bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

All articles

Central America: Commission holds fourth round of negotiations for an Association Agreement
12-Jul-2008 7th Space
The European Commission, negotiating on behalf of the European Union, and Central America will meet in Brussels from 14 to 18 July 2008 for a fourth round of negotiations in view of an Association Agreement between the two regions.
CP adding feed plants in India
12-Jul-2008 Bangkok Post
The Charoen Pokphand Group, Thailand’s largest agribusiness conglomerate, is preparing to expand in India by establishing two more animal feed plants.
Mad cows, mad people
11-Jul-2008 FPIF
Through the prism of beef, Koreans confront the limitations of key contemporary institutions: democracy, capitalism, and nationalism.
21-member APEC pushes trade agenda
11-Jul-2008 Manila Bulletin
The 21-member countries of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), seen to be playing a crucial role in pushing for the conclusion of the stalled Doha Development Round of the WTO, are moving ahead with its agenda of improving market access and substantial reductions in market-distorting measures in agricultural trade in light of the soaring food prices.
Business begins push for post-Bush trade deals
11-Jul-2008 Reuters
A US business group outlined a plan on Thursday to restore White House trade negotiating authority that was badly damaged in a fight between President George W. Bush and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over a free trade pact with Colombia.
Asean-Australia-New Zealand FTA near conclusion: Rudd
11-Jul-2008 The Edge Daily
The ongoing negotiations on the free trade agreement (FTA) between Asean countries and Australia-New Zealand (ANZ) are expected to be concluded in the near term, said Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
US, China sign energy, environment accord
11-Jul-2008 CalTradeReport
The US and China have signed a framework for an agreement to define cooperation on energy and environmental issues and will soon launch negotiations to reach a comprehensive investment and financial services treaty.
EU/US FTAs and Malaysian SMEs
11-Jul-2008
Malaysia is currently negotiating an FTA with the USA and the European Union and as with any North-South FTAs their scope are extensive. The Third World Network has produced a preliminary report looking at the likely impact of these FTAs on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia.
Hidden hooks emerge in China FTA
11-Jul-2008 Stuff
New Zealand’s free-trade agreement with China contains hidden hooks that could seriously damage the country’s tourism, building and manufacturing industries.
Threat to plans for trade pact
11-Jul-2008 Stuff
Indonesia’s ban on New Zealand beef could threaten plans to sign a lucrative free-trade pact with South-east Asian nations this year, industry officials say.
Mass movement halts the neo-liberal bulldozer
11-Jul-2008 Newscham.net
No one is sure how successful the movement will be in stopping the importation of American beef into Korea but it has certainly fractured the seemingly monolithic aura of President Lee and his neo-liberal bulldozer and will perhaps spark a new generation of class struggle in South Korea.
Hyundai workers strike over US beef
10-Jul-2008 Business Week
Workers at Hyundai Motor Co. staged a partial strike Thursday over stalled annual wage negotiations with management and the resumption of US beef imports.
Nobel Economist Stiglitz criticises EPA
10-Jul-2008 GNA
Professor Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel Laureate in Economics, on Tuesday urged the government of Ghana to "take a cold hard look" at the Economic Partnership Agreement and negotiate its inimical aspects away, saying that the deal was not free but an extremely managed trade agreement.
Stop the EU taking the Caribbean for a ride
10-Jul-2008 Caribbean Net News
It has become patently evident that the European Union is taking the Caribbean for a ride over the Economic Partnership Agreement initialled last December. The Caribbean has to stop the ride and renegotiate the deeply troubling aspects of the EPA before any signing takes place.
Youth group slams crackdown on protesters at G8
9-Jul-2008 GMANews
Militant Filipino youths scored Tuesday what they called the repression against protesters at the G-8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan, and demanded the release of the arrested protesters. In a letter to Japanese ambassador Makoto Katsura dated July 8, the youths also reiterated their opposition to the Japan Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
SKorea, Gulf states agree to forge free trade deal next year
9-Jul-2008 AFP
South Korea and six Gulf states agreed Wednesday to forge a free trade deal by the end of next year, a chief negotiator from the Seoul side said.
Wiroon: Thai-Indian FTA set to expand
9-Jul-2008 Bangkok Post
Thailand hopes to ratify a full free-trade agreement with India within this year if the political situations in the two countries don’t change, according to Deputy Commerce Minister Wiroon Techapaiboon.
Intellectual property in the EPA: broad scope, huge impact - Part 1
9-Jul-2008 Jamaica Observer
The historic Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) skilfully brokered last December between the Caribbean Forum of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (CARIFORUM) and the European Community (EC) is impressively wide in its scope, but the impact of its implementation in countries such as Jamaica is still largely unexplored.
Costa Rica: EU not interested in free-trade agreement
9-Jul-2008 Tico Times
Costa Rican officials announced they are not satisfied with the market opening proposal issued by the European Union (EU) prior to the beginning of the fourth round of negotiations for an eventual EU-Central America agreement. Costa Rican trade officials stated that they “do not perceive an interest on the part of the Europeans to advance the process.”
Free trade’s false promises
9-Jul-2008 The Guardian
According to new estimates by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America, the US-Colombia free trade agreement will actually make Colombia worse off by up to $75m or one-tenth of 1% of its GDP.