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agriculture | farmers | food


Don’t let Americans put hormones and pesticides in our dinner, warns Jamie Oliver as he launches latest food offensive
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is planning a campaign to stop British food standards being lowered to allow American food imports pumped full of pesticides and hormones into the UK under TTIP.
EU sugar industry fears import pressures In TTIP talks
Europe’s sugar industry fears there could be sugar imports from the combined US and Mexican market if sugar is becomes part of the ongoing Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations.
FTAs key for Aus agribusiness: Rabo
A new report released by global agribusiness specialist Rabobank points to free trade agreements (FTAs) and building strategic government and business relationships as the keys to improving market access for Australian exporters.
South Korea farmers begin fresh protests against rice market liberalization
Farmers are demanding a Rice Tariff Law and also want the government to exclude rice from all future Free Trade Agreements (FTA).
US lawmakers warn Japan, Canada on Pacific trade deal talks
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers on Wednesday said Japan’s refusal to drop all barriers to farm imports under a Pacific trade deal was unacceptable and urged the US administration to cut Japan and Canada out of the talks if they did not give ground.
GIs becoming growing cheese trade barrier
The US National Milk Producers Federation and the US Dairy Export Council say that geographical indications established as a direct result of EU FTAs are a new and growing type of trade barrier restricting access to the Korean and other markets for key US cheeses.
Mexico purchases of US corn more than double
As a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement and other factors, Mexico has already more than doubled its imports of US corn this year.
Peroxyacetic acid rinsing of poultry meat - BEUC position paper published
BEUC has just published its position paper on the use of peroxyacetic acid rinses of poultry meat. This chemical wash is currently banned in the EU. However, pressure from the United States might reverse the trend.
Farmers protest China FTA in Seoul
Thousands of South Korean farmers rallied in Seoul on Thursday, protesting Chinese demands for more access to the local agricultural market as part of a planned free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea.
Mexico: FTA’s only help the large poultry producer
The free trade agreements signed by the Mexican government may have advantages for large Mexican companies but create problems for hundreds of poultry farmers in the country.
Seeds of discord or seeds for development – which way for US policy with El Salvador?
The controversy over government procurement of seeds in El Salvador is a clear example of how US free trade agreements with developing countries can undermine national development goals, as Oxfam warned during the negotiation and debate over CAFTA, writes Stephanie Burgos.
India, Malaysia step up palm oil trade
The Malaysia-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement is bolstering Malaysian palm oil imports by India
Progress made on El Salvador deal
Washington and El Salvador moved closer to agreement on a $277 million U.S. aid package Tuesday after the Obama administration took steps to defuse a contentious trade dispute over a modest Salvadoran program to buy seeds for poor farmers.
US tying aid to agribusiness in El Salvador, groups warn
The US State Department stands accused of conditioning development aid to El Salvador to benefit and boost foreign agribusiness in the Central American nation.
South Korea’s rice farmers prepare for rough ride from free trade
Korean Peasant League wants the government to negotiate an extension to the rice quota arrangement – as the Philippines did earlier this month. But experts at the agriculture ministry’s public consultations have suggested an alternative option: opening the market while increasing import tariffs from the current 5 per cent to levels as high as 300-500 per cent.
Yes to a sustainable trade policy – no to the TTIP
This short publication highlights some of the potential risks that the EU-US free trade agreement represents to the developing and emerging countries.
Economic Partnership Agreements and agriculture: the challenges for Africa
African countries that are not LDCs (Least Developed Countries) are now threatened with withdrawal of free access to the European market if they do not ratify an interim agreement with the EU before 1 October 2014
US says ’science’ should settle trans-Atlantic food trade rules
When US farm lobbyists push for "sound science" as the basis for food supply trade rules, what they mean by this term is that they want Europe to eliminate all restrictions on imports of food from the US, and to adopt a US-style food supply regulatory regime, stripped of the precautionary principle.
French concerns over geographical indications will hamper TTIP talks
Wine is a casus belli for the French government, who may block transatlantic negotiations if geographical indications are not protected. EurActiv France reports.
Bill C-18 – CETA combination would entrench corporate control of food system, says NFU
Under CETA, Canada has agreed to empower the courts to apply provisional and precautionary measures that include seizure of assets, destruction of equipment, and freezing of bank accounts against someone suspected of intellectual property rights infringement — that is, before any trial takes place. Plant Breeders’ Rights, which would be bolstered through Bill C-18, the Agricultural Growth Act, are included among the intellectual property rights covered by these measures.