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Free trade pact eyed to aid firms in Chile
10-Nov-2004
Japan is considering a free trade agreement with Chile out of concern the Latin American country’s FTA agreements with other nations may put Japanese companies in the area at a disadvantage.
Taiwan: FTA push moves into high gear
8-Nov-2004 Taipei Times
Taiwan is struggling to find ways of making free trade agreements (FTAs) with its trading partners, even as China and ASEAN are set to sign two landmark agreements this month establishing the world’s largest Free Trade Area, which is scheduled to come into being by 2010.
Indonesia stays committed to FTA with Japan
7-Nov-2004 Japan Times
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed his commitment Saturday to continue talks for an economic partnership with Japan, the head of a visiting delegation of Japanese business leaders said.
Japan, Malaysia end free-trade talks without agreement
6-Nov-2004 AFP
Japan and Malaysia ended three days of talks on a free-trade agreement (FTA) on Saturday still divided over removing import duties on certain products such as Japanese cars, a news report said.
Japan, S Korea hold free trade talks amidst demos
1-Nov-2004 AP
Japan and South Korea opened a new round of free trade talks in Tokyo as nearly 150 labor union members from the two countries clashed with police during a demonstration to oppose the deal.
Philippine gov’t reports big progress in talks with Japan
30-Oct-2004 INQ7.net
The Philippines reported significant progress in talks to sign a free-trade pact by the end of the year with Japan.
Japan: FTA talks with 3 nations at crucial stage
29-Oct-2004 Yomiuri Shimbun
Japan’s ongoing negotiations over free trade agreements with Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand are entering a crucial stage.
South Korea: Indefinite general strike planned
25-Oct-2004 GLW
Korean trade union and social organisations have worked together in recent months to stop the Japan-Korea FTA, arguing that it will result in the abolition of more regulations protecting workers rights, and more privatisation of public services. They also say the average citizens’ access to medical treatment and drugs will also be undermined by the FTA’s excuse to “protect” intellectual property rights.
S. Korean lawmakers sound alarm over FTA with Japan
23-Oct-2004 Asia Pulse
A group of lawmakers from South Korea’s ruling party Friday joined the chorus of caution about the possible adverse impact of a free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan on the local market.
Japan business leaders want FTA with Chile
23-Oct-2004 Kyodo
The head of the Japanese team on a Japan-Chile economic panel have asked the Japanese government to boost efforts to conclude a bilateral free trade agreement.
Protective law demanded ahead of Korea-Japan FTA
19-Oct-2004 Korea Times
Korea’s four major business organizations have urged the government to enact a special law ahead of a free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan in order to protect domestic companies from negative effects of the pact.
Joint Japan-China study to examine FTA impact
18-Oct-2004 Daily Yomiuri
The Japan External Trade Organization has established a joint research group with a Chinese government institute to examine the possible impact on the Japanese and Chinese economies of a bilateral free trade agreement.
NGOs fear trade-off in RP-Japan trade talks
17-Oct-2004 Philippine Star
Talks of a possible trade-off between the local agriculture and industrial sectors in the on-going trade negotiations for the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) are worrying various sectors.
RP-Japan pact: Japan’s economic takeover
16-Oct-2004 IMC Quezon City
The Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, more than a trade agreement, is essentially about increasing and ensuring the free entry and operation of Japanese investors in the Philippines by limiting the role of government in regulating investments.
Japan: FTA deals deadlocked
13-Oct-2004 Asahi.com
Japan’s separate negotiations with Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and South Korea for bilateral free trade agreements have run into a brick wall.
Japan, Thailand to exclude rice from FTA
12-Oct-2004 Reuters
Japan and Thailand have agreed to leave out rice from a planned bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), a breakthrough that could see a deal agreed by the end of the year, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said yesterday.
FTA could exacerbate Philippine nurse drain
7-Oct-2004 Japan Times
As the Philippines strives to get Japan to allow in Filipino health-care workers under a free-trade agreement now under negotiation, the country itself could be moving rapidly toward a crisis in which patients suffer as health-care professionals move abroad.
We denounce the Korea-Japan FTA
29-Sep-2004 Social Movements Network
The governments of Korea and Japan have come together today, 350km away from Seoul, for their fifth negotiation to consolidate a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries. Ever since the negotiations were initiated last December, many NGOs and people’s organizations have shown concern over the planned FTA.
Japan-ASEAN: Step back to save deal, says researcher
27-Sep-2004
Asean and Japan should take a step back from the thorniest issues under discussion in order to move forward toward a fruitful free trade area (FTA) agreement, according to a prominent researcher from the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).
Mexico FTA paves way for Asian trade agreements
21-Sep-2004
Japan signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with Mexico on Friday, the first such pact to cover the politically sensitive agricultural sector, officials said.