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Brussels rejects moves to link trade with aid
28-Nov-2006 FT
Despite public rhetoric that new trade agreements with some of the world’s poorest countries are a development tool, in private the European Union is insisting on excluding aid from the negotiations.
House resolution filed urging Senate to junk JPEPA
27-Nov-2006
A resolution has been filed by the progressive party-list block in Congress urging the Senate to junk the controversial Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement for being ’one-sided, onerous and inimical to national interest.’
Furor over JPEPA: Will Davao’s banana workers benefit from it?
27-Nov-2006 Davao Today
Most of the bananas from Davao are exported to Japan by Japanese companies such as Sumitomo. These companies and their contract growers or affiliates in Mindanao will benefit from any lowered tariff under JPEPA, not the farmers and plantation workers.
US-Russia bilateral/WTO deal pushes new standards for IP protection
26-Nov-2006 IP Watch
In its bilateral negotiation with the United States in order to join the World Trade Organization, Russia appears to have agreed to intellectual property rights standards that push those of the WTO and US law to new levels.
GCC and Singapore to start talks on FTA
26-Nov-2006 Channel News Asia
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Singapore have agreed to start negotiations for a free trade agreement.
Thousands rally in South Korean capital against free trade with US
26-Nov-2006 Boston Herald
Thousands of South Korean workers demonstrated Saturday against a proposed free-trade agreement between their country and the United States.
Bahrain bans strikes a month after allowing them
25-Nov-2006 Reuters
Bahrain has banned strikes and worker demonstrations in most business sectors, a month after labour law reforms banning the sacking of strikers encouraged a wave of trade union activity in the Gulf island state.
China, Pakistan sign free trade agreement
25-Nov-2006 Channel News Asia
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musharraf oversaw the signing of a landmark free trade deal Friday and vowed to take the allies’ "evergreen" relationship to new heights.
Briefing Paper on the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA)
24-Nov-2006
On December 11, 2003, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Japan Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi agreed to formally start negotiations for a comprehensive bilateral agreement called the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
Malaysia lays out position on FTA with US
24-Nov-2006
A statement released by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) lists out the government’s position as well as the state of play in the various areas of its negotiations on an FTA with the US.
CPTech hosts post-election FTA strategy session
24-Nov-2006 CPTech
Last Thursday at CPTech a packed audience and 8 panelists discussed strategies for addressing the access to medicine implications of bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) between the US and other countries.
Free trade deals give Singapore insurance
24-Nov-2006 Industry Week
We cannot eat disk drives, says Prime Minister.
ACP Heads of State and Government will meet in Khartoum (Sudan) on 7 and 8 December for their 5th Summit
23-Nov-2006 The 5th ACP Summit
The 5th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group) will be held in Khartoum, Sudan, on 7 and 8 December around the theme “United for peace, solidarity and sustainable development”.
Thailand asks Korea to liberalise agricultural trade terms
23-Nov-2006 MCOT
Commerce Minister Krirkkrai Jirapaet on Wednesday reiterated that Thailand would not sign an ASEAN-Korea free trade area (FTA) agreement unless Korea agrees to liberalise its policies on agricultural products, especially rice.
Egypt will be ready for free trade with Europe in three years
23-Nov-2006 ANBA
Egypt will be ready to create free trade area with Europe in three years, announced prime minister Ahmed Nazif. The Arab country already has a tariff preference agreement with the EU, but it does not include all products traded.
US-Colombia trade agreement must face Congress
23-Nov-2006 MercoPress
United States signed Wednesday a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia. The agreement must now face approval by both countries legislatures.
Prosecution warns of crackdown on violent anti-FTA protests
23-Nov-2006 Yonhap
South Korea’s state prosecution said Thursday it will clamp down on farmers and activists who stage violent protests against a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
S Korean workers protest US trade deal
23-Nov-2006 Washington Post
Tens of thousands of South Korean workers held rallies and labor strikes Wednesday to oppose a free trade agreement with the United States and demand better working conditions.
Bilateral trade agreements and the world trading system
22-Nov-2006
Bilateral Trade Agreements (BTAs) have been proliferating. Why are they so popular? What are their impacts on multilateralism and the world trading system? This papers attempts to answer these questions.
Reject the Economic Partnership Agreement EU-ACP!
22-Nov-2006 Via Campesina
The member organizations of Via Campesina in Africa, in Europe and in the Caribbean consider that the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) are a new threat for the peasants and small farmers in the four regions. We ask a definitive stop in the negotiations and the opening of a period of debate and analyses on the impacts of free-trade on our national agricultures. Alternatives based on the right to food sovereignty exist.