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Cargill lobbyist’s quest is open markets
22-Apr-2012
Devry Boughner sits under a portrait of Ho Chi Minh in the home of Vietnam’s ambassador to the United States and pitches the virtues of open markets to a communist diplomat.
Premier sees great potential in cooperation with Iceland
22-Apr-2012
Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Saturday that cooperation between China and Iceland had great potential.
Tokyo’s trade priorities
22-Apr-2012
Achieving full free trade among its members by 2020 remains the stated goal of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) group, but few expect it to materialise due to the non-binding nature of the agreement.
Argentine YPF move threatens to sour EU-Mercosur trade talks
20-Apr-2012
Argentina’s move to nationalize a 51% stake in the country’s YPF oil company from Spain’s Repsol this week may hamper efforts to finalize free-trade talks between the European Union and the Mercosur trade bloc later this year, European officials said Friday.
Japan to accept nurse candidates from Vietnam
20-Apr-2012
Japan has agreed to accept nurses and caregivers from Vietnam under a bilateral economic partnership agreement on condition that they pass a Japanese language test, officials said.
Obama approves Colombia FTA —despite continued anti-labor violence
20-Apr-2012 World War 4 Report
At the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, US President Barack Obama announced approval of Colombia’s supposed progress in protecting labor rights, allowing the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement to take effect next month. US trade representative Ron Kirk said at a Cartagena press conference that the agreement provides "an opportunity to help stand up for the rights of workers... This is a significant milestone."
Parti Quebecois sounds warning about possible Canada-EU trade deal
20-Apr-2012
Quebec’s official Opposition, which is leading in public-opinion polls with an election looming, is sounding some alarm bells about a potential Canada-European Union free-trade deal.
Mexico says ready to sign free trade agreement with Turkey
20-Apr-2012
Mexican Economy Minister Bruno Ferrari has said that his country was ready to sign a free trade agreement with Turkey.
Milne says free trade deal would hurt apple and pear growers
20-Apr-2012
The Greens leader says the proposed Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement would put the Australian apple and pear industry at risk.
PM: Still work to do on trade with Indonesia
20-Apr-2012
Despite the free trade agreement between New Zealand and Indonesia which came into force early this year there is still much to do to remove barriers to trade between the two countries, Prime Minister John Key says.
Korea-China FTA moving forward
20-Apr-2012
On April 17 and 18, ahead of the proclamation of the beginning of negotiations for a China-Korea FTA, economic and diplomatic experts from both countries gathered in Seoul and discussed methods of drafting the FTA.
Study investment provisions before an FTA says advocacy group
20-Apr-2012
The country should carefully study investment provisions before entering into foreign trade agreements (FTAs) as these may infringe on government’s regulatory power on foreign firms, an advocacy group on Friday said.
NAFTA and free trade do not belong in the same sentence
18-Apr-2012 Business Insider
The claim that all economists agree that "the benefits of free trade and NAFTA far outweigh the costs" is highly misleading, writes Dean Baker.
Cities seek exemptions from EU-Canada trade deal
18-Apr-2012 Postmedia News
As Canada and the European Union negotiate final details on a free-trade deal expected to be completed this year, dozens of communities across the country are voicing major concerns or seeking exemptions from the pact.
Canada, Chile expand FTA
18-Apr-2012 Tax News
The original FTA covered trade in goods and services, but did not include provisions on financial services. The amended agreement now includes a financial services chapter.
Colombian agriculture concerned about FTA
18-Apr-2012 ThePigSite
May 15, 2012 has been the date set for the start of the Colombia–US Free Trade Agreement. While the US agribusiness sector is very pleased, the Colombian sector is less so, writes ThePigSite.
Harper gets support of Chile in bid to join TPP free-trade pact
18-Apr-2012 Montreal Gazette
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper secured the support Monday of Chilean President Sebastian Pinera for Canada’s bid to join talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Obama certifies Colombia labor plan, clearing trade pact
16-Apr-2012 Bloomberg
President Barack Obama certified Colombia’s labor protection efforts, allowing both sides to put the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement into effect May 15.
AFL-CIO declaration issued to re-examine Colombia FTA on worker rights
16-Apr-2012 USW
The United Steelworkers, the AFL-CIO and the Colombia labor movement firmly believes the US pronouncement that Colombia has complied with the Labor Action Plan — a move which will allow for implementation of the Free Trade Agreement starting next month — is premature as unionists continue to be killed in Colombia at a rate of 30 slain in 2011, and six already this year.
Case note: How Chevron v. Ecuador is pushing the boundaries of arbitral authority
13-Apr-2012 IISD
The arbitral tribunal in Chevron v. Ecuador has taken a series of steps in recent months suggesting that it has a broad view of its authority.