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agriculture | farmers | food


TTIP agreement may be too big not to happen, says USDA
The US and the European Union may be too big for a free-trade deal not to happen, says USDA chief economist Joseph Glauber
US farmers call for Japan to be excluded from TPP
United States farming groups are urging that, if Japan continues to insist that it should keep import duties on its ultra-sensitive agricultural products – rice, wheat, beef and pork, dairy products, and sugar and starch – it should be excluded from Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.
PNG needs to grow its own food: Minister
Trade minister Maru says PNG has an urgent need to negotiate and enter into new trade and investment agreements with Indonesia, Philippines, China and Malaysia in order to produce food locally.
South Africa-Brazil FTAs will impact Namibian beef industry
South Africa’s negotiations with Brazil to sign FTAs to allow the import of cheap meat into South Africa will have implications for Namibia.
South Africa-Brazil FTAs will impact Namibian beef industry
Free trade agreements won’t hold favourable implications for Namibia’s weaner industry and the opportune thing for local producers along with government, is to get together and have a round table discussion to come up with plans on how to convert potential challenges into opportunities.
Call for TPP deal to liberalise beef trade
Some of the world’s biggest beef producers are urging the countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations not to water down their ambitions for free agricultural trade.
EU bans poultry exports from illegal Israeli settlements
Palestinian civil society has today welcomed reports that the EU will no longer allow poultry and eggs from illegal Israeli settlements to enter the EU, in what amounts to the first EU ban on any Israeli products.
European Milk Board rejects TTIP agreement
European milk producers are calling for the Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement negotiations between the USA and the EU "to cease immediately."
10 reasons TTIP is bad for good food and farming
Agribusiness on both sides is pushing to rollback regulations that hinder their profits at the expense of food safety, farmers and ranchers, consumers and animal welfare.
Colombia seeks to double agricultural land in five years
The Colombian government has set an ambitious goal to double the country’s agricultural land in half a decade, starting from 2015, to make the most of free trade agreements (FTA) signed with countries around the world, particularly the United States.
France celebrates "European Day of Alternatives" and protest against TTIP decrying EC corruption
About 1,500 protesters gathered in Paris, Saturday, to celebrate the European Day of Alternatives and Resistance and protest against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
Is US ’chlorinated chicken’ and ‘GM food’ heading to EU?
French political parties attack the threats to food safety from the proposed EU-US trade agreement.
Mexico is waging war against American apples
Mexico’s apple industry is the latest victim of NAFTA — and trying to fight back.
Center for Food Safety report warns TTIP could undermine critical food safety and environmental regulations
The US-based Center for Food Safety today released a report examining the potential food and farming impacts of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a week before EU trade negotiators arrive in Arlington, Virginia, for the fifth round of TTIP talks.
Free trade agreement with the US threatening fruit and vegetable diversity
The seed industry is planning to take advantage of the free trade agreement between the US and the EU (TTIP) to implement its patents in the European market.
Colombian farmers reach deal to end 11-day strike
Colombian farmers agreed on Friday to halt an 11-day strike that had threatened to damage President Juan Manuel Santos’s re-election campaign with just over two weeks left before the election.
’EU’s ban on Indian mangoes, vegetables could hit free trade talks’
The European Union’s decision to ban the import of Alphonso mangoes and four vegetables from India could derail EU-India free trade negotiations and weaken New Delhi’s relations with Brussels, according to the Europe India Chamber of Commerce (EICC).
Nontariff barriers and FTAs
Frozen orange juice concentrate has been a thorny issue for almost a year. Washington has complained that the Korean Customs Service has been imposing unreasonable “country-of-origin” verification requirements on citrus growers from Florida. These are based on unsubstantiated suspicions that some orange juice concentrates from Florida may in fact originate from Brazil.
FTAs with China, Malaysia damaging poultry industry
Free Trade Agreements signed with Malaysia as well as China, without taking the real stakeholders onboard, are damaging the local poultry industry, as the imports of processed chicken products under FTA with Malaysia are subject to zero percent import duty and from China at 16% import duty.
Chicken plant workers say chemicals sprayed on carcasses making them sick
The US poultry industry maintains that chemical solutions to prevent food poisoning, a major concern in the EU-EU FTA talk, are safe while the workers are getting sick.