bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

Articles by language


South Korea, Japan fail to agree on free-trade talks
South Korean President Lee Myung Bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda failed to agree on resuming negotiations for a free-trade agreement when they met today in Tokyo for their first official summit.
EPA - could have dire consequences
Anyone could be forgiven for wanting to fall asleep whenever the new Economic Partnership Agreement between Europe and the Caribbean comes into the conversation. The language is so complex and dry that only professional diplomats can understand it. (And even some of them are pretending). But the Caribbean needs to pay attention, because the economic consequences of this new agreement are heading towards it like an express train with potentially catastrophic consequences.
Japan-ASEAN FTA (2008)
Lee, Bush connect FTA to alliance
President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President George W. Bush shared the view that the free trade agreement (FTA) is important for the two countries’ alliance.
Colombian gov’t infiltrated by ’paras’-witness
The allegation could increase resistance in Washington to a US-Colombia free trade deal, blocked by House of Representatives Democrats concerned that Uribe is not doing enough to protect labor union members who are often targeted by the paramilitaries.
Tecom land dispute risks damaging US FTA
A $1 billion lawsuit between Tecom Investments and a US company could hinder free trade talks between the US and the UAE, a US Congressional document shows.
Vietnam, Chile eye free trade agreement
Vietnam and Chile have established a joint mission to study the feasibility of a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).
Business executives plan to stress free trade to Bush, Harper, Calderon
Leading business executives from Canada, US and Mexico will try to rally NAFTA leaders against increasing protectionist sentiment next week by issuing a call for greater co-operation in the face of cries by Democratic presidential candidates to review free trade.
Filipino fishers JPEPA’s biggest losers, says leftwing group
If approved, an estimated 200,000 metric tons of tuna would be fished annually by the Japanese in Philippine waters under the agreement. This would amount to $970 million annual loses for the Philippine fisher folk sector.
Diet to open door to foreign nurses, care workers
The Diet (Japan’s Parliament) is set to approve an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with Indonesia, which will open the door to foreign nurses and care workers for the first time in history, government officials said.
Emirates persists on US trade agreement
The UAE has taken a second route to an FTA with the US after failing to meet the time frame originally established by the Trade Promotion Authority granted by Congress: the Tifa-Plus (Trade and Investment Framework Agreement) process, which provides a framework for further discussions on the FTA and on short-term issues.
Handled with tact, FTAs can do what WTO can’t
Compared with a multilateral organization like the WTO, FTAs are much more convenient for China in several aspects.
Dealing with the Proliferation of Bilateral Trade Agreements
In this paper, we consider the various options proposed in dealing with the spaghetti bowl, and assess their ability to do so.
US-SKorea free trade pact still in limbo after beef deal
The United States and South Korea may have ended a longstanding row over beef but the headway seems insufficient to convince the Democratic-controlled Congress to ratify a free trade agreement between the two allies.
USTR fact sheet on opening South Korea to US beef
The United States and Korea concluded an agreement on April 18, 2008 to fully reopen South Korea’s market to all US beef and beef products irrespective of whether or not the FTA is ratified
Businesses warily eye Democrats’ trade position
As the race to select a US Democratic presidential nominee drags on, corporate chieftains and some trade groups are raising concerns about the candidates’ free trade positions.
South Korea relaxes US beef import rules
South Korea on Friday agreed to open up to U.S. beef imports after Washington pledged to raise safety standards, boosting prospects for a sweeping trade deal ahead of a summit between leaders of the allies later in the day.
Human rights vow over trade talks
Human rights issues will be high on the agenda in negotiations between the European Union and the GCC on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), a senior official declared in Bahrain last night.
Emirates persists on US trade agreement
The United States has not dropped the ball on a free-trade agreement with the UAE, Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of Foreign Trade, told delegates at the Middle East-Asia Leadership Forum in Dubai.
Handled with tact, FTAs can do what WTO can’t
On April 7, China and New Zealand signed a free trade agreement (FTA) covering trade in goods and services as well as investment, making it the first FTA reached by China with a developed country.