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22-Jan-2006
Prensa Latina
Panamanian unions and civilian groups Friday warned they would continue pressuring the government in order to hamper signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US and support a similar pact with Chile.
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21-Jan-2006
Dawn
Pakistan and United States on Friday concluded the fourth round of talks on the proposed Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), which remained inconclusive due to differences on some clauses of the agreement.
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21-Jan-2006
IPS
The Bush administration is pushing a spate of free trade agreements with its allies in the Middle East that mostly lack input from marginalised local communities or civil society groups.
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21-Jan-2006
donga.com
Trade Minister Kim Hyun-jong said in a news conference Friday, “It remains to be seen whether the upcoming international economic ministers’ meeting scheduled for February 2 will decide to begin Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.” Current Korean FTA regulations stipulate that an international economic ministers’ meeting shall make decisions on whether to start FTA negotiations after taking public opinion into consideration at a public hearing.
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21-Jan-2006
Miami Herald
President Alejandro Toledo endorsed Miami as the headquarters for a proposed free trade secretariat as Florida Gov. Jeb Bush completed a two-day trade visit to Ecuador and Peru.
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21-Jan-2006
AP
Backing away from his tough campaign talk against US-sponsored trade initiatives, Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales said Friday he no longer rules out a free-trade deal with the United States and three other Andean nations. But he did not say he supported such a deal, either.
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21-Jan-2006
BBC
Students and police have clashed again in Ecuador, as protests against a possible rise in bus fares entered a second week. The students also want the government to cancel its contract with the Occidental Petroleum Corporation and for it to refuse to join the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.
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21-Jan-2006
Xinhua
Since China and the ASEAN started their tariff reduction process on July 1, 2005 on the basis of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) agreement, the ASEAN would gradually lower its tariff upon Chinese textile and apparel, which may increase China’s textile export to this region.
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20-Jan-2006
The government Friday launched a campaign to reduce the screen quota in exchange for starting bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the United States.
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20-Jan-2006
Bloomberg
Chile, which counts Asia as its biggest export market, is seeking more free-trade agreements in the region as President-elect Michelle Bachelet pushes for closer trade ties, Foreign Affairs Minister Ignacio Walker said.
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19-Jan-2006
Reuters
The United States signed a free-trade agreement on Thursday with Oman, a moderate Gulf state and ally in the US war on terrorism, while keeping trade talks with Egypt on hold amid concerns over its commitment to democracy.
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19-Jan-2006
The Edge Daily
EU-Asean free trade talks are at "an intense" exploratory stage and the third high-level meeting of trade officials from both regions is scheduled to take place in Bangkok next week, said EU envoy to Malaysia, Thierry Rommel.
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19-Jan-2006
swissinfo
The prospect of a Swiss-US free-trade accord is in doubt, mainly due to differences over agriculture, according to Swiss Economics Minister Joseph Deiss.
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19-Jan-2006
In a letter addressed to the trade and foreign ministers from EFTA states, 50 organisations urged the trade association’s member states to drop provisions from a free trade agreement with Thailand that would restrict access to cheap medicines and credit and limit farmers rights.
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19-Jan-2006
San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp. has dropped a $25 million dispute against the Bolivian government for canceling a water contract, after major street demonstrations forced a Bechtel-owned subsidiary to withdraw from Bolivia’s third-largest city.
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19-Jan-2006
BERNAMA
Malaysia and Chile have taken the first step towards forging a free trade agreement (FTA) by setting up a joint study group to undertake a feasibility study on the matter.
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19-Jan-2006
AFP
Egypt risks missing its chance to clinch a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States if talks do not kick off in the coming weeks, an official with the US Congress said.
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19-Jan-2006
UPI
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said Wednesday he would push for a free-trade agreement with the United States as early as possible.
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19-Jan-2006
Bangkok Post
The head of the Thai team negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, Nitya Pibulsonggram, has been persuaded to remain in the ’’thankless job’’, sources said yesterday.
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18-Jan-2006
Dow Jones News
Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Wednesday that India hopes to conclude a free trade or similar economic partnership agreement with Japan before it concludes one with China.
