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geopolitics

Bahrain-US FTA backed
12-Oct-2005 Gulf Daily News
Business giants in the US are backing the Free Trade Agreement with Bahrain as it comes under scrutiny in hearings at the Senate and House of Representatives in Washington.
Kuwaitis quietly breach a taboo: easing hostility toward Israel
11-Oct-2005 New York Times
Reports have circulated that Kuwait will lift its embargo on Israel, but they remain unconfirmed. The Kuwaiti daily Al Qabas noted that Kuwait had not yet signed a free-trade agreement with the United States. Such an agreement would not permit a trade embargo on Israel.
President pitches for FTA with Honduras
10-Oct-2005 Taiwan News
Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian made a pitch for the signing of a free trade agreement with Honduras during a state banquet host by him for visiting Honduras President Ricardo Maduro yesterday.
Israel ties ruled out
10-Oct-2005 Gulf Daily News
The decision to lift boycott of Israel in line with the US FTA does not entail any economic, cultural, political, diplomatic or any other form of normalisation, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister said.
Bahrain societies flay move to normalise ties with Israel
30-Sep-2005 Gulf News
Nineteen societies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have rapped moves to normalise relations with Israel and called for joint national and regional efforts to abort the US-initiated Broader Middle East project.
Democrats press labor ahead of Bahrain FTA vote
30-Sep-2005 ABC News
US Democrats pressed Bahrain on Thursday to change its labor laws before an expected vote in Congress this year on a bilateral free trade pact with the tiny kingdom known as the Gulf’s banking hub.
Society vows to work for ban on Israeli goods
26-Sep-2005 Gulf News
"We have been repeatedly told by officials that the free trade agreement [FTA] signed with the US did not include an article on allowing Israeli goods into Bahrain, but we see that the situation has changed now," Al Mouawda said.
Free trade agreement with US prompts Bahrain to end boycott of Israeli goods
25-Sep-2005 Axcess News
Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed ibn Mubarak Al-Khalifa confirmed Friday that Bahrain officially has ended its boycott of Israeli goods in favor of the United States’ Free Trade Agreement.
Guatemala FTA mostly politics: economists
25-Sep-2005 Taipei Times
Like Taiwan’s first free trade agreement (FTA) with Panama its second free trade pact, with Guatemala, will have more significance politically than economically, economists said yesterday.
American Business Council welcomes FTA with US
22-Sep-2005 Khaleej Times
Welcoming the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between the US and the UAE, Anis Nassar, president of the American Business Council in Dubai said the move would help increase the economical potential of the Emirates.
Myths about bilateral free trade
31-Aug-2005 Dawn
Of late, there has been an outbreak of activism in the realm of bilateral free trade and investment agreements across the world. Many developing countries have found themselves swept off by the wave of bilateralism, not realizing it only weakens the cause of multilateralism.
US Middle East economic policy: Are trade-based initiatives an effective tool in the war on terrorism?
19-Aug-2005 Center for Contemporary Conflict
An assessment published by a US military research outfit.
One for Indo-Pak peace road: Free trade zone
15-Aug-2005 Indian Express
In a comprehensive approach to Indo-Pak engagement in Jammu and Kashmir, Former Pak Finance Minister Burki is calling for a sub-regional trade arrangement under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA).
India keen on building strong ties wth Gulf states
9-Aug-2005 Sify
"We are looking at something more than FTAs. We would like to sign CECAs with the Gulf states. They are an important area of foreign policy," the Indian Prime Minister Office sources said.
APEC & free trade agreements in the Asia Pacific
22-Jul-2005
This conference provides a useful opportunity to reflect on the present and possible future role of APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation). In recent years, veteran APEC-watchers have rather complacently dismissed the grouping as irrelevant. But we may have under-estimated its contribution to the new matrix of economic alliances that are emerging within the region.
GCC-EU Free Trade Agreement: a political imperative
14-Jul-2005 Dubai Quality Group
The way to counter the momentum of the US bilateral push would be to quickly bring to conclusion the deal between the GCC and the EU and through such a mechanism reinvigorate the multilateral approach to regional relations.
The price of free trade
12-Jul-2005 Asia Times
As the struggle for regional economic dominance in Northeast Asia heats up, the battle for free trade agreements (FTAs) has reached a new level, which may not only see the weakening of the multilateral trade system, but also the cancerous growth of geopolitical influence in regional trade.
Bahrain parliament approves FTA with the US
8-Jul-2005 Aljazeera
The Bahraini parliament approved a free trade agreement with the United States. Some lawmakers wanted to use the agreement to press Washington to release six Bahrainis detained by the US at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But most MPs decided that they have a better chance to resolve the issue by ratifying the accord.
US cautions EU over Syria deal
6-Jun-2005 Al Jazeera
Washington has urged the EU to hold off on signing a trade and aid pact with Syria, citing its doubts that Damascus withdrew all intelligence agents from Lebanon and was allowing fighters to enter Iraq.
Racism, rights ’could hurt China FTA’
18-May-2005 Sydney Morning Herald
Racism and left wing politicians focusing on human rights could threaten a proposed free trade deal between Australia and China, a new report says.