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geopolitics

Vying for leadership, Lula heads north, Chávez south
10-Aug-2007 IPS
Political and economic alliances with a view to strengthening Latin American integration are subtly shifting with a growing distance between Chávez and Lula
Research institute recommends inter-Korean trade agreement
9-Aug-2007 Hankyoreh
A private think-tank claims that South and North Korea should work on signing a free trade pact to prompt changes in the communist country and eventually achieve consolidation of the two divided Koreas.
FTA push moves to top of Bush agenda
18-Jul-2007 The Gate
With the president’s top domestic priority — immigration overhaul — in tatters, the Bush administration is intensifying efforts to move its trade agenda on Capitol Hill, using national security as an argument for four free-trade deals it wants Congress to pass as quickly as possible.
Toni Solo: Americanism v. ALBA
14-Jul-2007 Scoop
It has taken a while for the US to work out an effective strategy to counteract ALBA.
A backroom deal on trade?
26-Jun-2007 Socialist Worker
The crisis facing the US empire in the Middle East is also playing out in American efforts to maintain economic dominance in Asia and Latin America.
US, Vietnam: Trade ties and a China buffer
22-Jun-2007
The United States and Vietnam signed a trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA) June 21 ahead of a June 22 meeting between Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet and U.S. President George W Bush. By warming up its trade relationship with Vietnam, the United States is facilitating an alternative for US investors and businesses that want to set up production operations outside China.
Gaesong inclusion like “handing out cash to the North”
15-Jun-2007
On April 2, the first US congressional hearing after the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement was concluded and was a complaint-filled affair.
US Congressman: Bush wants FTA with Colombia to curb Chávez
15-Jun-2007 El Universal
Charles Rangel, a Democratic member of the US House of Representatives, accused Thursday the government of US President George W. Bush of pressing the Congress to pass a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Colombia in order to counter Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
Minority opinion
30-May-2007
It remains unclear to me what the advantages of being part of the Saarc grouping are over entering into bilateral relations with each individual Saarc country instead. I have always like the concept of Bimstec instead.
The politics of Asia’s big deals
26-May-2007 Newsweek
The US-South Korea free trade agreement comes at precisely the moment when America’s military presence on the Korean Peninsula is rapidly diminishing, anti-US nationalism in South Korea is growing and China is playing an ever more important leadership role in the region. "This FTA is about countering China," says Yang Sung Chul, a former US ambassador to South Korea, now professor at Korea University in Seoul. "It’s much more significant in strategic than economic terms."
US and China tug at ASEAN unity
8-May-2007 Asia Times
ASEAN is being fragmented by intensifying US-China competition for regional influence, which is putting a premium on bilateralism with the big powers at the expense of ASEAN’s ambition toward more regional multilateralism.
Global trade talks stall as free trade agreements grow in Asia
3-May-2007 VOA
As the latest World Trade Organization round of talks loses momentum, bilateral and regional free trade agreements are mushrooming in Asia.
Israeli industrialists’ strategy in the global supply chain
27-Apr-2007
The aim of this paper is to try to understand the Israeli industrialists’ strategy in the globalization process in the course of the recent years. The new strategy was implemented in the days of the first Intifada (the Palestinian uprising) in the late 80s. At that time voices were heard in the Association of Israeli Industrialists, the strongest organization of Israeli employers, advocating an agreement with the Palestinians which would not oppose the establishment of an independent Palestinian State, as long as the Palestinian economic dependence on Israel is preserved.
Don’t let Kashmir stand in the way of trade ties: India
19-Apr-2007
Pakistan is in violation of the agreement on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and the Vienna Convention by discriminating against India in the implementation of the regional accord, aside from risking its credibility as a negotiating partner, Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal told a conference.
Moratorium on free trade agreements
6-Apr-2007 FPIF
At literally minutes to midnight on April 1, the United States signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korean negotiators and rushed it to Congress. Congress now has 90 days to review the Korea, Peru, Colombia, and Panama agreements, before fast track authority expires on June 30.
Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods - A spearheading new initiative
2-Apr-2007 MMN
Members of J-BIG have joined the wider campaign for abolishing the special trade and economic benefits granted to Israel as part of its trade agreement with the European Union. Indeed a significant number of British MPs appear to support this campaign.
“Trade for Peace with Israel” falls short
29-Mar-2007 TCF
The next time your Wal-Mart sweatpants read “Made in Jordan QIZ” on the label, consider the relationship between economic integration and peace. The truth might not be what you expect.
Clark’s baggage ensures rock remains on road to trade deal
23-Mar-2007
Here’s my take on what really went down when Helen Clark met George Bush at the White House. The big international agenda - those issues that are really central to the security of the Western world, such as Iraq - was on the table.
Fran O’Sullivan: United States owes NZ a free trade deal
17-Mar-2007
Helen Clark needs to muscle up to George Bush this week and directly push the case for a bilateral free trade deal with the United States.
US Alliance a distinct liability for Australia
26-Feb-2007 Online Opinion
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade report estimated that the benefits to Australia from the US FTA would be $ 9.9 billion over 20 years. That would amount to a mere $26.05 per person per year. Common sense suggests that it would be ridiculous to bargain away Australia’s sovereignty for such a “benefit”.