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Rice calls on Brazil to ’reenergize’ free trade talks
27-Apr-2005 Bloomberg
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Brazil to "reenergize" talks with the US on the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.
Sound CAFTA alarm bells
26-Apr-2005 Bangor News
International trade agreements are boring. Mention the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in most social settings and people’s eyes glaze over. The pros and cons of NAFTA, and now CAFTA, debate trade-offs between tariffs, consumer prices and job growth or loss. Since most of us are not economists, these discussions seem tedious and complicated.
United States pursues more free-trade agreements in the Middle East
26-Apr-2005 Daily Star
Trying to entrench its economic and political ties in the region, and blaming the Gulf Cooperation Council’s slowness in devising region-wide economic measures, the United States is aggressively pursuing a number of free-trade agreements in this part of the Middle East.
Thailand-US FTA: "Whatever we have to sacrifice must be sacrificed, if that helps get a better deal"
26-Apr-2005 Focus
The third round of Thailand-US free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations ended on 8 April with great disappointment for civil society activists because people’s demand and concerns were cast aside.
Brazil says no to US plan for hemispheric free trade
21-Apr-2005 Canadian Press
Clinching a deal for a 34-country free-trade zone that would stretch from Alaska to Argentina is "off the agenda" for Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Wednesday.
Andean nations, US advance on environmental issue in FTA talks
21-Apr-2005 Xinhua
The Andean countries and the US have advanced on the environmental issue in their talks about a free trade agreement (FTA), Peru’s chief negotiator said on Wednesday. "The United States proposed for the first time a text on biological diversity. The issue has been made an item in the article on Environmental Cooperation."
Senators voice concerns over CAFTA
19-Apr-2005
The Bush administration’s proposed free trade agreement with Central American nations was met with a barrage of objections from senators Wednesday, signaling a hard road ahead.
Bush to woo Hispanic support for CAFTA trade pact
19-Apr-2005
President Bush is expected to step up pressure for Congress to quickly pass a new free trade agreement with Central America, beginning with a speech this week to a Hispanic business group, industry officials said on Monday.
FTA talks held with US
17-Apr-2005
Federal Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan Thursday said Pakistan was negotiating grant of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) status with the United States, which would benefit Pakistan in alleviation of poverty and bringing prosperity to the people.
Maqbool to head Omani team for FTA talks with US
17-Apr-2005
The second round of the proposed free-trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between the Sultanate and US will commence in Washington on Monday and continue for several days.
US eyes bilateral FTAs in Gulf
17-Apr-2005
With free trade agreements, come political leverage. Realising this, the United States is moving fast to sign bilateral FTAs with Gulf countries - in the hope that Washington would be able to fill a vacuum because of the slowness of these Arab states in starting any regional trading mechanisms of their own.
Moroccan officials tout free trade agreement
17-Apr-2005
It’s been deemed the “best market access package of any U.S. free trade agreement with a developing country to date” by the Office of the US Trade Representative. So can the new trade agreement between the United States and Morocco actually live up to such spectacular billing?
Algeria offers business opportunities for the US private sector
16-Apr-2005 US-Algeria Business Council
The U.S.-Algeria Business Council is working to bring U.S. investment and trade to Algeria to bolster Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s strategic decision to integrate his country into the global economy.
Constitutional crisis looming over Thai-US FTA
14-Apr-2005 IPS
If critics of the Thai government’s international trade policies have their way, then the current negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between Bangkok and Washington could evolve into constitutional crisis for this Southeast Asian nation.
US lawmakers express skepticism about Central American trade pact
14-Apr-2005 Knight Ridder
For the first time since Congress fought fiercely over the North American Free Trade Agreement 11 years ago, a US president’s proposed trade deal faces major resistance on Capitol Hill.
Maryland legislature revokes Governor Ehrlich’s CAFTA commitment
12-Apr-2005 Public Citizen
The Maryland General Assembly’s override today rescinding Gov. Robert Ehrlich’s 2003 commitment to allow Maryland’s state procurement rules to be bound by pending trade agreements negotiated by the Bush administration and in previous trade agreements such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) is a victory for Maryland taxpayers and the latest evidence of state officials’ growing demands for accountability in international trade negotiations, Public Citizen said today.
Signatures to stalk FTA
10-Apr-2005
Opponents of the Thai-US free trade agreement are gathering 50,000 signatures to sponsor a bill requiring the government to get public and parliamentary approval for any commitments it reaches with a foreign country.
US firm on IP rights protection
9-Apr-2005 Bangkok Post
US chief negotiator Barbara Weisel assured that the FTA agreement would not affect drug prices in Thailand.
US hails progress in Thailand talks
8-Apr-2005
US negotiators on Friday wound up a third round of negotiations with their Thai counterparts on a proposed free trade agreement, saying they were pleased with the progress made.
Hindawi asks US to reduce customs tariffs under FTA - Jordan
7-Apr-2005
A senior US trade official and the Jordanian Minister of Industry and Trade Ahmad Hindawi held talks Tuesday on "reinforcing and further-developing economic and trade relations between both countries."