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Eight reasons to reject the JPEPA
16-Apr-2008 IBON
The Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) can be best described in three words: unequal, defeatist and destructive. Recent government propaganda, however, has been trying to depict the JPEPA as an indispensable agreement— even as the country is currently reeling from a food crisis brought about by the same neoliberal framework that JPEPA was designed from. A statement from IBON.
Egypt to discuss FTA with India
15-Apr-2008 Hindu Bussiness Line
Egypt on Tuesday said it would explore the possibility of a Free Trade Agreement with India to boost trade and investment between the two countries.
S Korea, EU to meet next week for FTA talks
15-Apr-2008 Trading Markets
Top trade officials from South Korea and the European Union (EU) plan to meet in Japan next week to discuss how both sides will carry out the ongoing free trade negotiations
Australian trade minister to visit China for FTA negotiation resumption
15-Apr-2008 Trading Markets
Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean said China has agreed to unfreeze negotiations
Million dollar China deal 48 hours after free trade agreement
15-Apr-2008 Scoop
New Zealand apparel company Norsewear is one of the first to benefit from the recently signed free trade agreement with China — securing an order worth close to a million dollars in less than 48 hours after the historic deal was signed.
Pakistan and Sri Lanka to expand the scope of free trade agreement
15-Apr-2008 Asian Tribune
The trade agreement has opened central Asian countries adjacent to Pakistan to new Sri Lankan exports.
Rights groups applaud trade deal’s tabling
15-Apr-2008 One World US
Long-time US critics of corporate-friendly free trade agreements are applauding House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi for effectively putting the brakes on a deal with the South American nation of Colombia.
Bush scolds Congress on Colombia trade
14-Apr-2008
President Bush stepped up pressure Monday on Congress to approve a controversial free-trade pact with Colombia, saying the deal is "dead" unless House Speaker Nancy Pelosi schedules a vote.
Japan, ASEAN finish inking free trade pact: statement
14-Apr-2008 AFP
Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations said Monday they had finished signing a deal to tear down trade barriers between the world’s second-largest economy and the 10-member bloc. The deal, which is set to come into effect later this year, was formally signed Monday by Malaysia, the last of the 10 members of the ASEAN bloc to sign off.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): Gulf’s new dynamics
14-Apr-2008 FDI Magazine
Charles Roxborough, who leads management consultancy McKinsey & Company’s global corporate and investment banking practice, estimates that by 2020 sovereign wealth funds, of which some of the richest are located in the Middle East and north Africa (MENA) region, will have invested a staggering $7000bn in capital markets. “They’re reshaping strategies at banks and intermediaries,” he says. He believes that hedge funds, Asian central banks and sovereign wealth funds have tripled their market position since 2000 and now make about 5% of global investments.
New curbs on investment from the South
14-Apr-2008 IPS
Germany’s decision to introduce controls on investments from the South in strategic domestic sectors is yet another indicator of growing protectionism in European and other industrialised countries against the neo-liberal globalisation they once masterminded.
EU to speed up trade talks with ASEAN
14-Apr-2008 Jakarta Post
A top EU trade officer is in Jakarta to try and speed up negotiations for a free trade agreement between the EU and ASEAN — a process he says has been "moving relatively slowly".
Eating seed corn not always tasty
14-Apr-2008 TH
US farm and ranch voices avoid singing same tune on US-Colombia trade proposal
Jordan, Canada hold first round of trade negotiations
14-Apr-2008 MENAFN
First round of Jordanian-Canadian trade negotiations started on Sunday with the aim of signing a free trade agreement between the two countries.
Czech Republic, Brazil sign economic cooperation agreement
14-Apr-2008 ČTK
Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg and his Brazilian counterpart Celso Amorim signed a Czech-Brazilian agreement on cooperation in the fields of economy and industry in Prague, during Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s visit to the Czech Republic.
Qatar and Hungary to sign economic cooperation
14-Apr-2008 BI-ME
Hungary and Qatar are expected to sign a slew of agreements, including investment protection and double-taxation avoidance, this year to strengthen economic relations.
Pakistan, China discuss Transit Trade Agreement, expand scope of FTA
14-Apr-2008 APP
Pakistan and China have made substantial progress towards entering a Transit Trade Agreement, expanding the scope of Free Trade Agreement, besides identifying new areas of cooperation to further strengthen their multi-faceted ties.
China, Chile sign services free-trade pact
14-Apr-2008 Earth Times
China and Chile signed an agreement on free trade in services on Sunday, following talks between the two presidents. The two nations committed themselves to opening up their service sectors in accordance with World Trade Organization rules, under a supplementary agreement to their formal free-trade pact signed in 2005.
Saarc members to approve SAFTA
11-Apr-2008
All the eight Saarc member countries would approve the inclusion of Services Sector in the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) during the coming schedule meeting of SAARC in June 2008. The SAARC countries signed SAFTA in 2006 which is now being expanded to the services sector also in June 2008.
US Hopes for US-SKorea Trade Progress
11-Apr-2008
The second-ranking U.S. diplomat said Friday he hopes a meeting next week between President Bush and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will lead to progress on a South Korean-U.S. free trade agreement.