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Rethinking the FTA
9-May-2008
“At a remote ranch named Adams in Nebraska, there were some 80,000 cattle. About 3 kilometers away from the ranch, a nasty smell greeted my nose. Kept in corrals, the cattle tumbled about in their own excrement and urine. Still, the animals were given food containing animal parts. Antibiotics and growth hormone were essential for breeding them.”
Canada Introduces Legislation for EFTA Trade Accord
9-May-2008
Canada’s government introduced legislation today to implement a free-trade accord with the four-nation European Free Trade Association.
Rally against US beef sweeps nation
9-May-2008 Korea Times
Tens of thousands of Koreans held another candlelit vigil Friday night, demanding the government scrap the agreement to import most US beef.
EP: Trade and economic relations with the countries of South East Asia (ASEAN)
9-May-2008 European Parliament
The European Parliament is in favour of concluding a free-trade accord between the EU and the 10 countries of ASEAN. However, say MEPs in the committee, the agreement must meet certain conditions regarding sustainable development, the fight against fraud and respect for human rights.
World Bank urges US to pass Colombia trade deal
9-May-2008 Reuters
The US Congress should pass the Colombian free trade agreement to help the Andean country reform and strengthen its economy and improve its democratic institutions, the World Bank said on Thursday.
Wanted: One voice on Economic Partnership Agreement
8-May-2008
Senegalese Minister for Commerce Mamadou Diop has warned that African governments will continue to be pushed around by the European Union and its allies if they continue to adopt an individualistic approach to negotiating for fair trade deals.
Free to be poisoned
8-May-2008
Not everyone was disappointed when the Doha round of trade talks got bogged down in endless wrangling. After all, the United States and the European Union were pushing developing countries to liberalise their economies still further, while refusing to abolish their own agricultural subsidies. Better no trade deal than a bad one, or so we thought.
EPAs must serve as a wake up call for Ghanaians - CEPA
8-May-2008
The Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Analysis (CEPA), Dr Joe Abbey has challenged Ghanaians to take advantage of the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) to raise their production capacities. He explained that the EPAs must serve as a wake-up call to the country instead of thinking of creating barriers to stop the entry of European goods. "The status quo of sitting down and only repeating our story of how we have been colonized must be stopped. Let us look at the hard facts and deal with it," he said.
Lee accuses FTA opponents of spreading mad cow disease fears
8-May-2008
President Lee Myung-bak renewed Thursday his pledge to prioritize the health of the Korean people in his government’s policy to restart U.S. beef imports, accusing opponents of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement of spreading groundless fears of mad cow disease.
Australia Wants FTA With Korea
7-May-2008
The top Australian diplomat said Wednesday his country supports President Lee Myung-bak’s policy toward North Korea focused on dismantling its nuclear weapons program before providing economic aid. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith also expressed hope that the two nations will sign a free trade agreement as a way for boosting bilateral ties.
Bush vows to help Panama clinch free trade agreement
7-May-2008
President George W. Bush said Tuesday he would do his best to get Congress to approve a pending free trade agreement with Panama, after meeting with its President Martin Torrijos in the White House.
Seoul raises possibility of suspending US beef imports
7-May-2008 Yonhap
Agriculture minister Chung Woon-chun told lawmakers that Seoul will take the unilateral step even if such a move could lead to trade disputes with Washington.
USTR defends handling of trade deals with Congress
7-May-2008 Reuters
US Trade Representative Susan Schwab on Tuesday defended the White House’s decision to force a vote on a free trade pact with Colombia, even though it provoked a showdown with Congress that crippled a 34-year-old procedure used to win approval of trade deals.
Canada seeks Colombia agreement, as US deal stalls
6-May-2008
Canada’s Trade Minister David Emerson said he may soon complete a free trade agreement with Colombia, rejecting a plan by U.S. congressional Democrats to wait until the Latin American nation improves its human rights record.
Sweetheart Deal
6-May-2008
The deadline for completion of a new farm bill has been pushed back to May 16. But the endless wrangling over a piece of legislation that Congress once hoped to finish in 2007 has not induced a significant change in the thinking of those who regard it as an opportunity to lock in lush new benefits for American agricultural producers.
Banished Zimbabwe farmer to sue country
6-May-2008
South African taxpayers may have to pay millions of rands in compensation for the government’s failure to act in Zimbabwe when hundreds of white-owned farms belonging to South Africans were confiscated in 2000.
India’s FTA with EFTA nations to include IPRs
6-May-2008
A free trade agreement is slated to be finalised between India and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) by early 2009. The EFTA countries include Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
U.S. sock makers wage war on Gildan imports
6-May-2008
Just two years after launching an ambitious plan to become a major player in the North American hosiery business, Gildan Activewear Inc. finds itself caught up in an international trade dispute over the flood of socks into the U.S. from Honduras.
Bilateral Investment Treaty can spur US-Pakistan economic ties: Negroponte
6-May-2008
A top US diplomat has said the conclusion of a bilateral investment treaty with Pakistan would bolster economic and trade ties between the private sectors of the two countries.
Activists Slam Trade Ministry Over EPAs
6-May-2008
Civil society organisations and the parliamentarians last week clashed with the trade ministry officials over the signing of an interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPAs) with the European Union.