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Africa ’’will not be the winner’’ of the EPAs
17-Jul-2007
"I do not know if a winner will emerge from the signing of the economic partnership agreement under the current conditions but I know for sure that Africa cannot be the winner," says Amadou Ba, who heads the international negotiations division at Senegal’s ministry of commerce.
New Zealand seeks more FTAs to improve trading relationship
17-Jul-2007
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Helen Clark said the country has been proactive in seeking free trade agreements (FTAs), including with Malaysia and Asean, in its move to improve trading relationship.
S. Korea, EU have differences over automobiles in free trade talks
17-Jul-2007
South Korea and the European Union are struggling to narrow differences on tariffs and safety regulations on automobile trade as they try to forge an ambitious free trade agreement, a top South Korean negotiator said Tuesday.
GCC-India FTA to be a reality soon
17-Jul-2007 MENAFN
"Negotiations will be completed by the yearend and the signing of the final agreement could be sometime early next year," the Indian Ambassador to Bahrain says.
Peru: protests against US trade accord rock country
17-Jul-2007 WW4 Report
Peruvian unionists, campesinos, leftists and nationalists came together to stage a massive one-day general strike on July 11.
CARIFORUM divided on liberalisation issue - Economic Partnership Agreement under threat
17-Jul-2007 Jamaica Gleaner
A disagreement among the members of CARIFORUM, which represents the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Dominican Republic, could cause a delay in the group completing negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
EU sets ambitious goals for South Korean free trade deal
17-Jul-2007 Monsters and critics
’We are setting the bar very high with a 100-per-cent trade liberalization offer,’ an EU trade official told Deutsche Presse-Agentur as European and South Korean officials opened a second round of negotiations in Brussels.
US aims to conclude FTA talks with Malaysia by second quarter 2008, says official
17-Jul-2007 IHT
"Both sides would like to finish this as quickly as possible," a US official told reporters
Lotte Mart stops selling American beef
17-Jul-2007 Donga-A Ilbo
Among 53 Lotte Marts nationwide, six of the stores have already suspended sales of American beef due to demonstrations opposing the Korea-US FTA.
Beyond just cricket and Bollywood
16-Jul-2007
The India-China comparison has become almost passé with western audiences in the past few years. But in countries like New Zealand where ties with China, particularly economic ties, have traditionally been far stronger than with India, the comparison is relatively new and India often comes a poor second, especially in the eyes of New Zealand Inc.
Canada steps into void left by US-Colombia rift
16-Jul-2007
Canada started trade talks with Colombia on Monday and pledged full support for President Alvaro Uribe, who has seen his key bilateral relationship with the United States bog down in a scandal over human rights.
Country-based policies are best
16-Jul-2007
Africa’s poorest countries should develop policies to suit their unique circumstances to replace policies imposed on them by their developed country counterparts, former Tanzanian president Benjamin Mkapa has said.
Free trade, human rights top Harper’s Colombian agenda
16-Jul-2007
Free trade talks, human rights and Colombia’s efforts to end its decades-old civil war will top the agenda today as Prime Minister Stephen Harper gets down to business on the first stop on his four-nation tour of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The EU-Mexico free trade agreement seven years on: A warning to the global South
16-Jul-2007 TNI
Seven years on, the impact of the EU-Mexico FTA is clear. Instead of the promised economic and social benefits, the treaty has left the Mexican state unable to implement policies to promote local small and medium size companies.
Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs): Responses to the EU offensive against ACP developmental regions
16-Jul-2007 TNI
ACP activists have compiled a wealth of criticisms of the EC initiative to conclude EPAs by end 2007. This paper is concerned to bring these analyses to the attention of European civil society and deepening understandings among activists and governments of the implications of EPAs and, in particular, how they undermine existing efforts towards developmental integration in ACP regions.
Chile keen on free trade pact
16-Jul-2007 Telegraph
Chile and India, which signed a preferential trade agreement (PTA) in March last year, could go in for a free trade agreement in the future. The PTA is applicable to only 300 products in each country.
Korea removes rice from EU FTA talks
16-Jul-2007 Chosun Ilbo
South Korea has sent a draft proposal on free trade talks to the EU, promising to remove or phase out import tariffs on cars over seven years. Seoul has also decided to exclude rice from its list of markets subject to opening, but it may agree to open up its agricultural market, including beef.
What will India gain from the FTA with the EU?
15-Jul-2007 New Europe
The negotiations for an EU-India FTA could prove even more difficult to bring to a successful conclusion than the Doha development negotiations.
Switzerland: China visit yields few tangible results
15-Jul-2007 swissinfo
Swiss Economics Minister Doris Leuthard will not return home from her four-day visit to China totally empty-handed. Leuthard said she was satisfied with the results of the trip and the signing of a declaration aimed at establishing a free trade accord was the "highpoint".
Vietnam : EPA talks hang in balance
15-Jul-2007 Fibre2fashion
Garment and textile manufacturers in Vietnam have shown their disapproval of Japan’s desire to impose origin regulations under the Economic Partnership Agreement negotiations which began in January this year.