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Pakistan to hold talks with Sri Lanka over FTA
Pakistan is going to hold secret talks to make some changes in the existing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Sri Lanka, which has been operational since June 2005. Pakistan fears that under the FTA, Indian products can enter its market through Sri Lanka, particularly automobile parts.
Colombian unions worried about free trade with the US
Colombia and Peru say 85 percent of the FTA is already negotiated, but representatives from Andean agricultural unions say the other 15 percent is more important. The US ultimatum states the FTA should be signed at the latest on November 20.
Peruvian farmers say the government allows dishonest FTA
Peruvian National Farming Convention (COVENAGRO) chair Luis Zuñiga asserted that his government does not provide protection alternatives to the sector’s workers, faced with an eventual Free Trade Agreement with the United States.
Colombia: US-Andean free trade talks could wrap up by Nov
Colombia’s government on Friday praised the latest round of talks on establishing a free trade area that would also include the US, Ecuador and Peru, saying a final deal could be reached by November.
Chile close on China FTA
Chilean President Ricardo Lagos said his country could sign the first free trade agreement with China in November following the conclusion of the final round of talks in October.
Andean FTA opposed by sugar interests
Speculation is that negotiations for a US-Andean FTA are nearing completion. House Ag Committee ranking member Collin Peterson of Minnesota says Administration officials may be making similar mistakes to those made in CAFTA.
EIU: Andean FTA talks near conclusion
An Economist Intelligence Unit briefing paper
Taiwan signs FTA with Guatemala, eyeing more exports to US market
aiwan President Chen Shui-bian signed a free trade agreement with his Guatemalan counterpart Oscar Berger in Guatemala City on Thursday in a bid to use the Central American country as a gateway for more exports to the North American market.
India’s Tata to set up truck plant in Thailand: Thai official
Tata Motors was in the process of setting up a pick-up truck manufacturing plant in Thailand, from where it could access the ASEAN and the Chinese markets through the Free Trade Area (FTA) treaties, a top Thailand trade representative said here.
Colombians march against US Free Trade Agreement
As the governments of Ecuador, Peru and Colombia negotiate in Cartagena the signing of a Free Trade Agreement with the US on Thursday, some 15,000 Colombians rally their rejection of the deal.
American Business Council welcomes FTA with US
Welcoming the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between the US and the UAE, Anis Nassar, president of the American Business Council in Dubai said the move would help increase the economical potential of the Emirates.
Be cautious about foreign capital
I don’t know that the result of the recent FTAs’ will be a tragedy because the end is quite open. But we should not deny the new version of the Korea-U.S. BIT. The 2004 BIT is included unchanged in the American FTA text.
Philippines seeks sector-specific FTA with US
The Philippine government is pushing for a sector specific free trade agreement (FTA) with the US starting off with the garments sector to immediately take advantage of a duty-free privilege for garment exports and strengthen its presence in the US, the country’s biggest garment market.
Talks between US, Andean countries in final stretch
Trade negotiators and officials in Colombia, where the 12th round of negotiations of a free trade agreement between the United States and Colombia, Peru and Ecuador is taking place Monday through Friday, say the talks are moving ahead smoothly.
Resist external forces, trade bodies urged
Regional trade integration bodies must stand together and prevent outside forces like the European Union (EU) from promoting divisions to suit their varied agendas, especially when dealing with African member states, a Government minister has urged.
Australia, Japan agree FTA study details
Australia and Japan have finalised the details of a planned free-trade feasibility study, Trade Minister Mark Vaile has said. But despite the breakthrough, Mr Vaile cautioned that any deal on a free trade agreement (FTA) was still a long way off and faced political hurdles.
US responsive to Thai concerns
US congressmen have pledged to accommodate Thailand’s concerns about drug prices and freer mobility for Thais into the United States once the two countries conclude their free trade area (FTA) agreement.
Not all share PM’s wish for fast FTA
Finance Minister Thanong Bidaya said yesterday that the Thai-US free-trade agreement (FTA) would be difficult to hurry as Thai bankers are concerned about competing with their sophisticated counterparts in the field of e-banking. “I can’t say when the deal could be concluded because both sides still use absolutely different approaches,” Thanong said.
India may ink preferential trade pact with Mauritius
India and Mauritius are likely to enter into a Preferential Trading Agreement before going for a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA).
TWN seminar warns about WTO-plus issues and rules in bilateral and regional FTAs
The Third World Network held a regional Asian workshop on bilateral and regional FTAs on 26-29 August in Kuala Lumpur. Many speakers and participants voiced concerns about how the developed countries are making use of such FTAs to get developing countries to accept issues.