29-Apr-2005
Bangkok Post
The FTA with the US would tighten the intellectual property rights regime even further, offering no perceptible benefit to Thailand
29-Apr-2005
Despite the pitfalls and opportunities inherent in FTAs, they are sweeping the world and will continue growing as long as the World Trade Organisation is unable to coordinate comprehensive tariff reductions worldwide, experts said at a Bangkok seminar yesterday. Thus, Thai exporters were advised to try to work within the confines of bilateral and regional pacts.
28-Apr-2005
The text of the framework of the free trade agreement between the Mercosur and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is ready to be singed, a Brazilian foreign ministry official has disclosed.
28-Apr-2005
The proposed Thai-Japanese free trade agreement should be carefully considered so as not to disadvantage other trading partners, European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson told Thailand yesterday.
28-Apr-2005
South Korea and the United States will hold a third working-level meeting this week to review the feasibility of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
28-Apr-2005
Not too long ago, the entire country and the National Assembly agonized over the ratification of Korea-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Its final National Assembly passage was delayed from the strong opposition of many people, particularly from farmers. It is remarkable to learn that the Korean government is now either negotiating or planning to negotiate with as many as 50 countries to complete their FTAs by 2007.
28-Apr-2005
Granma, Cuba
The Fourth Summit on the Battle against the FTAAs was launched in the presence of the Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro in Palacio de las Convenciones.
28-Apr-2005
Thailand is poised to open at least four new consulates in China, and is accelerating the development of logistics operations with China in anticipation of the birth of the Chinese-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade aAea in 2010, Deputy Foreign Minister Preecha Laohapongchana revealed today.
28-Apr-2005
The global experience on FTAs suggests that regional FTAs (e.g. EU) and those between the North and the South (NAFTA) work. However, South-South FTAs are less inspiring. A key issue is whether the economies of the countries entering into an FTA complement or compete with each other.
27-Apr-2005
Granma
The current situation of the FTAAs negotiating process and the campaign of the people’s struggle against this annexation plan devised by the US Government will be analysed from today in the Fourth Hemispheric Summit of the Battle Against FTAAs.
27-Apr-2005
Jakarta Post
The European Community and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to study the potential for a free trade agreement between the two groups, trade officials said on Wednesday.
27-Apr-2005
Bloomberg
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on Brazil to "reenergize" talks with the US on the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.
26-Apr-2005
Thai textile and garment producers say they will lose opportunities to sell to Japan if conditions requested by Tokyo are incorporated into a free trade area (FTA) agreement now being negotiated.
26-Apr-2005
Asahi Shumbun
The Thailand-Japan free trade agreement will be counterproductive in Japan’s trade negotiations with other countries in the days ahead.
26-Apr-2005
Bangor News
International trade agreements are boring. Mention the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) in most social settings and people’s eyes glaze over. The pros and cons of NAFTA, and now CAFTA, debate trade-offs between tariffs, consumer prices and job growth or loss. Since most of us are not economists, these discussions seem tedious and complicated.
26-Apr-2005
Daily Star
Trying to entrench its economic and political ties in the region, and blaming the Gulf Cooperation Council’s slowness in devising region-wide economic measures, the United States is aggressively pursuing a number of free-trade agreements in this part of the Middle East.
26-Apr-2005
Focus
The third round of Thailand-US free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations ended on 8 April with great disappointment for civil society activists because people’s demand and concerns were cast aside.
26-Apr-2005
China Daily
China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are making encouraging progress with the early harvest programme (EHP), which the two economies launched in January 2004.
26-Apr-2005
Bernama
The proliferation of bilateral free trade agreements (FTA) will not undermine the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) process but instead may smoothen it, Malaysia’s International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said.
26-Apr-2005
Manila IMC
The SNR Coalition scored today the ongoing negotiations for a bilateral trade agreeement between the Japan and Philippine governments called Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) which was to be completed and signed in July of this year.