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environment

Beans for Lima: Activists are fighting a new agreement between the US and Peru
12-May-2006 Grist Magazine
What are the environmental impacts of the Peruvian-US free-trade agreement?
Macho men and state capitalism - is another world possible?
24-Apr-2006 Centro de Medios Independientes de Colombia
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is widely seen to be at the center of Latin America’s transformation by building a regional trade bloc through the creation of ALBA and Venezuela’s membership in Mercosur to oppose US dominance and its constant push for free trade agreements with Latin American governments. However, the true democratic debate has been silenced in this simplified two-sided fight between the projects of macho men.
US, Indonesia eye future free trade agreement
5-Apr-2006 Reuters
The United States and Indonesia launched talks on Tuesday to curb illegal logging that threatens the Southeast Asian country’s rain forests and advanced other initiatives that could lead to a free trade pact, top trade officials from both countries said.
SC asked to stop RP from finalizing trade deal with Japan
21-Mar-2006 INQ7.net
Akbayan Citizens’ Action Party has asked the Philippine Supreme Court to stop the government from finalizing an economic agreement with Japan, which the party-list group alleges contains a provision that will allow this country to trade its hazardous and toxic waste products.
Biosafety protocol alive, but restricted
19-Mar-2006 IPS
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety "is alive," although there were complaints about and criticism of modifications to the final agreement reached at the Third Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (MOP3). The aim of the compromise that Mexico successfully pressed for is to not hinder the country’s free trade agreements with other countries.
Uruguay rejects President’s plea to halt pulp mills
2-Mar-2006 IPS
Under an investment treaty signed by Uruguay and Finland in 2002, Uruguay would have to pay heavy damages if it ordered the suspension of work on the Botnia factory.
Free trade agreement - time to criticise big brother
22-Feb-2006 Online Opinion
What message does it send to the world when we unquestioningly enter into an agreement with a country who seeks to change the rules of the international game in order to win?
US Senators express concern over Chevron lobbying tactics
17-Feb-2006 PR Newswire
US Senators Patrick Leahy and Barack Obama have written to the US Trade Representative urging that he ignore Chevron’s campaign to exclude Ecuador from FTA negotiations until the Ecuadorian government shuts down a historic environmental lawsuit against the company.
Negotiations on Thai-US FTA on well progress
2-Oct-2005 MCOT
Negotiations between Thailand and the United States on a planned bilateral free trade area (FTA) are on well progress in its fifth round, with Washington agreeing in principle to protect Thai intellectual property on the Internet and to use the Thai laws to take care of the environment.
The importance of the FTA to Thailand
30-Sep-2005 American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand
Ambassador Nitya Pibulsonggram, the chief negotiator for the Thailand-US Free Trade Agreement, spoke to AMCHAM members on May 25, 2005 about the importance of the FTA to Thailand.
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.
A toxic trade-off
14-Aug-2005
Pressing for passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement at a White House news conference in May, President Bush made the case that a vote for CAFTA was a vote for democracy: "By transforming our hemisphere into a powerful free trade area, we will promote democratic governance, human rights and economic liberty for everyone," he said.
Govt under fire over China FTA
29-Jun-2005
Workers’ rights and the environment are being sacrificed in the rush to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with China, a public interest group says.
Are corporations hog-tying conservation groups in CAFTA fight?
3-Jun-2005 Grist
Missing from the fight against CAFTA is an elite subset of the environmental movement: the international biodiversity conservation organizations. Not one of the four major groups in this field — Conservation International, the World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and the Wildlife Conservation Society — has demonstrated the courage to oppose CAFTA, despite ample opportunity over the past year.
Andean nations, US advance on environmental issue in FTA talks
21-Apr-2005 Xinhua
The Andean countries and the US have advanced on the environmental issue in their talks about a free trade agreement (FTA), Peru’s chief negotiator said on Wednesday. "The United States proposed for the first time a text on biological diversity. The issue has been made an item in the article on Environmental Cooperation."
Letter to reject environment chapter of CAFTA (Eng/Esp)
8-Mar-2005
We are enclosing a letter in English and Spanish proposed by different Central American and USA organizations to be delivered in our respective Congresses. We are protesting the contents and consecuences that the US-DR-CAFTA will bring in general to the society and the environment, but especially in this case Chapter No. 17 related to environment.
When FTA spells BSE: Trading away our food safety
12-Feb-2005 Public Health Association of Australia
Australia is fortunate to be one of few countries to remain free of BSE, the degenerative brain disease in cattle that causes the deadly variant CJD in people. But the Free Trade Agreement recently signed with the United States may change this.
Labour, environment, IPR left out of TIFA text
9-Feb-2005
The US has agreed to Bangladesh’s proposal for exclusion of issues related to labour laws, environment and intellectual property rights from the main text of a proposed trade and investment framework agreement the two countries are likely to sign some time this year.
The rush to regionalism
3-Feb-2005 IISD
This paper aims to set out the issues of importance in addressing the links between sustainable development and the rush to regionalism (FTAs).
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.