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Negotiations on China, Pakistan FTA in services sector conclude
18-Aug-2007 Pakistan Times
China has expressed interest in Islamic banking and the development of industrial zones in Pakistan during the second round of China-Pakistan negotiations on FTA in Services chapter
The water margin
17-Aug-2007 The Guardian
Tanzania was glad to secure the services of a British-led consortium to run the newly privatised water system in its capital Dar es Salaam. But then the price of water started to rise
Fine-tooth comb needed for clauses
17-Aug-2007 The Nation
Article 190 of Thailand’s junta-sponsored draft constitution deals with six paragraphs on FTAs. On the surface, they appear to be a triumph for anti-FTA groups such as FTA Watch. There’s a catch, however.
Scrap the SPP!
17-Aug-2007 Indymedia
The People’s Global Action Bloc is a coalition of various anti-capitalist groups from Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, and Vancouver who will be organizing actions in Montebello and across Canada from August 19-21 to show their resistance to the SPP.
110,000 citizens sign petition opposing move to North American Union
17-Aug-2007 PR Newswire
A newly launched petition protesting a move toward the creation of a North American "framework" has quickly captured the attention of US citizens.
Japan to push business ties in India
17-Aug-2007 Daily Times
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be taking 200 business executives to India on August 21-23. The two countries have already agreed to forge an economic partnership agreement within two years, and they also have an ambitious plan to build, with Japanese assistance, a $90 billion industrial corridor with state-of-the-art infrastructure linking Delhi and Mumbai.
Toxic treaty favors Japan, not the Philippines
17-Aug-2007 Indybay
“In my view, the JPEPA is an atrocious treaty,” exclaimed international law expert and former Dean of the UP College of Law, Dean Merlin Magallona, one of the invited speakers at a roundtable discussion at the Philippine Senate today, which provided the venue for impacted sectors to share their findings on the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
Lesotho wants free trade area by 2008, customs union by 2010
17-Aug-2007 Afrique en ligne
President Pakalitha Mosisili of Lesotho called on member states of SADC to address their obligations to ensure that the region realises the Free Trade Area by 2008 and a Customs Union by 2010, in preparation for the creation of a Common Market by 2015 and a common currency by 2018.
The Korea-US free trade agreement: A summary assessment
17-Aug-2007 Peterson Institute
When will the US Congress vote on implementing legislation for the KORUS FTA? There is no clear timetable. Under TPA, a vote could occur soon after submission of the requisite economic impact analysis by the USITC in late September 2007 or be deferred for a substantial period of time.
South Korea may discuss free trade deal with North in summit
17-Aug-2007 The Hankyoreh
South Korea is considering discussing a potential free trade agreement (FTA) with North Korea during the second summit of the leaders of the two Koreas late this month
Sign on: Reject JPEPA! Defend our people’s sovereignty!
16-Aug-2007 BISIG
We call on all freedom-loving Filipinos not to allow yet another surrender of our country to Japan. Reject the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement!
No headway in GCC-India FTA
16-Aug-2007 Zawya
The much-awaited Free Trade Agreement between India and GCC appears to have hit yet another roadblock with the Indian Revenue Department opposing the inclusion of crude oil in the pact.
Free trade pacts with China, Japan to further weaken RP economy
15-Aug-2007
Philippine trade deals with Japan and China, which President Gloria Arroyo recently urged Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members to act on, will further weaken the country’s already damaged domestic economy.
Chile-Japan trade accord signed
15-Aug-2007 Forbes
Chile is the first South American country to reach a free-trade accord with Japan
CAFTA’s October referendum: A death sentence for Costa Rican foreign investment?
15-Aug-2007 COHA
With a little under two months until the October referendum on the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement, time is quickly running out for Costa Rican president Óscar Arias to gain the necessary public support to pass CAFTA. The trade pact is strongly opposed by those who believe that it will not help the Costa Rican economy, while being significantly beneficial to the US.
ASEAN for early FTA with India
15-Aug-2007 The Hindu
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is keen on clinching a Free Trade Agreement with India by or before their November bilateral summit in Singapore.
Will security and prosperity partnerships end dissent as we know it?
15-Aug-2007 ZNet
Just about everyone on the Left knows what a free trade agreement is by now. But how many of us have heard of an SPP?
Bringing the SPP out of the shadows
14-Aug-2007 The Dominion
While many Canadians have never heard of the Security and Prosperity Partnership, activists from across North America are planning to make their presence felt at the "3 Bandidos" summit in Montebello, Quebec, and shed some light on what many are describing as ’NAFTA Plus’.
EAC states in row over EU trade deals
14-Aug-2007 The East African
Should the five member states of the East African Community negotiate an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union as a single bloc, or should they do so as part of the larger Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) group?
EU wants proposed cooperation pact tied to RP rights record
14-Aug-2007 PDI
An official from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs admitted that given the country’s record of extrajudicial killings, the negotiating team is seriously concerned about whether the Philippines may qualify for a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with EU, a requisite for the country taking part in the EU-ASEAN free trade agreement.