bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

All articles

Canada moving closer to free trade deal with South Korea: minister
21-Jul-2005
Canada is close to launching formal free-trade negotiations with South Korea as part of the federal government’s efforts to gain a firmer - and more lucrative - foothold in the massive and booming Asian region.
FTA to propel regional economy
21-Jul-2005
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are taking a tangible step towards creating the world’s most populous free trade area (FTA).
Andean trade negotiators meet in Miami for talks
21-Jul-2005
Trade talks with three Andean countries get underway in downtown Miami, but for free-trade supporters the key issue in town is still the Congressional vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement.
Talking Turkey
21-Jul-2005
After seven years of negotiations carried out in fits and spurts - and the near-death of talks under the previous government of Atef Ebeid - Turkey and Egypt are finally set to sign a free trade agreement in the coming two months.
Proceed with care:There’s no need to rush into an FTA with China
21-Jul-2005
Commerce minister Kamal Nath’s position that a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China would not work until it becomes a market economy is not unreasonable.
Don’t hold your breath
21-Jul-2005
Despite a list of reforms enacted in the last six months, Egypt seems no closer to a free-trade deal with the United States as the current ambassador heads back to Washington for a high-powered new post.
Bilateral Free Trade Agreement deal with neighbouring countries: consultants to point out benefits, risks
20-Jul-2005 Bangladesh Observer
The Bangladesh commerce ministry is going to consultants to run a study to identify the benefits and possible risks of signing any bilateral trade agreement (FTA) with neighbouring countries.
China-ASEAN FTA feared to hurt S. Korea’s exports: KITA
20-Jul-2005 Asia Pulse
The implementation of a free trade agreement (FTA) between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will negatively affect South Korea’s export competitiveness, a private trade promotion body said Tuesday.
Demand for short FTA sensitive list
20-Jul-2005 The Hindu
India on Tuesday moved a step closer towards finalising its negotiating strategy for the BIMSTEC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the Commerce Ministry continuing rigorous consultations with Indian industry for identifying the items of India’s export interest figuring in the "sensitive list’’ of other member countries.
Industry balks at ASEAN-China FTA
20-Jul-2005 Jakarta Post
Industry players are generally the most affected stakeholders in any free trade agreement (FTA), but they continually feel they are being left out of the FTA negotiation process. The implementation of the FTA between China and ASEAN nations — which would see almost all import duties slashed starting on Wednesday and gradually dropping to zero by 2010 — is the latest example.
Thais seek shield against ’biopiracy’
20-Jul-2005 Bangkok Post
While United States trade negotiators seek to strengthen intellectual property protection under the proposed Thai-US free trade area agreement, Thailand is raising the issue of genetic resources and ways to guard against biopiracy.
CAFTA’s debt trap
20-Jul-2005
Criticism of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) currently being considered by the U.S. Congress has focused heavily on concerns that the treaty would devastate Central American farmers who would be forced to compete with heavily subsidized U.S. agribusiness.
RI, Japan focus on cooperation
19-Jul-2005 Jakarta Post
Japan and Indonesia are focusing their series of negotiations on setting up an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment and intellectual property rights, the Indonesian Minister of Trade says.
Pakistan, Malaysia talks on FTA get underway
19-Jul-2005
The 2nd round of negotiations on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and Malaysia commenced at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Monday.
FTA signed: NZ, Chile, Singapore and Brunei to end tariffs
19-Jul-2005
Government officials today signed off on a multi-nation free trade agreement that will end all trade tariffs among New Zealand, Chile, Singapore and Brunei by 2015.
Tariff rows may delay launch of SAFTA
19-Jul-2005 News from Bangladesh
Bangladesh, Pakistan and India continue to get locked in the niceties of negotiations on exchange of tariff concessions, particularly for competing products such as textiles at a time when less than six months are left for the agreement on South Asia Free Trade Area (Safta) of the seven-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) to come into operation.
Japan needs trade pact with ASEAN
19-Jul-2005 Yomiuri Shimbun
Analysts have said it is a matter of time before China will replace Japan as the ASEAN’s largest trade partner.
Text of India-US joint statement (July 2005)
19-Jul-2005 Hindustan Times
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Bush declare their resolve to transform the relationship between their countries and establish a global partnership.
Benefits of US, Thai free trade agreement examined
18-Jul-2005 CalTrade Report
The US is currently the top supplier to Thailand of agricultural products and the US-Thai FTA is expected "to further open and diversify sales for these and other products, such as beef and pork, to this major market for US farmers and ranchers," a US Department of Commerce statement said.
China, ASEAN to begin FTA despite business anxieties
18-Jul-2005 Jakarta Post
Starting on July 20, Indonesia and five other members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) begin the journey of entering a free trade agreement (FTA) with China — creating a massive single market of approximately 1.8 billion people.