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Africa ’’will not be the winner’’ of the EPAs
17-Jul-2007
"I do not know if a winner will emerge from the signing of the economic partnership agreement under the current conditions but I know for sure that Africa cannot be the winner," says Amadou Ba, who heads the international negotiations division at Senegal’s ministry of commerce.
S. Korea, EU have differences over automobiles in free trade talks
17-Jul-2007
South Korea and the European Union are struggling to narrow differences on tariffs and safety regulations on automobile trade as they try to forge an ambitious free trade agreement, a top South Korean negotiator said Tuesday.
CARIFORUM divided on liberalisation issue - Economic Partnership Agreement under threat
17-Jul-2007 Jamaica Gleaner
A disagreement among the members of CARIFORUM, which represents the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Dominican Republic, could cause a delay in the group completing negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
EU sets ambitious goals for South Korean free trade deal
17-Jul-2007 Monsters and critics
’We are setting the bar very high with a 100-per-cent trade liberalization offer,’ an EU trade official told Deutsche Presse-Agentur as European and South Korean officials opened a second round of negotiations in Brussels.
Country-based policies are best
16-Jul-2007
Africa’s poorest countries should develop policies to suit their unique circumstances to replace policies imposed on them by their developed country counterparts, former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa has said.
The EU-Mexico free trade agreement seven years on: A warning to the global South
16-Jul-2007 TNI
Seven years on, the impact of the EU-Mexico FTA is clear. Instead of the promised economic and social benefits, the treaty has left the Mexican state unable to implement policies to promote local small and medium size companies.
Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs): Responses to the EU offensive against ACP developmental regions
16-Jul-2007 TNI
ACP activists have compiled a wealth of criticisms of the EC initiative to conclude EPAs by end 2007. This paper is concerned to bring these analyses to the attention of European civil society and deepening understandings among activists and governments of the implications of EPAs and, in particular, how they undermine existing efforts towards developmental integration in ACP regions.
Korea removes rice from EU FTA talks
16-Jul-2007 Chosun Ilbo
South Korea has sent a draft proposal on free trade talks to the EU, promising to remove or phase out import tariffs on cars over seven years. Seoul has also decided to exclude rice from its list of markets subject to opening, but it may agree to open up its agricultural market, including beef.
What will India gain from the FTA with the EU?
15-Jul-2007 New Europe
The negotiations for an EU-India FTA could prove even more difficult to bring to a successful conclusion than the Doha development negotiations.
Namibia: Communication industry threatened by EPA talks
14-Jul-2007 AllAfrica.com
Between 2004 and 2006, the Naimibian government made more than N$200 million in dividends alone from fixed telecommunication lines, provision of bulk communication infrastructures, and on mobile phone services. Liberalising the sector through the EPA with the EU may poke a hole to its bulging purse. Namibia is also worried that the inclusion of a New Generation clause may hamper the country’s expansion programme into SADC market.
Southern Africa: EU official ’creating rift’
13-Jul-2007 AllAfrica.com
A top European Union official has been seeking to create divisions between South Africa and its neighbours in talks aimed at establishing a free trade deal, African diplomats have alleged.
Is Mexico overlooking the EU ?
13-Jul-2007
Extract from introduction of dissertation entitled "FTA European Union - Mexico: An overview of the ’Global Agreement’ and impact since the start"
Lipenga warns on EPA
13-Jul-2007
Discussions to prepare Africa’s position on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union (EU) should not be approached as an academic exercise.
Japan eyes FTAs with US, EU
13-Jul-2007 Ohmynews
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has released an annual report on international trade specifying the nation’s policy of revving up preparations for future talks with the United States and the European Union on concluding free-trade agreements (FTAs).
Kaeseong goods expected to be problem at EU FTA talks
12-Jul-2007 Chosun Ilbo
Korea’s chief envoy to free trade talks with the European Union is cautioning against being overly optimistic about having products made at an industrial park in North Korea’s Kaeseong included in the bilateral trade deal.
EU FTA to focus on manufacturing sector: official
12-Jul-2007 Yonhap
The ongoing free trade pact talks with the European Union (EU) will be centered on the extent of liberalization of the manufacturing sector, a senior Korean government official said Thursday.
Trade talk deadline closer, but EU and SADC far apart
11-Jul-2007
Trade negotiations between Southern Africa and the European Union are progressing slowly and some sectors might not even be agreed on by the end of the year, when the signing of the trade agreement is to take place.
Sarkozy tests the Mediterranean Union in the Maghreb
10-Jul-2007
The head of state is making his first trip outside of Europe to Algeria and Tunisia. Nicolas Sarkozy flies this morning to Algiers, where he will have a meeting and working lunch with the president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, before going to Tunis.
Don’t sign the EPAs - coalition tells African gov’ts
10-Jul-2007
As December draws closer and intense pressure by the European Union (EU) is mounting on African governments to sign the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), African youth have their leaders not to sign.
Kenya could lose out on a new trade deal with EU
9-Jul-2007
Kenya is among 75 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries currently engaged in negotiations with the EU for a new trade framework under the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). As time is running fast, we need to examine the issues.