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New Zealand optimistic of sealing FTA with M’sia soon
28-Jul-2006 Bernama
New Zealand is optimistic of concluding a Free Trade Agreement with Malaysia soon, its foreign minister, Winston Peters, said today.
BIMSTEC Taking Shape, Finally
27-Jul-2006
The Bay of Bengal for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), a regional trading bloc of seven South and Southeast Asian countries, is giving final shape to its free trade agreement in Colombo this week.
Asean suspends FTA talks with India
27-Jul-2006 Financial Express
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has suspended free-trade talks with India because of New Delhi’s reluctance to open its markets, Malaysia’s trade and industry minister said on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS: WTO collapse forces Japan down rocky FTA road
27-Jul-2006 Kyodo
Now that the global trade talks under the World Trade Organization have collapsed, Japan will be forced to walk down what looks like a rocky road to seek bilateral free trade agreements, marking a departure from its trade policy based on both multilateral and bilateral approaches.
Regional trade pacts rise to the fore
26-Jul-2006
Two weeks ago, members of the World Trade Organization agreed on rules that would make it easier to track bilateral and regional trade deals. Negotiators were concerned that the proliferation of such deals would detract from efforts, already faltering, to reach a global trade pact.
Will US Change Laws for FTA With Korea?
26-Jul-2006
South Korea has three major demands in its free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the United States since June when the first round of bilateral meeting began.
Asean suspends FTA talks with India
26-Jul-2006
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has suspended free-trade talks with India because of New Delhi’s reluctance to open its markets, Malaysia’s trade and industry minister said on Tuesday.
A Korea-U.S. trade agreement: what is at stake?
26-Jul-2006 The Hankyoreh
This examines macro-economic issues, intellectual property and patent protections, the potential impact on pharmaceuticals, and other issues at stake in the US-Korea FTA.
The death of the WTO’s Doha talks
26-Jul-2006 BBC News
You don’t have to declare multilateralism dead, just because this round of talks is over, but there are three particular, potential consequences of the collapse in the talks.
India considering trade pacts with EU, Japan
26-Jul-2006 Reuters
India is considering economic cooperation agreements with the European Union and Japan to boost trade, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday, a day after global free trade talks collapsed.
Taiwan presses for US trade pact
26-Jul-2006 AFP
Taiwan urged the United States to move quickly to forge a free-trade agreement (FTA) with America’s eighth biggest trading partner, despite bitter objections from China.
Zimbabwe farmers claim for land grab
25-Jul-2006 Business Day
A group of 11 dispossessed Zimbabwean farmers of Dutch origin are poised to take their case for compensation in respect of confiscated land to an international tribunal.
Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) concerns in agricultural trade
25-Jul-2006
Many US Congress Members are interested in how FTAs might address SPS matters. These Members are concerned that as trade agreements lower agricultural tariffs, more countries may turn to SPS measures to protect their farmers from import competition.
EU trawlers get fishing rights off Africa for £350m
24-Jul-2006 The Independent
The EU has signed its biggest-ever fisheries deal with an African nation, sparking a debate on the deal and the other 13 bilateral fisheries agreements in force.
Burgeoning trade ties no guarantee of Asian peace: analysts
24-Jul-2006 AFP
Burgeoning economic links through a web of free trade agreements (FTAs), financial cooperation and investments may reduce the risk of war in Asia but are no guarantee of peace, analysts say.
U.S. FTA will batter banking sector: study
23-Jul-2006
The much-touted benefits of a free trade agreement with the United States will be confined to commercial enterprises, while other sectors of the Korean economy, particularly the banking industry, will take a battering, a think thank warned yesterday.
Mexico bid to join Mercosur as associate member
23-Jul-2006 People’s Daily
Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez said on Friday that his government had formally requested the accession to the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) as an associate member.
Lobbyists push for deal with Peru, but vote remains elusive
23-Jul-2006 Miami Herald
The business community is off and running in its attempt to push the latest Latin American free-trade agreement through Congress.
Swiss minister promises a favour
23-Jul-2006 The Star
Switzerland’s Economics Minister, Joseph Deiss, led a business delegation comprised of senior officials from Novartis, Credit Suisse, SACC and Economy Swiss, to Malaysia.
US hails progress in latest Malaysia trade talks
23-Jul-2006 Channel News Asia
The US government said Friday it had achieved "solid progress" in a second round of free-trade talks with Malaysia this week.