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Europe charms ‘poor’ Africa in exchange for oil
It feels great to watch those who once colonised Africa shift and fidget uneasily as they build up a case for “partnership” — if only the rules of the game were clear and genuine. But there is also the nagging thought: Will Africa play it right this time round?
Caribbean nations grapple with biofuel issues
In the United States, experts debate whether biofuel growth in the tropics will cut into profits for Midwest producers. Special free-trade agreements with those countries can make it less expensive to ship ethanol from there to the US coasts.
Sempra Energy awarded $172 million in Argentine arbitration
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington DC has awarded Sempra Energy approximately $172 million, including interest, to settle a 2002 dispute involving the company’s 43-percent ownership in two Argentine natural gas holding companies, Sodigas Pampeana and Sodigas Sur.
Differing motives propel India and US to finalize nuclear agreement
India and the United States simultaneously released the text of a 22-page treaty that stipulates the terms under which the two countries will trade civilian nuclear fuel and technology. The fact is that the two sides are approaching the agreement with differing and even contradictory strategic agendas.
ASEAN-India FTA faces roadblock
Southeast Asia and India remain far apart in their 4-year-old efforts to forge a free trade agreement, differing on the speed and range of liberalization, officials said Friday.
Abe, Yudhoyono sign FTA, agree to tackle climate change
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Monday signed a bilateral free trade agreement and confirmed a shared commitment to tackling global warming beyond 2012.
No headway in GCC-India FTA
The much-awaited Free Trade Agreement between India and GCC appears to have hit yet another roadblock with the Indian Revenue Department opposing the inclusion of crude oil in the pact.
ASEAN for early FTA with India
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is keen on clinching a Free Trade Agreement with India by or before their November bilateral summit in Singapore.
Vying for leadership, Lula heads north, Chávez south
Political and economic alliances with a view to strengthening Latin American integration are subtly shifting with a growing distance between Chávez and Lula
Biofuels FTAs menace CentAm ag
The future of Central American agriculture is threatened by developed countries’ demand for biofuels and US-sponsored free trade agreements.
Can biofuels become sustainable?
Sustainability and trade barriers in biofuels could be addressed through new economic partnership agreements (EPAs), which are currently being negotiated with countries from the African, Caribbean and Pacific bloc. “New EPAs and the EDF will provide a framework for action on trade in biofuels,” a spokesman for the European development commissioner said. “From 2008 onwards this issue will become much more visible.”
Disappointment over EFTA Court ruling on power rights
The international EFTA Court in Luxembourg has ruled that Norway’s regulations on ownership of hydropower concessions, which demand that private owners must turn their concessions back to the state after 60 years, are contrary to regulations of the European Economic Area (EEA).
Indonesia and Japan agree to sign FTA
Trade ministers from Japan and Indonesia have agreed the two nations will sign a bilateral free trade agreement when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visits Indonesia in August, a senior Japanese official said Friday.
Japan wants resources clause in FTA deal
Japan may try to have a specific clause to safeguard its imports of coal and iron ore inserted into any free trade deal with Australia.
India,Thailand to ink pact on non-conventional energy
A bilateral agreement on non-conventional energy and another on cultural exchanges are among the agreements to be signed when Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont arrives here on a two-day visit on June 26. Leading a 30-member business delegation, the visiting leader is going to push for an early conclusion of the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Thailand.
Wary of GCC FTA, oilmin blocks duty cuts in Korea pact
Call it the GCC effect. Apprehending stiff competition for the domestic petroleum industry - which has significant public sector presence - once India signs a free trade agreement with the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), the petroleum ministry has opposed inclusion of tariff cuts on petro products in the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) being negotiated with South Korea.
Japan inks FTA with Brunei for stable energy supply
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah signed a free trade agreement between their countries in Tokyo on Monday, with Japan seeking stable energy supply from the resource-rich Southeast Asian nation.
Japan, Brunei to sign FTA in Tokyo
Japan and Brunei will sign a free trade agreement next week aimed at cutting tariffs and ensuring a stable supply of natural gas to Japan from the Southeast Asian country, an official said Friday.
Ecuador pursues trade-preference extension but faces critics in Congress
Ecuador is furiously lobbying members of Congress to extend trade preferences, set to run out at the end of the month, that are intended to counter narcotics trafficking.
Indonesia offers LNG supplies to Japan, RoK
Indonesia is offering liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to Japan and South Korea from its largest natural gas field of Tanggguh in Papua province, local press said Monday. LNG supplies to the two countries will consume half of the production in Tangguh. Japan agreed to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) in exchange for the LNG supplies.