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Sierra Leone to press ahead with EU trade deal
1-Dec-2007 AFP
Sierra Leone will press ahead to sign accords to liberalise trade with the European Union that have been heavily criticised by anti-poverty lobby groups, a minister said on Friday.
NGO hits trade official, proposes conditionalities on JPEPA
30-Nov-2007 NGO hits trade official, proposes conditionalities on JPEPA
The multisectoral Fair Trade Alliance (FairTrade) hits Ambassador Manuel Teehankee when he revealed that he’s “guessing too much” on the projected gains that the country will be getting on the JPEPA during a Senate hearing presided by Sen. Mar Roxas on Friday.
India-EU FTA may be delayed
30-Nov-2007 http://www.financialexpress.com/new...
Sharp differences on modalities for the proposed India-EU free trade agreement (FTA) have begun surfacing. It seems unlikely that the proposed FTA would be finalised by 2008, the deadline set by India.
European treaty may revive debate over power to conclude investment agreements
30-Nov-2007 ITN
The debate over who in the European Union (EU) holds the legal authority to conclude international investment agreements (IIAs) with non-European countries — the European Community or individual Member States — is set to intensify as the EU Reform Treaty throws dust into an already hazy situation.
CALABARZON workers and the imminent danger posed by JPEPA
29-Nov-2007
On September 10, 2006, the governments of Japan and the Philippines signed the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) in the Asia-Europe Meeting in Helsinki, Finland. JPEPA, the Philippines’ first full-fledged bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), was signed despite protests from the Filipino people even at its proposal stage in 2002.
China changes agriculture investment restrictions
28-Nov-2007 SeedQuest
On October 31, China’s "Industrial Catalog for Foreign Investment (2007 Amendment)", providing guidance for investments that the Chinese Government favors, discourages, or bans, was approved by the State Council and published. It will become effective on December 1, 2007.
Letter from Colombian unions to US Congress
28-Nov-2007 Mingas
In the framework of the debate in the respective congresses around the ratification of the Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and the United States, the Administration of Alvaro Uribe Vélez has spread the idea in governmental circles in the United States that the Colombian union movement is divided and that "a majority" sector supports the TLC. In this document, we will demonstrate that this idea does not reflect the reality of the Colombian union movement.
Malaysia’s racial policies draw international scrutiny
28-Nov-2007 Asia Sentinel
Malaysia’s racial policies look as though they could become an international issue rather than a purely domestic one. A Free Trade Agreement with the US is stalled partly on the issue of racial preferences. And if the much vaunted ASEAN Free Trade Area is to allow free movement of capital and skilled labor, Malays cannot be shielded from competition with ASEAN’s 400 million people.
Mexico to protest NAFTA enforcement
28-Nov-2007 Prensa Latina
Imminent opening of the Mexican market to tax-free imports from the US and Canada is source of protests 34 days short of enforcing the North American Free Trade Agreement.
EU and Iraq in third round talks for trade and cooperation agreement
28-Nov-2007 BI-ME
The European Union and Iraq are holding the third round of negotiations for a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) in Brussels from 27-29 November.
Consultations held on India-EU trade pact
28-Nov-2007 The Hindu
Fishermen want 40 varieties in the negative list
Asean FTA: Time to introspect on domestic oilseed cultivation
28-Nov-2007 Hindu Business Line
In the absence of a clear strategy to put our own house in order, the India-ASEAN FTA negotiations appear to be farcical. Negotiations are conducted between equals and in a level playing field. But here is a situation where everyone knows India is vulnerable.
Israel-S. America trade deal imminent
28-Nov-2007 Jerusalem Post
Mercosur, South America’s four-nation trading bloc, is poised to clinch a historic free-trade pact with Israel, officials said Wednesday.
Free trade with Colombia is the wrong deal with the wrong country
28-Nov-2007 Embassy
Not even the fact that the United Nations has called Colombia the worst humanitarian disaster in the Western hemisphere because of targeted killings of civilians by that country’s security forces that have risen sharply in the last five years, seems to matter as the Canada-Colombia FTA negotiations move forward at break-neck speed.
SADC, EU reach agreement on EPA
28-Nov-2007
Southern African Development Community (SADC) and European Union (EU) negotiators have concluded the first phase of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
Legislators pass first CAFTA law
28-Nov-2007
The law, one of the least controversial of the 12, regulates the relationship between foreign companies and their representatives in Costa Rica.
US labor activists petition to stop free trade push
28-Nov-2007 OneWorld US
Labor rights activists in the United States are trying to organize a nationwide campaign to push Congress to oppose the Bush administration’s plans to promote new free trade agreements.
Fiji, PNG mum on EPA signing
28-Nov-2007 Fiji Times
Fiji and Papua New Guinea are silent on reports they were pressured into signing an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union.
Big gains seen from US-Japan free trade pact
28-Nov-2007 Reuters
A free trade pact between the United States and Japan would generate hundreds of billions of dollars in economic gains for both countries, according to a study released on Tuesday.
Pakistan and Mauritius sign Preferential Trade Agreement
28-Nov-2007 Daily Times
Pakistan and Mauritius have decided to accord each other preferential status effective November 30, 2007, under the bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement.