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US FTA fever may be overrated
16-Jul-2004
The trade-pact fever seems to be in full swing around the world, and Asia is in the thick of it.
US agrees to sign FTA with Pakistan
16-Jul-2004 US agrees to sign FTA with Pakistan
The United States has agreed to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Pakistan, a senior government official told Daily Times.
US and Mongolia sign bilateral TIFA
16-Jul-2004 United States and Mongolia Sign Bilateral Trade and Investment
The United States and Mongolia today further enhanced their growing economic and trade partnership by signing a bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).
Taiwan’s free trade troubles
14-Jul-2004 Taiwan’s free trade troubles
Hardly a day goes by without some news about free trade agreements (FTAs). Right this minute, tired trade officials somewhere are undoubtedly hammering out the final details of a bilateral trade pact.
Russia: WTO bid timed to US election
14-Jul-2004 WTO Bid Timed to American Election
Moscow is pushing hard to hammer out a deal with Washington on WTO membership before the U.S. presidential election in November, Russian negotiators said.
In New Trade Pacts, U.S. Seeks To Limit Reach of Generic Drugs
14-Jul-2004
As public-health groups urge wider use of generic drugs to lower the cost of treating AIDS and other diseases in developing countries, U.S. trade negotiators — prodded by the drug industry — are taking the opposite stance in new trade pacts, seeking to strengthen protections for costlier brand-name drugs.
Arbitration panel ruling favors Occidental in Ecuador tax dispute
13-Jul-2004
Occidental Petroleum Corporation said today that a tribunal of international arbitrators formed under the US-Ecuador Bilateral Investment Treaty has issued its unanimous decision awarding approximately $75 million as compensation for value added tax (VAT) refunds from the company’s Block 15 operations in Ecuador that were deemed wrongfully withheld by the Government of Ecuador through December 31, 2003.
US and France clash over cheap Aids drugs
13-Jul-2004
The US and France clashed on Tuesday over allegations by President Jacques Chirac that Washington was seeking to use bilateral trade agreements to reduce developing countries’ access to cheap medicines for diseases such as HIV/Aids.
UN human rights expert urges Peru, US to protect health in any trade deal
13-Jul-2004 UN human rights expert urges Peru, US to protect health in any trade deal
As the United States and Peru negotiate a bilateral trade pact, a United Nations human rights expert has urged them to ensure any agreement includes public health safeguards so that essential drugs do not become unaffordable for millions of Peruvians.
Cheap HIV Drugs: Scepticism over Thaksin’s pledge
12-Jul-2004
Critics voiced doubt yesterday over Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s promise to provide equitable access to life-saving drugs for all people with HIV/Aids in Thailand, saying it was a pipe dream while disputes over patented drugs remain unresolved.
US-Thailand FTA opponents plan rally
12-Jul-2004
A leading senator and civic groups are planning to hold a demonstration today against what they call the government’s rush to conclude free-trade negotiations, which they say would have great ramifications on many people in the agricultural sector.
CKUT Radio: From Thailand to Chile Resisting Capitalist Globalization
12-Jul-2004 http://www.radio4all.net/index.php?...
Radio documentary on bilateral free trade and investment agreements
Round 3 of Japan-Philippines FTA talks end in stalemate
9-Jul-2004 ABS-CBN
The negotiations for the signing of the country’s first free-trade agreement ended up in a stalemate again after Japan has yet to act on the request of the Philippines to allow entry to Filipino nurses, health workers and lawyers.
Thailand’s free trade tactics under fire
8-Jul-2004 Thailand’s free trade tactics under fire
Thailand’s free-trade agreement (FTA) tactics are under fire for being opaque and shrouded in secrecy. Critics worry such methods are handing Thailand a poor deal, perhaps working to serve minority vested interests, and may even be undermining the informal social safety net provided by the country’s agriculture.
China agrees to a new GCC deal
7-Jul-2004
China is to sign a trade and economic cooperation pact with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Taiwan-Paraguay: MOEA set to negotiate FTA with Paraguay
7-Jul-2004
A Taiwanese official delegation will visit Paraguay later this month to negotiate groundwork for the two nations’ Free Trade Agreement (FTA) while Argentina acknowledged it had teamed up with Brazil to try and force Paraguay into switching its diplomatic allegiance from Taipei to Beijing.
Peru: Legislation to protect biodiversity restricts patents
7-Jul-2004
The Peruvian Congress has passed legislation to protect the country’s biodiversity by restricting patents on biological resources.
NZ-Thailand: Government to put heat on Thai PM over trade
6-Jul-2004
The Government will play on Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s known affection for New Zealand to ensure a tough deadline for negotiations on a bilateral trade deal is met.
Landmark deal signed - Thaksin, Howard praise FTA accord
6-Jul-2004
Australia and Thailand yesterday signed a landmark free trade deal heralded as an important step towards Australia and New Zealand’s inclusion in a Southeast Asian free trade zone.
Farmers to lobby King over FTA
6-Jul-2004
Dairy farmers across the country have pledged to petition His Majesty the King for help as part of their objection to the government’s freetrade agreement (FTA) with Australia, the chairman of a dairy farmer’s cooperative group said yesterday.