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TSX CEO urges PM to discuss adding securities trading to free trade agreement
14-Jun-2006 Canadian Business Online
The head of Canada’s largest stock exchange wants Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss the possibility of adding securities trading to the North American Free Trade Agreement when he meets with US President George W Bush next month.
Andean bloc seeks US trade extension
14-Jun-2006 Aljazeera
Andean leaders have agreed a new course for their trade bloc without Venezuela. They plan to urge Washington to extend expiring trade benefits designed to help counter cocaine production in the South American region.
Honest Tony, peace broker
14-Jun-2006 The Guardian
Rather than rebuke Israel, the UK and its fellow EU member states are actually sitting down today with Israeli representatives in Brussels to seal the continuation of the EU-Israel association agreement. The agreement grants Israel important trading preferences for its exports into the EU, even though these are supposedly conditional on respect for human rights from both sides.
House could delay major trade votes
14-Jun-2006 Reuters
A group of US lawmakers pushed on Tuesday for a new trade deal with Vietnam, but a senior Republican said Congress may not vote on trade legislation until after November’s congressional election.
Peru’s Alan Garcia to revise free trade deal with the US
14-Jun-2006 Pravda
In a news conference in Lima last week, Garcia suggested one change he might seek would be to add language to discourage Peru’s importing of subsidized US crops.
Guatemalan bishop: Free trade widens gap between rich, poor
14-Jun-2006 Catholic Online
Free trade under the current economic rules can only widen the gap between rich and poor in the Americas, said the head of the Guatemalan bishops’ conference.
Is free trade just? Church speaks for those who fall through cracks
14-Jun-2006 Catholic Online
Free trade agreements have become a bone of contention again in the Andes, and Catholics must take a stand, said an international economic development policy adviser for the US bishops.
Coalition on US-Malaysia FTA memorandum to the government of Malaysia
14-Jun-2006 FTA Malaysia
Given the lack of transparency and accountability in the on-going negotiations and the strong likelihood of an imbalanced outcome in the US-Malaysia FTA negotiations, we urgently call on the government to halt all further negotiations until a comprehensive cost-benefit assessment is done.
Iraq eyes EU trade deal
14-Jun-2006 Fin24
Iraq’s new government plans to start immediately negotiating a trade and cooperation deal with the European Union, its foreign minister said Monday hailing a "new chapter" in ties with the bloc.
The rise in bilateral free trade agreements
13-Jun-2006 Council on Foreign Relations
In the absence of a breakthrough in multilateral talks, the Bush administration has pressed ahead with smaller bilateral free trade agreements to secure preferential deals as well as cement ties with strategically important countries in the Middle East, the Pacific Rim, and Latin America.
Malaysian-US FTA talks ’easier’ than Thai
13-Jun-2006
The United States and Malaysia began a first round of talks Monday to forge a bilateral free trade agreement they hope will be concluded by early next year.
Trade treaties and challenging US hegemony in the Americas
13-Jun-2006
Venezuela’s president Hugo Chávez, Brazil’s president Lula Inacio da Silva, and Nestor Kirchner, president of Argentina, met in Sao Paulo, Brazil on April 26 to discuss possibilities for integration and collaboration. On April 29, Cuba’s president Fidel Castro met with Chávez and newly elected Bolivian president Evo Morales to sign a People Trade Agreement (TPC), which is seen as a step towards the alternative trade agreement being proposed by Chávez, the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA).
Korea pledges to protect farmers in FTA talks
13-Jun-2006
South Korea aims to protect sensitive agricultural products even if a free trade agreement (FTA) is signed with the United States, a government negotiator said Tuesday.
US FTA a different ball game altogether
13-Jun-2006
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between Malaysia and the United States, which kicked off yesterday (12 June 2006) on the island of Penang, were wrapped in secrecy even though the issues to be discussed have far-reaching implications for Malaysian citizens and Malaysia as a sovereign nation. Mind you, all this is unfolding within the larger context of the din, frenzy and exhilaration of the World Cup.
United States and Rwanda sign agreement to deepen trade and investment relations
13-Jun-2006
The United States and Rwanda today signed an agreement aimed at deepening and strengthening trade and investment ties between the two countries.
Malaysia says cautious on US trade deal
13-Jun-2006 AFP
Malaysia said it was proceeding cautiously with negotiations for a free-trade deal with the United States which began this week, and would not act against the national interest.
Japan-Malaysia FTA to take effect on July 13
13-Jun-2006 Kyodo
A free trade agreement between Japan and Malaysia will take effect on July 13 to scrap tariffs on essentially all industrial goods and most agricultural, forestry and fishery products within 10 years, the Japanese government said Tuesday.
Seoul gives much, takes little in FTA talks with Washington
13-Jun-2006
South Korea and the United States ended their first round of formal five-day talks for a free trade agreement, but South Korean negotiators returned home empty-handed.
US envoy addresses Qatari businessmen
13-Jun-2006 The Peninsula
The US ambassador to Qatar, Chase Untermeyer, has said he hoped that Qatar follows into the footsteps of its GCC neighbours and concludes a free trade agreement (FTA) with his country.
Ex-US official sees S Korea-US FTA as ’wake-up call’ to Japan
13-Jun-2006 Kyodo
A successful conclusion of South Korea-US free trade agreement talks would be a "wake-up call" to Japan and the United States for a similar accord between the two countries, a former senior US trade official said in a recent interview.