2-Jun-2010
Straits Times
Taiwan protested on Wednesday after China said it will object to foreign countries signing free trade agreements with the island, a blow to what Taipei officials see as a key driver to its US$390 billion economy.
2-Jun-2010
Canadian Press
A European diplomat identified three potential obstacles Tuesday to a free-trade deal with Canada: intellectual property rights, agriculture and government contracts.
2-Jun-2010
The National
China has made securing a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the GCC a high priority as demand for energy and industrial imports in the fast-emerging global superpower rises.
2-Jun-2010
Focus Taiwan
Taiwan authorities will decide Thursday on whether the ECFA referendum proposal is valid.
1-Jun-2010
PDI
The Philippines is exploring the possibility of forging a bilateral agreement with Taipei, with talks to start between the two governments this week at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministers’ meeting in Japan.
1-Jun-2010
Bloomberg
New Zealand, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, agreed to begin work on a free trade accord with Russia, the world’s largest market for butter and cheese. Any such deal will include Belarus and Kazakstan, according to NZ trade minister Tim Groser.
31-May-2010
Daily Mirror
The Democratic National Alliance in Sri Lanka has decided to ask for a parliamentary debate on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to be signed with India and asked the government to disclose the contents of the agreement.
31-May-2010
The Nation
Although Governments of India and Sri Lanka have shown keen interest in expediting their mutual trade pact, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is likely to get delayed after local business leaders have expressed grave concerns over its impact on Sri Lankan economy.
31-May-2010
Sunday Times
The Business Times reliably understands that sections of the government provided unofficial backing for the protest.
31-May-2010
AFP
South Korea, Japan and China agreed Sunday to speed up an investment accord and research on a trilateral free trade pact.
30-May-2010
A new website, "Trans-Pacific Partnership Digest", has been launched to provide a comprehensive data base of material on the negotiations for a Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement involving New Zealand, the US, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The second round of negotiations will take place in San Francisco next week.
28-May-2010
IBON
The just-concluded EU-ASEAN foreign ministers meeting in Madrid ended with apparent agreement on economic integration mechanisms and the EU calling the ASEAN countries not to implement protectionist measures.
28-May-2010
Lanka Web
The India-Sri Lanka agreement is like the story of two farmers who share a cow by owning two equal halves of the cow. They tied a rope around the belly of the cow. One owned the front part and the other the rear. Farmer who owned the rear got all the economic benefits including milk, calves and even manure while the other paid for it!
27-May-2010
Bloomberg
“Negotiations were suspended because EU countries added a clause depriving GCC countries the right to impose duties on EU exports in the future,” the Director General of the External Economic Relations Department at the Gulf Cooperation Council said.
27-May-2010
The Island
President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday said Sri Lanka would not enter into trade agreements that would have an adverse effect on the country’s economy when he met a group of protestors against the implementation of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with India.
26-May-2010
Negotiations on a Korea-Peru free trade agreement (FTA) could be finalized by November, a development that would further enhance bilateral ties and precede a possible state visit by Peruvian President Alan Garcia, Peru’s vice foreign minister said Wednesday.
26-May-2010
AFP
Australia Tuesday denied that its planned 40 percent mining tax would hurt attempts to strike a free-trade agreement with China, a key market for the country’s resources.
26-May-2010
Andina
Peru and Mexico will restart negotiations on an FTA that adjourned in 2006.
26-May-2010
Poder 360·
The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights warned in its latest meeting of the negative impact of free trade agreements on the most vulnerable part of Colombia’s populace
26-May-2010
The Island
A large group of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs, businessmen and workers launched a protest outside the Liberty Plaza complex at Kollupitiya yesterday, opposing the CEPA trade agreement with India.
