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Tokyo ready to reopen FTA talks with Seoul: report
8-Feb-2008 Yonhap
The Japanese government hopes to reopen free trade negotiations with South Korea that have been stalled for over three years due to differences between the two sides, a Japanese newspaper said Friday.
Mexicans say: Integrate this!
8-Feb-2008 FPIF
Despite various and sometimes divergent interests, the Mexican campaign against NAFTA is finding a focus.
Why Afro-Colombians oppose the Colombia FTA
8-Feb-2008 The Hill
The US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement is considered a non-starter in the US Congress because the country is the world’s deadliest for union activists. Less known, but equally disturbing is the systematic violence now confronting Afro-Colombians.
Mexican farmers protest NAFTA hardships
8-Feb-2008 PWW
Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon is moving to implement a new wave of “neoliberal” policies which are being repudiated by numerous other Latin American countries.
ANC MP accuses EU of ‘recolonising’ Africa
7-Feb-2008 Business Day
The biannual meeting of European and South African parliamentarians to discuss South Africa-EU relations got off to a rocky start yesterday when a top African National Congress MP accused the Europeans of recolonising Africa through EPAs.
US signing FTA with Kuwait only a matter of time: Gutierrez
7-Feb-2008 Arab Times
"We are just waiting for the right conditions in place to sign a free trade agreement with Kuwait," said US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez said on Wednesday, adding that an FTA with Egypt remains "an opportunity" and one with Libya "early" despite ongoing talks with Tripoli.
From NAFTA to the SPP: Here comes the Security and Prosperity Partnership, but—what security? whose prosperity?
7-Feb-2008 Dollars and Sense
Designed to shore up the United States’ weakening position as a global hegemon, the SPP’s primary goals are to link economic integration of the three NAFTA countries to US security needs; deepen U.S. access to oil, gas, electricity, and water resources throughout the continent; and to provide a privileged-and institutionalized-role for transnational corporations in continental deregulation. The stakes for labor, the environment, and civil liberties in all three countries couldn’t be higher. Yet because of the SPP’s reliance on executive authority to push the agenda, many of the SPP’s initiatives remain virtually invisible, even to many activists.
Govt may face ‘claims worth billions’ from foreign firms
7-Feb-2008 Engineering News
Foreign companies operating in South Africa that have lost production and ultimately profit as a result of the power supply crisis might be able to sue the government under bilateral investment treaties
The lies behind free trade
7-Feb-2008 Prensa Latina
Rich countries preach free markets and free trade to the poor countries in order to capture larger shares of the latter’s markets and preempt the emergence of possible competitors, says Cambridge economist Ha-Joon Chang.
US free trade accords face rocky road
7-Feb-2008 CSM
A fresh battle is brewing in Washington over foreign trade, with the White House persevering in its pursuit of free trade agreements while congressional Democrats - some elected two years ago on protectionist planks - appear more inclined to take up trade issues with China than pass new deals.
Differences over negative list hold up India-EU trade pact
7-Feb-2008 Economic Times
India Inc’s eager wait for a comprehensive trade and investment agreement with the European Union could get a little longer as differences have cropped up over the items which would be kept off the pact.
Turkey will negotiate a free-trade agreement with Arab Gulf states in 2 years
7-Feb-2008 AP
Turkish President Abdullah Gul said Wednesday his country planned to sign a free-trade agreement with Arab Gulf countries after two years of negotiations with the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council. «We are keen on buying Qatar’s gas,» Gul told reporters.
Fighting FTAs: new publication and website
7-Feb-2008
bilaterals.org, GRAIN and BIOTHAI are today launching a collaborative publication, "Fighting FTAs: The growing resistance to bilateral free trade and investment agreements".
India, Malaysia free-trade deal set for March 2009
6-Feb-2008 AFP
Malaysia and India have agreed to try to finalise a free-trade agreement by March 2009, Indian officials said Wednesday after the first round of talks.
Bank of the South: A potential new challenge to hegemonic global finance and its monetary terrorism
5-Feb-2008 Payvand
Although there are no well-developed models, the possibility of regional banks independent of the agents of monetary terrorism serving what David Harvey calls "vulture capitalism" is becoming a reality.
Commons debate on free trade urged
5-Feb-2008 The Chronicle Herald
Canada’s shipbuilding industry wants the federal government to hold true to its word and bring free-trade deals to the House for debate and a vote before they are ratified.
US trade decision ’great news’ says AmCham
5-Feb-2008 Scoop
The United States decision to get involved in forging a trade accord involving New Zealand is a major milestone in the quest for a US-NZ free trade agreement, says the American Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand (AmCham). AmCham has been lobbying hard for a US-NZ FTA for nearly 10 years now.
Peru: Free trade deal an Andean tragedy
5-Feb-2008 Green Left Weekly
Hypocritical euphemisms belie the real intent of PeruFTA, which is to strike a blow against the growing movement toward the creation of a regional trading block in Latin America.
L’accord bilatéral entre l’UE et l’Algérie reste bloqué
5-Feb-2008 Le Maghreb
M. Mandelson a souligné que l’accord d’association, qui est "une base" de développement des relations bilatérales entre l’Algérie et l’UE, ne fonctionne pas bien actuellement.
Investmt treaty threat to sovereignty, environment
5-Feb-2008 Scoop
The NZ Green Party is calling on Labour to halt discussions on an investment treaty because of the threat the treaty poses to our sovereignty and our environmental standards. This follows the announcement today that the United States is seriously considering joining negotiations about an investment treaty between the P4 treaty partners of New Zealand, Chile, Singapore and Brunei.