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South Korea reiterates rice should be excluded from free trade talks with US
5-Sep-2006 Hankyoreh
South Korea insisted Monday its rice market should be exempt from a proposed free trade agreement with the United States, inviting a showdown on one of the most sensitive areas of talks between the economic powerhouses.
Farmers must have a say in talks on free trade agreements
5-Sep-2006 Bangkok Post
Thai farmers and small-scale manufacturers should be allowed to participate in negotiations for free trade agreements (FTAs) to ensure their survival, says a Khao Sod editorial.
UK opposition leader proposes EU-India free trade deal
5-Sep-2006 XFN-ASIA
The leader of the UK’s main opposition Conservative Party, David Cameron, has proposed the idea of an EU-Indian free trade pact if the Doha round of global trade talks fails.
Korean FTA delegates leave for the US
4-Sep-2006
Korean delegates to Korea-US free trade negotiations are leaving for the US city of Seattle on Monday afternoon for the third round of negotiations.
FTAs won’t stop subtle forms of discrimination
4-Sep-2006
A reflexive response to a difficult question is to say that it’s a good question. The ruse provides time for the person questioned to come up with an answer, or avoid embarrassment, or to plainly gloss it over.
Toughest issues remain in South Korea-U.S. free trade talks
4-Sep-2006
Rough sailing is anticipated in free trade agreement talks with the United States that resume in Seattle this week, with rice and other sensitive issues expected to be taken up for the first time, South Korean officials said Sunday.
COMESA urged to speed up integration
4-Sep-2006
Common Markets for Eastern and Southern Africa - Comesa member countries ought to speed up the process in setting up a unified customs union.
Oman seeks fast-track mechanism for India-GCC FTA
4-Sep-2006
Oman today said India and the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council should create a fast-track mechanism for early completion of negotiations on the proposed Free Trade Agreement to boost economic engagement.
Seattle police to ask FTA protesters for calm
4-Sep-2006
The chief of Seattle’s police department will meet South Korean media on Tuesday to ask protesters planning demonstrations over free trade talks this week to refrain from violence.
A fair shake: South Korean activists seek “mini-WTO protest” at trade talks
4-Sep-2006 Real Change
The mass protests that took place against the World Trade Organization in 1999 might stop some nations from scheduling a round of free-trade talks in Seattle. But not South Korea.
Algeria about to lose $5bn
4-Sep-2006 El Khabar
The dismantling of customs tariffs on the entry of EU goods under the EU-Algeria association agreement is expected to cause to Algeria a five billion dollar loss in income and 500 000 jobs.
Peru and Mexico negotiate free trade pact
4-Sep-2006 MercoPress
Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said Thursday that his country and Peru are "90 percent" of the way to concluding a free trade agreement.
Trade furore: Pacific solidarity thrown into disarray
4-Sep-2006 Islands Business
Concerns are growing that the key bargaining chip for the islands of the Pacific with the European Union (EU) is fast eroding. This follows a decision by the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Kiribati and the Solomon Islands to continue their bilateral fisheries agreements with Europe despite a collective decision for the Pacific to negotiate as a group.
China, Cyprus sign agreement on economic cooperation
4-Sep-2006 People’s Daily
China and Cyrus signed an economic cooperation agreement on Wednesday, pledging to strengthen and develop bilateral cooperation in the sectors of trade, research, science and technology.
Analysis: Will UNCITRAL arbitrations become even more secretive?
3-Sep-2006
Proposals tabled by the Vienna-based UNCITRAL Secretariat could make it more difficult for observers to discover and monitor international arbitrations taking place under the UNCITRAL rules.
Wal-Mart, GE, and GM detail FTA best practices
2-Sep-2006 IATP Trade Observatory
US exports to nations with which the United States has negotiated a free trade agreement (FTA) are growing at double the rate of US exports in general. That striking statistic was just one of many provided by the panel "Can More FTAs Lead to Freer Trade?" at the recent New York conference of the American Association of Exporters & Importers.
ASEAN framework deal with US may be disastrous to economy, warns IBON
1-Sep-2006 IBON
The recently-signed trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA) between the US and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will sooner or later lead to a free trade agreement (FTA), and this will prove disastrous to the vulnerable sectors of the region, according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.
An update from bilaterals.org
1-Sep-2006
Japan to set upper limit in accepting Philippine nurses under FTA
31-Aug-2006 Kyodo
Japan has agreed with the Philippines to set an upper limit on the number of Philippine nurses and caregivers — 400 to 500 annually — it will accept under a bilateral free trade agreement which is scheduled to be signed by leaders of the two countries on Sept. 9, government sources said Thursday.
Eli Lilly’s CEO calls for Japan-US Economic Integration Agreement
31-Aug-2006 Eli Lilly and Company
Eli Lilly and Company chairman and CEO, Sidney Taurel, today made the case for a Japan-US Economic Integration Agreement, and urged private groups to help lay the groundwork for such a free-trade deal. He also expressed optimism regarding a favorable conclusion of the US-Korea negotiations over a free-trade agreement, arguing that "both sides understand the symbolic as well as the practical benefits of what they are trying to accomplish."