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Malaysia hopeful to conclude CECA with India this year
12-Sep-2008 Hindu Business Line
Malaysia has expressed hope that the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with India will be concluded this year.
Working conditions of foreign nurses in Japan ’exploitative’: study
12-Sep-2008 ABS-CBN
The Philippine government has used the annual entry of 400 Filipino nurses and 600 caregivers under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) as one of main reasons why the Senate should ratify the free trade accord. Yet foreign nurses and caregivers who want to work in Japan may find working conditions there exploitative or even discriminatory, according to a study.
EU, South Korea deal worries Turkey
12-Sep-2008 Turkish Daily News
A soon-to-be-finalized free trade agreement between the European Union and South Korea is causing concern for Turkey, as its market will be indirectly opened to South Korean products due to its customs union agreement with the EU.
Ecuador likely to negotiate bilateral association agreement with EU
12-Sep-2008 ANDINA
Ecuador would agree with Peru and Colombia to negotiate a bilateral Association Agreement between the Andean Community (CAN) and the European Union (EU), stated Thursday Peru’s minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Mercedes Aráoz.
Ecuador: Icsid panel claims it has jurisdiction in OXY case
11-Sep-2008 Dow Jones Newswires
A panel from the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or Icsid, said late Tuesday that it has jurisdiction for the claim of the US-based oil company Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY) against Ecuador.
An ominous week
11-Sep-2008 Starbroek News
To the man in the street, it seems that the EPA, and the debate on it, have split Caricom governments, and that the prospects for their arriving at some harmonious agreement at this week’s Caricom meeting are not good.
Protect and survive
11-Sep-2008 monbiot.com
Many are aware that the European equation of fair trade with free trade is nonsense, writes George Monbiot
Republicans prod Pelosi for action on trade deals
11-Sep-2008 Reuters
The Bush administration, Republican lawmakers and business groups pressed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday to allow votes on free trade pacts with Colombia, Panama and South Korea by the end of the year.
US House votes to end Mexican truck program
10-Sep-2008 Reuters
The US House of Representatives defied a White House veto threat on Tuesday by voting to end a controversial pilot program, begun last year under NAFTA, that gives long-haul commercial trucks from Mexico full access to US highways.
’Canada to focus on free trade pact with India’
9-Sep-2008 Business Today
Calling his country’s backing for India in getting the waiver from the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) last week a "turning point" in bilateral ties, Canadian foreign affairs parliamentary secretary Deepak Obhrai has said his country will now focus on a free trade agreement with New Delhi.
Trade battler tries to avoid a big crash
9-Sep-2008 IHT
Peter Mandelson once said he would be the last man standing in the marathon push for a global trade deal, but as his time as Europe’s trade chief ticks away, he may have to settle for smaller prizes.
Caribbean leaders urged to reject EU treaty
8-Sep-2008 RI
Church leaders in the Caribbean have urged regional governments to reject the Economic Partnership Agreement proposed by the European Union, saying the terms of the treaty would harm the economy, marginalize the poor, and undermine the Caribbean’s democratic institutions.
Japan expects EPA to be signed later this year
8-Sep-2008 Nhan Dan
A senior Japanese diplomat said he hoped that the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Japan and Vietnam will be signed by the end of this year to pave the way for the two countries to boost their trade and investment.
Let’s not build the EPA in the graveyard of regionalism
8-Sep-2008 Jamaica Gleaner
The Cariforum Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was initialled last December under extreme pressure of time and the threat of imposition of punitive tariffs on Caribbean exports in European Union (EU) markets. In the past nine months this 1,000 plus- page agreement has been examined closely, and found wanting in several respects. Every effort needs to be made to fix the problematic features before the agreement is legally cast in stone.
Guyana stakeholders ’roundly condemn’ Cariforum EPA
8-Sep-2008 Norman Girvan
Senior representatives of the government, the opposition political parties, the trade union movement, the private sector, religious bodies and other non-governmental organizations unanimously called on regional leaders not to sign it in its present form.
FTA negotiations with Malaysia to resume next week
8-Sep-2008 NZPA
Negotiations to secure a free trade agreement (FTA) with Malaysia will resume next week, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said today.
Leave it and save RP sovereignty, senators urged on JPEPA
8-Sep-2008
As Sen. Miriam Santiago advises opposition senators to “love or leave” the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), research group IBON Foundation urges the Philippine Senate to choose the non-ratification of the deal and help reclaim the country’s economic sovereignty.
Exchange of notes between RP, Japan for Jpepa ‘useless,’ says Tañada
8-Sep-2008 Exchange of notes between RP, Japan for Jpepa ‘useless,’ says Tañada
FORMER senator and Fair Trade Alliance (FTA) lead convenor Wigberto Tañada labeled the exchange of notes between Manila and Tokyo for the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa) as “useless” as it failed to address the numerous constitutional issues that were raised by several sectors against the deal.
RI demands OZ, NZ open up service markets under FTA
8-Sep-2008 Jakarta Post
Indonesia has proposed the liberalization of professional and service sectors in Australia and New Zealand under the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries and ASEAN members.
EPA signing fiasco: a high-stakes gamble
7-Sep-2008 Jamaica Gleaner
As matters stand, Trinidad, Jamaica, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Belize, The Bahamas and St Vincent have said that they want to sign; St Lucia says it will not; Guyana is holding a public consultation; Grenada wants more time; and there is silence from almost all other Cariforum states. Meanwhile, some opposition parties have publicly disassociated themselves, most notably, in Jamaica and Antigua.