidental to hinder free trade agreement
27-Sep-2004
Representatives of the Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and the Ecuadorian-US Chamber have asked the Ecuadorian government to not transform the non-fulfillments of the US petroleum company Occidental into a political issue while it is a legal problem.
Entertainment Industry Coalition For Free Trade Hails U.S. - Australia Free Trade Agreement
22-Sep-2004 Entertainment Industry Coalition for Free Trade
The Entertainment Industry Coalition for Free Trade (EIC), a group of leading entertainment companies, trade associations and entertainment unions and guilds, today applauded the conclusion of the U.S. - Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
US businessmen back Arroyo reform agenda
19-Sep-2004 inq7money.net
American businessmen have given the thumbs up to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s move to undertake "painful" reforms in solving the fiscal crisis and a projected power crisis, Philippines-US Business Council chairman Ramon del Rosario Jr. said Thursday.
Milking the deal
17-Sep-2004 Foreign Control Watchdog
Fonterra is the main exporter behind the "New Zealand" push for free trade with Thailand
USCSI: Statement on the US draft model Bilateral Investment Treaty
16-Sep-2004
In the course of consultations with services industries on the Model BIT, a number of serious concerns have been raised. These relate to (1) the prospective nature of the Model BIT; (2) the breadth of the BIT’s prudential carve-out; (3) the limitations on recourse to investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms in certain cases; and, (4) the dispute settlement process itself.
Bechtel and GE File Arbitration over Dabhol Power Company
16-Sep-2004
Bechtel Enterprises Holdings, Inc. and GE Structured Finance (GESF) have filed an arbitration action against the Government of India to recover their investments in the Dabhol Power Company (DPC).
USCSI: US-Australia FTA to Open New Opportunities for US Service Sector
14-Sep-2004 US Coalition of Service Industries
The Coalition of Service Industries (CSI) today announced its strong support for the US-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), noting that the agreement will open up new opportunities for US suppliers in a host of service industries.
US Coalition of Service Industries Welcomes US-Bahrain FTA
14-Sep-2004
The Coalition of Service Industries (CSI) today welcomed the conclusion of negotiations on the US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
USCIB op-ed: Is Thailand ready for prime-time trade?
14-Sep-2004
With a branding effort rivaling that of Tommy Hilfiger, Thailand prepared to receive delegates last weekend to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok.