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Pakistan, Turkey agree to start FTA talks
15-Oct-2009 The News
Pakistan and Turkey have initiated negotiations on a free trade agreement and a formal accord will be signed during Turkish prime minister’s visit to Pakistan next month.
EU, South Korea ink free-trade deal: commission
15-Oct-2009 AFP
The European Union and South Korea on Thursday signed a free trade deal which Brussels said would be worth 19 billion euros (28 billion dollars) in new trade for EU exporters.
S.Africa farmers want land in Zimbabwe investment pact
15-Oct-2009 Reuters
While Agri SA has been leading a push for South African farmers to invest and farm in a number of other countries across Africa, including the Republic of Congo, Libya and Zambia, the union has urged its members to stay away from countries where South Africa has no investment protection agreements.
EU-RP partnership deal will take 2 years - MacDonald
15-Oct-2009 GMA News
The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the Philippines and the European Union, a prerequisite for an FTA, might take two years before being realized, an official said Wednesday.
Mexico revs up war on workers; Obama shrugs
13-Oct-2009 Huffington Post
Last Saturday night, October 10, several thousand Mexican government agents and police stormed into the headquarters and a hundred substations of the publicly owned electric utility, Luz Y Fuerza.
For safety’s sake
13-Oct-2009 The Star
Malaysia is about to adopt its biosafety regulations despite pressure from the US Biotechnology Industry Organisation that called on the US trade representative to reject mandatory labelling of GM products in the US-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement, claiming that labelling is tantamount to trade barrier.
World’s poor see few job benefits from trade boom
12-Oct-2009 Reuters
The boom in global trade over the last two decades has not improved the quality of most jobs in poorer countries, the World Trade Organisation and United Nations labour agency (ILO) said on Monday.
Costa Rica: March against impacts of CAFTA
12-Oct-2009 Infoshop
On 6 October, two years after the fraud that ordered the adoption of the FTA with the US, there was a People’s Walk for Dignity in the Southern Zone of Costa Rica.
Why did Seoul change to favour free trade with China?
12-Oct-2009 DPA
Last weekend’s news that South Korea and China had agreed to begin serious negotiations aimed at forging a free trade deal took many analysts by surprise, leading some to ask: What’s in it for Seoul?
New Via Campesina publication: FTAs in South East Asia and East Asia
12-Oct-2009 Via Campesina
This book is a compilation of various papers that were presented at a strategic meeting organized by La Via Campesina in South Korea in December 2008.
No CEPA with Pakistan before India
11-Oct-2009 The Island Business
Sri Lanka is very likely not pursue a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Pakistan because a similar agreement with India was put in cold storage last year amidst mounting domestic pressure.
US envoy hopeful of Indo-US bilateral investment treaty being endorsed
11-Oct-2009 ANI
US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer has said that he is hopeful that a bilateral investment treaty between US and India will be signed by end of the year.
Korea-China FTA returns to agenda
11-Oct-2009 Korea Herald
A free trade pact between Korea and China is expected to pick up pace after the two countries on Saturday agreed to consider the deal. But a bumpy road is expected because of sensitive issues, such as agriculture.
US eyes free trade pact with SE Asia countries
11-Oct-2009 Arab Times
The United States is beginning to lay the initial groundwork for talks to forge a free trade agreement with Southeast Asia, ahead of President Barack Obama’s maiden trip to the region.
EU, Egypt to further liberalise agri-trade ties
11-Oct-2009 Arabian Business
The European Union’s Council of Ministers on Saturday confirmed the signing of an agreement with Egypt aimed at greater liberalisation of reciprocal trade in agricultural products, processed agricultural products and fish and fishery products.
We need to be more careful in future
11-Oct-2009
It is normal for trade agreements to have a political overtone. The Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) initiated by the USA during the 1990s are a good example of this. Its FTAs with Caribbean, South American, North American and African countries covered ‘substantially all the trade’ as required under the WTO norms, but in practice they were all textile-centric , providing for duty-free import of apparel products manufactured out of raw materials obtained from the USA.
NGOs welcome EU’s vow not to push Africa into EPAs
11-Oct-2009
Non-governmental organisations have expressed their satisfaction at the European Commission’s declaration that it would not put "undue pressure" on African and other countries to conclude the controversial trade deals called economic partnership agreements (EPAs).
Canada lacks EU preferential trade deal
11-Oct-2009
In 2008, when Irish citizens were first asked to vote on the Lisbon Treaty, seen as a key to revitalizing the European Union by giving it more of the power now wielded by its member states, they responded with a definite No. They bought the argument that this would erode Irish sovereignty.
Comesa Compensates Country for Losses Resulting From EAC Integration
11-Oct-2009
In a move to compensate revenue losses accrued by Rwanda as a result of having a common external tariff after the adoption of the EAC customs union protocol, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) will disburse €10.3 million (Frw 8.8 billion) through budget support for the fiscal year 2009/10.
Lugar to introduce legislation on free trade with ASEAN
11-Oct-2009
An influential Republican Senator has announced to introduce a legislation in US Senate next week for free trade agreement negotiations between the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).