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Ways and Means chair says US should drop lagging FTA partners
21-Feb-2006 Resource Center of the Americas
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) this week said the U.S. should drop partners in free trade agreement negotiations if talks on those agreements are not progressing.
Rice: Timing off for free trade with Egypt
20-Feb-2006 AP
The United States will not seek a free trade agreement with Egypt this year because the "timing" is not right, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.
S Korean farmers, movie makers rally over US trade talks
19-Feb-2006 AFP
Some 2,000 South Korean farmers, movie-makers and anti-US activists staged a candlelight protest Friday against free trade negotiations with the United States.
US-Thailand: Talks could slow over plant and drug issues
19-Feb-2006 Bangkok Post
Differences over pharmaceuticals could be overcome, but the countries are far from reaching a common understanding on biodiversity issues.
US free traders retreat on UAE ports deal
19-Feb-2006 IPS
In a replay of congressional efforts last year that foiled a bid by a Chinese company to buy a US oil firm, a group of hawkish US lawmakers, citing national security concerns, are trying to block a deal that gives a major Arab company control over a British firm that runs some US ports.
Thailand-US FTA talks likely to extend beyond April
19-Feb-2006 MCOT
Although the local political situation has become heated, with rumours on dissolving the parliament prevaling in the country, the Thai-US negotiations will continue, Naris Chaiyasoot, Director General of the Ministry of Finance’s Fiscal Policy Office, said.
Opening a trade gateway
19-Feb-2006
Hundreds of American companies have been invited to a key conference in Bahrain next week to discuss ways to enhance commercial ties between the two countries.
Exclusion of rice from trade deal ‘possible’
18-Feb-2006
With the government’s recent efforts to sign a free trade agreement with the United States drawing intense opposition from farmers here, a top Korean government official said the trade negotiators would try to exempt rice from the economic pact.
Time not right for US-Egypt trade pact: Rice
18-Feb-2006
The time is not right for the United States and Egypt to begin negotiations on a free- trade agreement, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in an interview on Friday with Arab media.
US meets resistance on full access to finance
18-Feb-2006
A seminar heard yesterday that although US negotiators had asked Thailand to fully deregulate its financial services and allow US investors unrestricted stakes in the brokering and banking sectors, Bangkok was insisting that the sector was not ready to face direct competition.
Colombia-US FTA may distort Venezuelan market
18-Feb-2006 El Universal
Venezuela’s Minister of Industry and Trade Gustavo Márquez thinks that an eventual Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by Colombia and the United States could result in unfair competition to the detriment of Venezuelan commodities.
Free trade could cost plenty
18-Feb-2006 Bangkok Post
Supara Janchitfah looks at the rules of the Thai-US FTA negotiation process and finds them more favourable to the American side.
CAFTA In Limbo
17-Feb-2006
Jacobo Kattan was hoping to build an industrial park and create 8,000 new jobs after the expected implementation of a regional free-trade pact last month. Instead, he’s had to fire 2,000 workers and close three companies as the region’s clothing industry haemorrhages, putting factories in legal limbo while much of their business leaves for Asia.
US nearing decision on trade talks with Malaysia
17-Feb-2006 Reuters
The United States may announce soon that it is beginning free trade talks with Malaysia, US Trade Representive Rob Portman said on Wednesday.
Panama protests build over US FTA
16-Feb-2006
Agricultural unions and associations in Panama repeated their intention Thursday to continue protests over the way the Isthmus government is negotiating a free trade treaty with the United States.
Ecuador-US FTA hinges on farming
16-Feb-2006
Ecuadorian Foreign Affaire Minister Jorge Illingworth asserted that a Free Trade Agreement with the US would basically depend on a favorable agriculture deal.
Industry and Commerce chief: The US has not concluded reviewing FTA
16-Feb-2006
Industry and Commerce minister Francisco Javier Garcia blamed the US Trade Office for delays in reviewing documentation pertinent to the country’s entrance in the Free Trade Treaty with United States and Central America (DR-CAFTA).
Guatemala youth join anti-FTA rally
16-Feb-2006
Guatemalan young people announced Thursday their willingness to join the massive February 24 march scheduled against the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US in Guatemala City.
US group urges trade preference for Taiwan
16-Feb-2006
A group of US congressmen have introduced legislation urging US President George W. Bush to give preference to Taiwan as his administration considers which countries to consider for potential free-trade agreements.
S. Korea-US FTA should not be disrupted by interest groups: Roh
16-Feb-2006
President Roh Moo-hyun said Thursday the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement (FTA) should not be blocked by some interest groups’ resistance.