bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

Articles by language

English
Tagalog
Panama’s president continues push for free trade pact passage
17-Sep-2008 Dow Jones Newswires
A day ahead of a scheduled meeting with US President George W Bush, Panamanian President Martin Torrijos continued pushing Tuesday for approval of a free trade deal between the countries. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also vowed to continue fighting for passage of the agreement and pledged to continue that fight for years, if necessary.
Chile FTA poses horti threat
17-Sep-2008 Weekly Times
Horticulture has been the sacrificial lamb in the Chilean Free Trade Agreement, Australian industry leaders say.
Counterfeit democracy
17-Sep-2008 Znet
The US Trade Representative’s officials say there is no reason to be worried: ACTA (a secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) won’t require more than existing US free trade agreements, they say. Meanwhile, business groups are explicit that they believe ACTA should do far more than existing US free trade agreements. Are they having their way?
Uribe and Garcia break negotiations between the EU and the CAN
16-Sep-2008 RECALCA (Spanish original)
In perfect coordination, worthy of the political affinity between Alvaro Uribe and Alan García, the two presidents sent identical letters on 9 September 2008 to the President of the European Commission, in which, unilaterally and without consulting their partners in the Andean Community of Nations (CAN), they terminated the Association Agreement negotiations between the CAN and the EU. What they seek is quite serious: to force bilateral negotiations with the European Union, excluding both Bolivia and Ecuador.
García reiterates Peruvian interest to sign trade agreement with EU
16-Sep-2008 ANDINA
Peru’s president, Alan García, confirmed today Peruvian interest to sign trade agreement with the European Union (EU); however, he recognized the initial obstacles for consensus in the Andean Community of Nations (CAN).
CARIFORUM agrees to sign EPA
16-Sep-2008 Barnacle Grenada
Thirteen of the 15 Member States indicated their readiness to sign the Agreement at the Third Meeting of the Heads of State and Government of CARIFORUM held at the Sherbourne Centre, Barbados on Wednesday. Haiti indicated that there were reservations which had to be cleared at the Presidential level before signature of the document, while Guyana stated that it was not in a position to sign the EPA.
Final offensive for US-Colombia FTA is stark contrast to other developments in the hemisphere
16-Sep-2008 Colombia Journal
While the eyes of the world focus on the internal crisis in Bolivia and the unfolding tensions in the Andean region, the pro-Bush government of Colombia is engaged in one of its most intensive lobbying efforts in recent memory, a full court press that will culminate with the visit next week of President Alvaro Uribe to Washington.
EU plans two-track approach for FTA
15-Sep-2008 Bangkok Post
The European Union (EU) under the French presidency will focus on bilateral approaches in parallel with a bloc-to-bloc discussions with Asean on a free trade agreement, according to the French ambassador to Thailand.
Uruguay favors more trade accords, with or without Mercosur
15-Sep-2008 MercoPress
Uruguay formally proposed its Mercosur partners to begin a round of negotiations geared to reach trade agreements with the European Union, United States, South Korea and Canada.
RI eyes benefits from India pact
15-Sep-2008 Jakarta Post
Indonesia may see robust growth in exports to India following the conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement between India and members of ASEAN, mainly crude palm oil.
Fonterra caught in China milk powder scandal
15-Sep-2008 Epoch Times
New Zealand’s dairy giant Fonterra is caught up in the latest food scandal in China as the contaminated milk powder crisis reveals weeks of delay before the public was informed. NZ Green Party co-leader Russel Norman said “We signed up for a free trade agreement with no rules around environment or health, and so we are exposing ourselves and our companies to these types of scandals.”
EU to sign Asean amity, cooperation treaty
14-Sep-2008 The Nation
Despite Thailand’s political uncertainty the European Union remains keen to negotiate a bilateral free-trade agreement (FTA) with the Kingdom as a way to facilitate progress on a wider Asean-EU FTA.
New Delhi plans to join Investment Disputes Convention
13-Sep-2008 Economic Times
New Delhi is considering a proposal to join the World Bank convention, International Convention on Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Open letter from the Caribbean Conference of Churches
13-Sep-2008 Caribbean Net News
While it has been asserted that failure to conclude the agreement within the timeframe dictated by the E.C. would threaten Caribbean exports to Europe, we feel that our leaders should not be constrained to pursue a course of action which could prove to be adverse to our people in the long run.
Costa Rica court strikes down CAFTA bill for overlooking indigenous
12-Sep-2008 Tico Times
Costa Rica could miss its Oct. 1 deadline to pass law reforms needed to enter the Free Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) because of a legal snag in the final bill on intellectual property: Nobody thought to ask the country’s indigenous people.
Costa Rica top court blocks US trade pact approval
12-Sep-2008 AP
Costa Rica’s highest court on Thursday overturned an intellectual property law demanded by the US prior to the enactment of the Central American Free Trade Agreement. The Constitutional Court ruled that lawmakers improperly passed the bill — which included provisions on biodiversity — without consulting Indian groups.
India-EU trade agreement unlikely this year
12-Sep-2008 Business Standard
Negotiations for an ambitious free trade agreement between India and the European Union are on track but are unlikely to be completed by end of 2008, EC Ambassador to India said today.
FTA with Australia not moving as fast it should, says Rafidah
12-Sep-2008 Borneo Post
The conclusion of negotiations for the Malaysia-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) may take longer than expected as Malaysia cannot agree to Australia’s requests which go beyond the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agenda, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said on Monday.
Gulf states set to start FTA talks with Iran
12-Sep-2008 Emirates Business 24/7
Gulf states have decided to accept an offer from Tehran to begin talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) that will add Iran to the list of many countries negotiating with the region for such a deal
S Korea looks into FTAs with Turkey, Peru
12-Sep-2008 Xinhua
South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the country has started assessing the impact of free-trade agreement (FTA) with Turkey, and is also seriously considering to start formal talks for FTA with Peru, Korea Herald reported Thursday.