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Conference on free trade agreement in Melbourne
10-Mar-2005
Australia will be hosting a conference on the Australia-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement on March 10 in Melbourne. The conference, which is organised by Monash University, is supported by the Australian Government.
FTA with China may take five years
10-Mar-2005
A free trade deal with China may take up to five years to negotiate but it will cover contentious areas including cuts to Australia’s textile and clothing tariffs.
Guatemala set to quash FTA protests with troops
10-Mar-2005
Protesters blocked access to the legislature to prevent a vote on a trade pact with Washington, and lawmakers who ventured outside were chased for blocks.
Vanaspati units seek changes in FTAs with Nepal, Lanka
10-Mar-2005
Vanaspati industry has appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make suitable amendments in the free trade agreements (FTAs) with Nepal and Sri Lanka.
China moves on free trade negotiations
8-Mar-2005 Asia Pulse
China will continue to actively pursue the establishment of free trade areas (FTA) after starting talks on this issue with 23 countries across the world.
Gulf Emirate says there are no political strings attached to free trade talks with Washington
8-Mar-2005 Middle East Online
The United Arab Emirates said on Monday it was not committing itself to any changes in foreign policy by entering into talks on a free trade pact with the United States. The statement followed reports that Washington would ask Abu Dhabi to drop a trade boycott of Israel during the negotiations, which kick off here on Tuesday.
Letter to reject environment chapter of CAFTA (Eng/Esp)
8-Mar-2005
We are enclosing a letter in English and Spanish proposed by different Central American and USA organizations to be delivered in our respective Congresses. We are protesting the contents and consecuences that the US-DR-CAFTA will bring in general to the society and the environment, but especially in this case Chapter No. 17 related to environment.
Drug deal gone bad
8-Mar-2005 Al-Ahram
A group of US companies, represented by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), has expressed concern regarding approval by the Egyptian Ministry of Health for some 500 generic versions of patented drugs.
Southern African countries have taken firm stand against EFTA demands on intellectual property rights in free trade agreement
7-Mar-2005
A letter sent by South African Trade Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa to the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa confirms that the demand of EFTA Countries (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) to include provisions on intellectual property rights relating to medicines and agriculture in the Free Trade Agreement with SACU (South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland) has been rejected.
Taiwan hoping to start negotiations on free trade agreement with Malaysia
7-Mar-2005 Taipei Times
Taiwan is pushing for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Malaysia in an attempt to further prop up substantive ties between the two countries.
Protest against free trade with China
7-Mar-2005 Scoop
Many New Zealanders are very concerned about free trade with China for various reasons.
Guatemala postpones ratification of FTA with US
6-Mar-2005 Angola Press
The Guatemalan Congress on Wednesday postponed for at least one week the ratification of the country`s free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, following massive protests Tuesday by thousands of demonstrators.
US sets conditions for normal trade ties with Pakistan
6-Mar-2005 Business Recorder
The United States has conveyed to Pakistan that trade relations could not be normalised prior to crackdown on the violators of Intellectual Property Rights and withdrawal of case against a US-based company, Slemens-Westinghouse.
All alone
5-Mar-2005 Cairo Magazine
The 14 February assassination of Al Hariri may strip away the last of Syria’s European patrons, leaving it at the mercy of Bush’s agenda in the region. There is talk that EU parliamentary approvals of Syria’s association agreement are now on hold.
Crashing the third party
3-Mar-2005 O’Dwyer’s PR Daily
What do the Council on Foreign Relations, American Enterprise Institute, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Brookings Institution, and the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies have in common?
Central Bank discusses US FTA negotiation strategy - UAE
3-Mar-2005
Though the negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the UAE and the United States will take place from March 8, the banking and financial sectors has told the Central Bank of the UAE about its desire for more liberalisation.
Thousands of Guatemalans protest against ratification of FTA with US
3-Mar-2005
Thousands of public-school teachers, peasants, university students and workers rallied in Guatemala City Tuesday against the imminent approval of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
COMESA demands changes to current intellectual property system
3-Mar-2005 Xinhua
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) said it wants changes to the current intellectual property right system to protect the interests of developing countries. It will accordingly conduct an audit and formulate a negotiating position for COMESA member countries in their negotiations with the European Union for the Economic Partnership Agreements due to start in December 2005.
Bahrain-Germany to sign BIT
3-Mar-2005 Gulf Daily news
An agreement on the protection and promotion of investments between Bahrain and Germany is due to be signed "very soon". Germany is also pushing for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union and the GCC.
Egypt: FTA controversy
3-Mar-2005 Zawya
Egypt and the US held the most high-level bilateral trade meeting since 2002 last week - a sign that the eventual opening of formal negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could be in the works. However, officials on both sides were vague as to when that might be, saying that there were still important issues to be resolved before proceeding to the next stage of trade negotiations.