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Is JPEPA an executive agreement?
13-Aug-2007 Manila Bulletin
Despite the submission of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) for Senate ratification in the Philippines, some quarters are of the opinion that under the Tariff and Customs Code this bilateral economic deal can be considered an executive agreement and therefore does not need Senate ratification.
Vying for leadership, Lula heads north, Chávez south
10-Aug-2007 IPS
Political and economic alliances with a view to strengthening Latin American integration are subtly shifting with a growing distance between Chávez and Lula
Colombia inks Central America trade pact
10-Aug-2007 Houston Chronicle
Colombia signed a free trade agreement Thursday with Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador that could double exports to the Central American countries in five years.
Evaluation of the impact of NAFTA on manufacturing
9-Aug-2007 Scoop
The evidence is overwhelming: NAFTA has damaged the manufacturing industry in the US and Mexico. As the maquiladora industry thrives and human rights are continuously eroded in sweatshops across the globe, it is the responsibility of the US, the world’s most insatiable consumer, to call attention to this injustice in the manufacturing sector and correct it.
Argument vs. JPEPA: Not only environmental impact but unfairness of pact
9-Aug-2007
The main argument against ratifying JPEPA is not only that it would turn the country into Japan’s landfill, but that the pact is blatantly unfair against the Philippines.
Peruvian workers warn about national strike
9-Aug-2007 Prensa Latina
The General Confederation of Peruvian Workers (CGTP) warned on Tuesday that it will stage a national strike to demand higher salaries and to protest against the Free Trade Agreement with the United States.
S Korea, Mexico agree to resume free trade talks
9-Aug-2007 Korea Times
South Korea and Mexico officially have agreed to resume their negotiations for a full free trade agreement (FTA), which is expected to contribute not only to economic ties but the political partnership between the two countries
India-Japan CEPA on the anvil
9-Aug-2007 The Statesman
The second round of negotiations for an India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement - covering trade, investment and services - will take place in September.
Thailand prepares for Asean-EU talks on free-trade deal
9-Aug-2007 The Nation
"The talks might be called a Closer Economic Partnership Agreement as the European Union wants the agreement as a comprehensive package which will cover not only trade, but also services and investment," Thailand’s chief negotiator said.
Bilateral trade talks FTA partnership sought from US govt
9-Aug-2007 Daily Times
During the ongoing round of bilateral trade talks at Washington, US Administration is being pressed to designate Pakistan as a potential Free Trade Agreement (FTA) partner to attract investment and promote trade relations between the two countries.
Democratic candidates say they would change Nafta trade pact
9-Aug-2007 Bloomberg
US Democratic presidential contenders said they would revise the North American Free Trade Agreement if elected in 2008.
Research institute recommends inter-Korean trade agreement
9-Aug-2007 Hankyoreh
A private think-tank claims that South and North Korea should work on signing a free trade pact to prompt changes in the communist country and eventually achieve consolidation of the two divided Koreas.
Iran-Armenia FTA (1995)
8-Aug-2007
Mercosur-Venezuela: Integration - Easier said than done
7-Aug-2007 IPS
Above and beyond the political rhetoric in favour of South American integration, Mercosur and Venezuela have not eliminated their mutual suspicions, which are delaying Venezuela’s admission to the trade bloc as the fifth full member
CARICOM, CentAm to discuss free trade agreement
7-Aug-2007 New Kerala
Countries from Central America and the Caribbean will come together to discuss a free trade agreement
“Free trade” to deepen poverty and inequality in Southeast Asia
7-Aug-2007 APL
Statement of the Asia-Europe Peoples Campaign vs. FTAs on the 40th ASEAN Minister’s Meeting in Manila (July 30-August 2, 2007)
Pakistan hopes for US action on trade zones
7-Aug-2007 Reuters
Pakistan wants the United States to pass legislation on "reconstruction opportunity zones" that would allow it and Afghanistan to export textiles, clothing and other goods without paying US duties.
KMP calls for junking of RP-China economic agreements
7-Aug-2007 KMP
The RP-China agricultural agreement, for example, provides China with the capability to produce food using Philippine territorial lands and waters.This would inevitably mean massive displacement of peasants from their lands, and the crops to be planted are not for Filipino consumption but for export to China.
South Pacific, European Union aid funds wrangle ends
6-Aug-2007 IHT
Samoa’s Deputy Prime Minister said the Pacific trade ministers "have had some schooling and know how to read English. It is untrue that the Pacific misinterpreted the meaning (of the EC warning)."
ASEAN hype
6-Aug-2007 Bulatlat
The press releases churned out about the 40th Ministerial Meeting of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the annual ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) last week give the impression that ASEAN is well on the way to becoming a formidable economic bloc and a force to reckon with in the geopolitical landscape. Nothing could be farther from the truth.