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Malaysia and US to hold informal FTA talks
29-May-2007 FTA Malaysia
Malaysia and the US will be holding informal FTA talks to iron out various issues instead of planning for another formal round of negotiations, according to reports. Both sides last met in April in the US.
East Africa: EPA controversy continues
28-May-2007 AllAfrica.com
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) has warned that COMESA states will lose up to Ksh16.9billion ($241 million) annually if the Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union is endorsed. "Is this a second colonization by the EU.....or economic slavery by the so-called developed world?" said Mr. John Ogam, member of the Kisumu KAM executive Committee.
Philippines: ’Diplomatic exchange’ on JPEPA toxic provisions not enough, Greenpeace says
28-May-2007 Infoshop
The diplomatic notes state that "Japan would not be exporting toxic waste to the Philippines as defined and prohibited under the laws of the Philippines and Japan, in accordance with the Basel Convention." This is where the loophole and ambiguity lies.
The Jordan-Israel QIZs have been insignificant for peace
28-May-2007 Daily Star
The impact of the Qualifying Industrial Zones — a concept proposed by the United States in 1996 to bolster cooperation between Jordan and Israel after the Jordan-Israel peace agreement was signed in 1995 — remains, after 10 years, difficult to determine. In spite of the tremendous growth of exports to the US market through these zones, QIZs continue to receive mixed reviews and their future is uncertain. Most importantly, the impact of the QIZs on the peace effort has been insignificant, to say the least.
NAFTA from below: A review
28-May-2007
The full impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement on the working people of Mexico, the US and Canada has yet to be assessed, but this slender volume makes a major contribution to our overall understanding of this disastrous economic treaty that was imposed on the people of all three nations by governments which routinely subvert democracy in the service of big capital.
Churches reject Economic Partnership Agreements
28-May-2007
Catholic and other churches in Kenya are opposed to Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) currently being negotiated between developing countries and the European Union.
FTA talks with EU to begin soon
28-May-2007
The council of European Union (EU) has given a mandate to European Commission to pursue negotiations to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) with India.
Dominican Senate to pass legislation in adherence to Free Trade
28-May-2007
The Senate is set to modify the General Concessions Law so the Dominican Republic adheres to its commitments in the Free Trade Agreement with the United States and Central America.
Business delegation heads to US to sell FTA
28-May-2007
A delegation of business leaders has set off for the United States to promote a Taiwan-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
After revealing the FTA text: how much did Korea give up?
28-May-2007
The full text of the free trade agreement with the United States has been released. To the masses who have grown weary of the almost two months of the government’s self-congratulatory propaganda about how well it did in the negotiations that ended in April, the news is like welcome rain after a long drought. Did not someone say the trade deal was "like a second founding of the nation," in order to say the economic negotiations are the biggest news since Dangun’s founding of the Korean nation in 2333 B.C.E.?
The SPPNA or “deep integration”
28-May-2007 alcaabajo
It’s really not a secret accord. On March 23, 2005, presidents George W. Bush of the United States, Vicente Fox of Mexico, and Prime Minister Paul Martin of Canada issued a joint declaration giving life to the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPPNA), also known as NAFTA-plus, or North American Free Trade Agreement plus other accords.
“Trade with Mexico is a big opportunity for India”
28-May-2007 Financial Express
Mexican minister of economy Eduardo Sojo says Indian companies should use Mexico, through its 44 FTAs, as a gateway to enter the US and the Latin American market.
Globalization and democracy: Some basics
27-May-2007 countercurrents
With “free trade” agreements, giant transnationals are elevated above the sovereign powers of nation states, with all statutes and regulations that restrict private capital in any way made unlawful.
The politics of Asia’s big deals
26-May-2007 Newsweek
The US-South Korea free trade agreement comes at precisely the moment when America’s military presence on the Korean Peninsula is rapidly diminishing, anti-US nationalism in South Korea is growing and China is playing an ever more important leadership role in the region. "This FTA is about countering China," says Yang Sung Chul, a former US ambassador to South Korea, now professor at Korea University in Seoul. "It’s much more significant in strategic than economic terms."
NAFTA: Kicked up a notch
26-May-2007 Spero News
The expansion of NAFTA into the Security and Prosperity Partnership reveals the road ahead for other nations entering into free trade agreements. It is not a road most nations — or the US public — would take if they knew where it led.
Japan hopes EPA to be signed soon
26-May-2007 ANTARA
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a meeting with visiting Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla in Tokyo on Friday expressed hope that the two contries could sign an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) as soon as possible.
Japan revs up its Indochina diplomacy
26-May-2007 Asia Times
Amid intensifying rivalry between Tokyo and Beijing over influence in Asia, Japan is revving up its drive to strengthen relations with countries in Indochina, an economically backward but geopolitically important part of the region. The target countries are Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, which are collectively referred to as the "CLV" countries.
Asian FTAs provide few benefits
26-May-2007 Bangkok Post
While most Asian countries are negotiating free trade agreements, very few of those deals have resulted in any real benefits, a World Bank study shows.
Peru expected to pass U.S. free-trade pact
26-May-2007 Miami Herald
Peruvian political leaders expect the country’s Congress to ratify protections for workers and the environment demanded by Democrats in Washington as part of a revised Free Trade Agreement between Peru and the United States.
EU and ACP states vow to clinch free trade deals by end-year
26-May-2007 Monsters and critics
The European Union and 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states vowed Friday to clinch free-trade deals by end- 2007, defying critics who say the agreements will not help fight poverty.