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Japan agrees to amend trade treaty
18-Jun-2008 Manila Standard
Japan is willing to sign a side agreement with the Philippines to quiet concerns about provisions in a free-trade treaty deemed inconsistent with or violate the Philippine Constitution, an official said yesterday.
US, China aim for launch of investment treaty talks at bilateral meeting
18-Jun-2008 Forbes
Senior US and Chinese officials today launched a two-day series of talks that could result in the launch of negotiations for a new investment treaty that the US hopes would help expand US investment in China and protect existing investment.
Some interim EPAs may not be concluded
18-Jun-2008 AllAfrica.com
Some of the 35 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states that have initialled interim economic partnership agreements (EPAs) may still withdraw from the process — apart from the 44 states that have so far refused to sign EPAs with the European Union — according to researchers studying the fraught trade negotiating process.
KCTU to launch general strike on July 2
17-Jun-2008 Hankyoreh
Labor movement will lead candlelight protests for renegotiation of US beef agreement, KCTU says
One million South Korean people and workers protested against the Unfair US beef import agreement and the neoliberal government policies!
17-Jun-2008 KCTU
On June 10th, around one million people and workers gathered to demand renegotiation of US beef import agreement across the country. In case of Seoul, around 500,000 people participated in the candlelight vigil and march.
SKorea unions may strike over beef imports, more talks set
17-Jun-2008 AFP
South Korean unions on Tuesday threatened a general strike in protest of a US beef import deal, as negotiators in Washington tried to find a way out of the crisis shaking the Seoul government.
Bilateral accords quietly push neo-liberal agenda
17-Jun-2008 rabble
Right now through the European Union process there is a divide and rule strategy taking place, not only regionally but also within regions where some countries are signing bilateral trade and investment agreements and some aren’t.
Hard bargains: Bilateral trade pacts draw domestic objections
17-Jun-2008 FT
The fear of having other countries steal a march on Washington by signing their own deals may bring Congress back to the bilateral trade negotiating table.
US, China firms sign whopping 13.6 billion dollar deals
17-Jun-2008 AFP
American and Chinese firms have signed deals worth 13.6 billion dollars ahead of a high level meeting that could formally endorse talks for a bilateral investment treaty, officials said.
Anti EPA groups protest at White Hall!
17-Jun-2008 St Lucia Star
On Thursday June 12, organizations from around the region staged a protest against the EU-Caribbean Economic Partnership Agreement in front of White Hall, the prime minister’s office in Trinidad.
Group urges Palace to reveal content of RP-US free trade pact
17-Jun-2008 GMANews
A militant fisher folk group urged Malacañang on Tuesday to disclose the content of the proposed RP-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which it said might be the top agenda of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s state visit to the United States next week.
FAO urges integration to boost prices in market
17-Jun-2008 Business Daily
To thwart a deepening food crisis on the continent, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation is proposing the creation of a Free Trade Area (FTA) for Africa that will facilitate a seamless flow of strategic commodities across national borders while maintaining high profit margins.
Israel seeking an upgrading of its relations with the EU and to obtain "special status"
16-Jun-2008 AIC
On Monday June 16th, the EU-Israel Association Council will convene for the eighth time. For Israel the stakes are high.
EFTA and Colombia conclude free trade negotiations
16-Jun-2008 EFTA Secretariat
The EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and Colombia on 12 June 2008 finalized negotiations on a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Africa: Concerns over Chinese investment and working conditions
16-Jun-2008 IPS
Chinese investment in African countries comes with few strings attached — which is exactly what concerns civil society organisations.
US-South Korean beef talks fail to reach agreement
16-Jun-2008 Xinhua
Talks between the United States and South Korea over the resumption of American beef imports ended Sunday without any agreement, US Trade Representative spokeswoman Gretchen Hamel said.
Ecuador, ALBA and the FARC
16-Jun-2008 Scoop
Recent remarks by Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez on the civil war in Colombia and Ecuador’s decision not to join the Alternativa Bolivariana de las Americas (ALBA) solidarity based cooperation initiative shows progressive leaders are taking stock on Latin American integration.
Ranbaxy deal may help India’s entry into Japan
16-Jun-2008 Financial Express
The Daiichi Sankyo-Ranbaxy Laboratories deal has come as a shot in the arm for India’s Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement (CECA) negotiations with Japan. Indian pharma companies have been unable to break into Japan, the world’s second largest drug market, due to the country’s stringent sanitary and phytosanitary standards, technical barriers to trade (TBT) and environmental norms.
S. Korea, Europe seek FTA conclusion in 2008
16-Jun-2008 Korea Times
Europe wants to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea by the year’s end to further boost bilateral economic ties
“Free trade”, neoliberal immigration & the globalization of guestworker programs
15-Jun-2008
An analysis of how free trade and investment agreements affect migrant workers