Defending himself and his government against criticisms of free trade area (FTA) agreements Thailand negotiated with foreign countries, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Saturday said that the FTAs had helped boost trade and increase the country’s exports.
The Bush administration has indicated its willingness to revise America’s investment procedures and to remove some of the harsh conditions to facilitate the signing of the Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) with Pakistan by September, 2006.
The Youth Movement at Malaysia’s ruling National Party have called for suspension of Malaysia US free trade negotiations for the White House’s objection to ceasefire calls in Lebanon and urged immediate trial of Israel before the ICJ for its brutal aggressions against the Lebanese and Palestinians.
Faith-based fundamentalism is not the exclusive domain of terrorists. Some fundamentalists operate in the legitimate, nonviolent world of American politics where they wear suits, appear on television and are venerated as geniuses.
South Korea and the United States reported an apparent breakthrough in free-trade talks Friday after bickering over pharmaceuticals cut short negotiations last month.
The United States has accepted South Korea’s new drug-pricing measure aimed at offering quality medicine at cheaper prices, brightening the future of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on pharmaceutical issues, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday.
Seoul and Washington reportedly have a plan to hold separate negotiations on the controversial issue of pharmaceutical pricing in a third country, ahead of the third round of FTA talks to be held in the U.S.
On 27-29 July 2006, FTA Watch, GRAIN and bilaterals.org organised a first ever international workshop to make a strategic analysis of people’s struggles against FTAs in Bangkok, Thailand. This press release about the event was shared with Bangkok-based media on 30 July 2006. More materials and information about followup to the workshop will be shared soon.
The Southern Common Market Claims Court is hearing Uruguay’s case against Argentina due to road blocks by Argentinean citizens on international routes.
The Mercosur wants to return to free trade treaty talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in September, after the holiday period in the Arab world and before Ramadan, the holy month that this year should begin around September 22. The idea is to organize a meeting between representatives of both blocs in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.
A free trade agreement between Costa Rica and Barbados, that essentially eliminates barriers to trade and facilitates cross-border movement of goods and services between the territories, went into effect this week.
The European Union (EU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have decided to negotiate an agreement to regulate their trade relations under the new World Trade Organization (WTO) Compatible Framework.
Foreign Ministers from the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Economic and Technical Cooperation have agreed that negotiations to finalise a BIMSTEC free trade agreement should be concluded before the next BIMSTEC summit scheduled to be held early next year in India.
Washington recently played host to the annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) forum, an annual event mandated by the Agoa legislation which brings together stakeholders from Africa and the US.
A Dominican delegation of Government officials left for Washington yesterday, to give the finishing touches to the proceedings so that the country enters the Free Trade Agreement with the United States and Central America.