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geopolitics

US-Bahrain trade deal exposes GCC chinks
28-Dec-2004 Daily Star
The US-Bahrain deal undermines the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) as a collective body.
Amid protests, Jordan and Israel sign key trade accord
24-Dec-2004 Khaleej Times
Israel and Jordan agreed yesterday to tear down many of their remaining trade barriers in a deal that paves the way for the Jewish state’s first free trade accord with an Arab state by the end of 2010.
Turkey, Syria sign free trade agreement
23-Dec-2004 Tehran Times
Turkey and Syria signed a free trade agreement on Wednesday and discussed how to keep Iraq united and stable despite the violence sweeping their neighbor.
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.
US-Taiwan free trade agreement in pipeline?
16-Dec-2004 IPS
In last week’s parliamentary elections, Taiwan’s opposition party won a surprise victory which could spell trouble for a bilateral FTA with the United States.
EU and Syria initial long-awaited association pact
20-Oct-2004 EU Business
The European Union and Syria have initialled an association agreement that commits both sides to work towards free trade — as well as against weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.
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.
USTR outlines importance of US-Andean trade accord
4-Oct-2004 US State Department
The entry into force of a U.S. free-trade agreement with Colombia, Ecuador and Peru will open important markets for the United States, bolster the economies and counternarcotics efforts in the Andean nations, and should be concluded in a timely fashion, says Deputy U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Peter Allgeier.
How free trade changed us
4-Oct-2004 Toronto Star
Jobs are only one part of the trade equation. As the U.S. chips away at Canada’s economic independence, we’re slowly losing our sovereignty, says David Orchard
Japan needs more FTAs
20-Sep-2004 Japan Today
In the face of the rapidly growing Chinese economy and a rising number of free trade agreements, Japan is scrambling to reinforce its flagging leadership status in Asia by accelerating FTA negotiations with regional trading partners.
US offers investment treaty to Pakistan
15-Sep-2004 Hi Pakistan
The United States has offered Pakistan a bilateral investment treaty, provided the country enforces intellectual property rights, anti-money laundering law and creates conducive regulatory environment, says Alan P Larson, US Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs.
China-ASEAN free trade area: Origins, developments and strategic motivations
14-Sep-2004
This 2003 paper is a political study of the origins, developments and motivations on the Chinese side of the FTA, demonstrating its political, strategic, intellectual and economic basis.
EU insists on WMD clause in Syria accord -Fischer
28-Aug-2004 EU insists on WMD clause in Syria accord -Fischer
The European Union wants to sign a trade and aid pact that may ease Syria’s diplomatic isolation, but only if Damascus agrees to renounce weapons of mass destruction, Germany’s foreign minister said on Saturday.
A heavy-duty vehicle for colonisation
12-Aug-2004
John Maynard Keynes once reflected that his upbringing presumed free trade to be part of the moral law. More, he regarded departures from it as being ’’an imbecility and an outrage’’.
EU deal in ’Made in Israel’ row
7-Aug-2004 EU deal in ’Made in Israel’ row
Agreement has been reached in a wrangle between the European Commission and Israel over goods made in Palestinian territories in the West Bank and Gaza.
EU, Syria compromise on strength of WMD clause
7-Aug-2004 EU, Syria compromise on strength of WMD clause
The European Union has "somewhat diluted" a clause calling on Syria to revoke its alleged weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program which has been blocking the signing of a joint political and economic pact, a European diplomat said Tuesday.
Drug spat stalls Australia-US free trade deal
5-Aug-2004 Drug spat stalls Australia-US free trade deal
A long-awaited Australia-US free trade agreement (FTA) hit a new snag in Canberra, just hours after US President George W. Bush reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to a pact he called "a milestone in the history of our alliance".
A debate about more than trade
21-Jul-2004
It would be easy to dismiss the hesitation we see in Congress over the Bush administration’s proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with Morocco as just another chapter in the ongoing debate between free traders and protectionists.
The disease of the day: Acute treatyitis
20-Jul-2004 The disease of the day: Acute treatyitis
The efforts to establish global and regional ‘free trade’ agreements have met with considerable resistance. People around the world suffering the effects of so-called free trade have steadily built a movement to reject the dominant economic model.
War: Trade by other means: How the US is getting a free trade agreement minus the negotiations
5-Jul-2004
On June 28, two days before the announced date of handover of power, the United States transferred political authority in Iraq, in a meeting so secret o­nly six people participated.