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Costa Rica wins 7-month CAFTA deadline extension
28-Feb-2008
Costa Rica has won a seven-month extension from its U.S. and regional trade partners to pass laws required for its entry into the CAFTA free trade pact, President Oscar Arias said on Wednesday.
Emerson hints oil would be back on table if U.S. reopens NAFTA
28-Feb-2008
Trade Minister David Emerson suggested the United States has a sweet deal over access to Canada’s oil under the North American Free Trade Agreement, saying the two Democratic presidential candidates calling for renegotiations may not know just how good the U.S. has it under the deal.
USTR says beef can change timing of FTA approval
28-Feb-2008
The United States does not intend to change the order of ratifying the three remaining free trade agreements (FTA), but South Korea’s resolution of the beef issue would definitely change the timing of congressional approval of its FTA, the top trade negotiator said Wednesday.
“Free Trade”: Is it working for farmers? Comparing 2007 to 1988
27-Feb-2008 NFU
For farmers, so-called “Free Trade” agreements do two things simultaneously: By removing tariffs, quotas, and duties, these agreements erase the economic borders between nations and force the world’s one billion farmers into a single, hyper-competitive market. At the same time, these agreements facilitate waves of agribusiness mergers that nearly eliminate competition for these corporations.
EU aims to rope in African states resisting EPAs
27-Feb-2008 IPS
The European Union is determined to get those African countries on board which have so far kicked against the economic partnership agreements. A two-part article from Aileen Kwa.
Call to action against Europe’s aggressive economic agenda in Africa
27-Feb-2008
Declaration of civil society organisations at the meeting of the Africa Trade Network, Cape Town, South Africa, 22 February 2008
Trade-EU: Deals with Africa a ’PR disaster’
27-Feb-2008 IPS
Trade talks between the European Union and African countries have been a public relations "disaster" for the Brussels bureaucracy, a high-ranking official confessed Feb. 26.
Panama-Guatemala free trade a ’historic step’
27-Feb-2008 Tico Times
Panama’s government has signed a free-trade agreement with Guatemala, Central America’s biggest economy with 11 million residents.
Peru: Four dead after government crackdown on protests against US trade deal
27-Feb-2008 Upside Down World
A two-day national agrarian strike against a pending Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States ended on Wednesday February 20th, leaving four farmers dead after President Alan Garcia declared a state of emergency and ordered a violent crackdown.
New US push for Mideast free trade deal
27-Feb-2008 Gulf Daily News
US officials are engaged in "informal" talks with several GCC countries on possibly concluding a Middle East Free Trade Agreement (Mefta) by 2014, it was revealed yesterday.
Olmert in free-trade talks with Japan
27-Feb-2008 Globes
Japanese officials have expressed interest in Israel’s water and aerospace industries.
French heavyweights pressing for EU trade deal with Canada
27-Feb-2008 CanWest
A former French prime minister and now a confidant of President Nicolas Sarkozy have endorsed the push for a Canada-Europe free trade agreement.
Central America, EU face off on penal court
27-Feb-2008 Prensa Latina
Central America and the European Union may have difficulties reaching an association agreement due to European requirement for ratification of the Statutes of Rome of the International Penal Court.
Peters talks of free trade with Korea
26-Feb-2008
New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters says his trip to South Korea gave him the chance to broach the topic of free trade with the country’s new government
EU Warns Continent Over Sluggish Pace of New Trade Deal Talks
26-Feb-2008
The European Union has raised concerns about the speed at which African countries are moving towards negotiating for a comprehensive trade deal with Europe, which is expected to fast-track economic integration in the region ahead of the December deadline.
’EPAs Are Not About Partnership’
26-Feb-2008
The economic partnership agreements (EPAs) currently being negotiated between Europe and its former colonies in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions are not about equal partnerships but about enabling "big giant Europe to gain better access to African markets".
African Liberal Parties Want Benefits From Partnerships
26-Feb-2008
African Liberal parties, meeting in a General Assembly, that closed in Maputo on Saturday, have demanded that partnership agreements with the European Union should bring real advantages to Africa.
SA-EU Trade Row Puts Customs Union At Risk
26-Feb-2008
The future of the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) hangs in the balance, even as engagement takes place at the highest political level to save the world’s oldest customs union from collapsing.
In 1 year, Dominican Republic lost RD$2.54B from Dr-Cafta trade pact
26-Feb-2008
Dominican Republic has lost from the Dr-Cafta trade pact, which took effect one year ago on Saturday, RD$2.54 billion from lost tax revenues, the Customs Agency (DGA) said in a statement.
NZ-China trade pact on track for April
26-Feb-2008
New Zealand and China are still planning to sign a trade deal in April, though final agreement on the detail is yet to be reached.