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Trade, development, cooperation - what future for Africa?
18-Mar-2005
Bi- and multilateral trade relations between external actors and individual African states or regional blocs are becoming ever more decisive. The trade policies of both the USA and the EU are anything but helpful.
US urges Philippines to sign FTA
17-Mar-2005 AFP
US Assistant Trade Representative Barbara Weisel urged the Philippines to sign a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with Washington to boost its underperforming economy and keep it globally competitive.
Costa Rica rules out immediate ratification of FTA with US
17-Mar-2005 Xinhua
Costa Rica on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of an immediate ratification of the free trade agreement (FTA) between Central America and the United States due to pressure from economic and social sectors.
Speeding free trade
17-Mar-2005 Oxford Business Group
Washington wants to sign Free Trade Agreements with every country in the Middle East - North Africa region by 2013, to promote economic and political development in line with recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission.
Aussie BitTorrent case to test Aust-US FTA
17-Mar-2005 Zdnet Australia
Warner Music Australia and other record companies are suing ISP Swiftel Communications for copyright infringement for allegedly hosting and maintaining two Internet computer servers and a Web site called Archie’s Hub which deploys the BitTorrent application. The case is the first to test legislation passed to enact the Australian-United States Free Trade Agreement.
Bush taps congressman as US Trade Representative
17-Mar-2005 LA Times
Faced with tough political battles over a controversial trade pact with Central America and rising imports from China, President Bush announced today that he had enlisted a congressional insider and loyal supporter to be his new trade chief.
Oman expects FTA with US by year end
13-Mar-2005 Daily Times
The Sultanate of Oman has expressed hope that the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) with the USA, for which negotiations are to start on Saturday, would be concluded before the end of this year to give a new edge to Oman’s liberal economy in an era of globlisation.
Guatemala set to quash FTA protests with troops
10-Mar-2005
Protesters blocked access to the legislature to prevent a vote on a trade pact with Washington, and lawmakers who ventured outside were chased for blocks.
Gulf Emirate says there are no political strings attached to free trade talks with Washington
8-Mar-2005 Middle East Online
The United Arab Emirates said on Monday it was not committing itself to any changes in foreign policy by entering into talks on a free trade pact with the United States. The statement followed reports that Washington would ask Abu Dhabi to drop a trade boycott of Israel during the negotiations, which kick off here on Tuesday.
Drug deal gone bad
8-Mar-2005 Al-Ahram
A group of US companies, represented by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), has expressed concern regarding approval by the Egyptian Ministry of Health for some 500 generic versions of patented drugs.
US sets conditions for normal trade ties with Pakistan
6-Mar-2005 Business Recorder
The United States has conveyed to Pakistan that trade relations could not be normalised prior to crackdown on the violators of Intellectual Property Rights and withdrawal of case against a US-based company, Slemens-Westinghouse.
All alone
5-Mar-2005 Cairo Magazine
The 14 February assassination of Al Hariri may strip away the last of Syria’s European patrons, leaving it at the mercy of Bush’s agenda in the region. There is talk that EU parliamentary approvals of Syria’s association agreement are now on hold.
Crashing the third party
3-Mar-2005 O’Dwyer’s PR Daily
What do the Council on Foreign Relations, American Enterprise Institute, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Brookings Institution, and the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies have in common?
Central Bank discusses US FTA negotiation strategy - UAE
3-Mar-2005
Though the negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the UAE and the United States will take place from March 8, the banking and financial sectors has told the Central Bank of the UAE about its desire for more liberalisation.
Thousands of Guatemalans protest against ratification of FTA with US
3-Mar-2005
Thousands of public-school teachers, peasants, university students and workers rallied in Guatemala City Tuesday against the imminent approval of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
Egypt: FTA controversy
3-Mar-2005 Zawya
Egypt and the US held the most high-level bilateral trade meeting since 2002 last week - a sign that the eventual opening of formal negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could be in the works. However, officials on both sides were vague as to when that might be, saying that there were still important issues to be resolved before proceeding to the next stage of trade negotiations.
Honduras ratifies CAFTA
3-Mar-2005 Forbes
Honduras on Thursday became the second Latin American country after El Salvador to ratify a free trade agreement with the United States. Lawmakers immediately fled Congress following their decision, however, to avoid 1,000 government employees who were protesting the measure outside.
Bush administration submits annual trade report to Congress
2-Mar-2005 USTR
The Bush Administration today submitted to Congress the 2005 Trade Policy Agenda and the 2004 Annual Report of the President on the Trade Agreements Program.
BIT Treaty with US: Pakistan opposes inclusion of IPR
2-Mar-2005 Daily Times
Pakistan has refused to accept the inclusion of the Intellectual Property Rights issue in the proposed draft for a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between the US and Pakistan, a senior government official told Daily Times.
An FTA with the US, what are we really in for?
1-Mar-2005
Regional and bilateral trade agreements have been around since the 1950’s. In the last decade however, there has been an increasing spurt of trade pacts being signed all over the world that pose challenges to the multilateral trading system.