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sovereignty | democracy

Malaysia to protect sovereign rights in any FTA talks
15-Jul-2006 Business Times
Malaysia will not sign any agreement that is to its disadvantage. Malaysia suspended FTA talks with New Zealand recently because it did not agree with that country’s requests in the areas of government procurement, environment, manpower and competition policy.
Guatemalan orgs: No US FTA
11-May-2006 Prensa Latina
The COS (Social Organizations Group) and the MISPEC (Guatemalan indigenous, farmer and popular movement) have joined the vigil Wednesday in front of the Guatemalan Constitutional Court to reject the free trade agreement with the United States.
Watchdog demands delay to talks
26-Apr-2006 Bangkok Post
FTA Watch, a Thai civic group campaigning against free trade pacts, demanded an amendment to article 224 of Thailand’s constitution to clearly state that any bilateral trade deals be subject to parliament’s endorsement without conditions.
Ecuador students join anti-FTA protests
9-Feb-2006 Prensa Latina
University students are taking to the streets Wednesday to demand expiration of the contract with Oxy US oil company and spurn the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Washington.
Present capacity and future development of the Andean struggle against the FTA
29-Jan-2006
The region-wide campaign against the US-Andean free trade agreement (FTA) made important, if partial, achievements in 2005. The FTA negotiation has been delayed thanks to social pressure, but it has not been stopped.
Thaksin says no to parliamentary debate on FTA
9-Jan-2006 The Nation
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra Monday shot down a proposal for Parliament to debate free trade agreements (FTAs), including a draft being negotiated between Thailand and the United States. "I see no justification for legislative debate on FTAs as Parliament does not have qualified personnel to scrutinise the matter," he said.
PM ’failed to consult the public’
9-Jan-2006 Bangkok Post
The civic sector joined forces against the ongoing Thai-US free trade agreement (FTA) pact by drawing up a petition stating that it does not approve the mandate of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as being a representative of the Thai people in signing the deal.
Varieties of imperial aggression: The Andean trade treaties
29-Oct-2005 Znet
One crucial element common to all these bilateral trade talks is the ruthless determination of rich countries to destroy poorer countries’ national sovereignty.
Free trade agreement: impact in Thailand
6-Sep-2005
This booklet by FTA Watch is aimed at disseminating information to international civil society for the purpose of sharing the analyses and experience of the FTA struggle in Thailand.
Mexican farm union demands trade reform
4-Sep-2005 AP
The leader of Mexico’s largest farm union has demanded a review of the North American Free Trade Agreement before final tariff reductions take effect in 2008.
Chen: Taiwan and China should sign FTA, not CEPA
30-Apr-2005 ET Today
Meetings for the first time in 56 years between leaders of the KMT and Chinese Communist Party, were staged on Friday. President Chen Shui-bian closely monitored the proceeding of such a meeting, worried that the KMT will ignore the government’s opposition against signing a Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement with China.
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.
Thailand: Debate, poll on FTA demanded
2-Apr-2005 Bangkok Post
Two Senate committees are pushing for a general parliamentary debate and public referendum on the proposed Thai-US free trade agreement (FTA), which is likely to affect people from all walks of life, farming, investment, intellectual property, environment and national sovereignty.
Japan-South Korea ties on the rocks
23-Mar-2005 Asia Times
When are a few sea-swept, uninhabited rocky islets more than a bunch of rocks? When they involve lucrative fisheries and emotional issues that hark back to the days of the Japanese Empire.
Call for a citizen’s popular consultation Concerning the Free Trade Agreement
23-Feb-2005 En Camino
The experience of the countries that have been put under the neoliberal policies and the FTA, the results of the economic opening imposed by the Government of President Gaviria, the process of negotiation between Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and the USA, puts in evidence that the right to democratic and popular consultation and resistance is justified.
Central America is Not for Sale
5-Nov-2004
A call for organizational sign-ons from the Central America is Not For Sale Coalition
How free trade changed us
4-Oct-2004 Toronto Star
Jobs are only one part of the trade equation. As the U.S. chips away at Canada’s economic independence, we’re slowly losing our sovereignty, says David Orchard
Ecuador decides: Faced with free trade, free determination of its people
16-Sep-2004 Bolpress
The free trade treaty that the US proposed to Ecuador and other countries in the Continent following the failure of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAAs) and the World Trade Organization negotiations, is not exclusively a trade treaty; it addresses all facets of the economic, political and cultural life of our peoples.
BITs: "arms of massive destruction" against national and international public law and human rights law
6-Aug-2004 UN
Written statement submitted by Europe Centre - Third World, non-governmental organization with general consultative status and the American Association of Jurists, nongovernmental organization with special consultative status.
The disease of the day: Acute treatyitis
20-Jul-2004 The disease of the day: Acute treatyitis
The efforts to establish global and regional ‘free trade’ agreements have met with considerable resistance. People around the world suffering the effects of so-called free trade have steadily built a movement to reject the dominant economic model.