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Japan, ASEAN to miss end-March target for free trade deal
19-Feb-2007 Kyodo
Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will not be able to wrap up their negotiations for an economic partnership agreement by the end of next month and now hope to strike a deal by June or July.
United States and Liberia sign Trade and Investment Framework Agreement
18-Feb-2007 USTR
US Trade Representative Susan C Schwab and the Liberian Minister of Commerce, Industry, & Trade Olubanke King-Akerele signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) yesterday that will provide a forum to address trade issues and will help build trade and investment relations between the United States and Liberia.
Colombian "para-political" scandal may hurt trade
17-Feb-2007 Reuters
A scandal over suspected Colombian government links to illegal right-wing militias could hamper President Alvaro Uribe’s bid to clinch a free-trade deal with the United States.
Top EU official pushes trade, investment pact with India
17-Feb-2007 India PRwire
India and the European Union must push for a strong bilateral trade and investment pact even as they continue to play a crucial role to conclude the current round of global trade talks, a top EU official said Friday.
US-Korea trade negotiations get nowhere
17-Feb-2007 OneWorld
"A majority of people are opposed to this," Hyun Lee of the group Korean Americans Against War and Neoliberalism told OneWorld. "None of the benefits of these trade agreements go to ordinary people and ordinary workers. They only go to fatten the pockets of transnational corporations."
NGOs fear there’s a hidden agenda in Japan FTA
17-Feb-2007 The Nation
Khao-Kwan Foundation chairman Day-cha Siripatra said the country would lose several hundred billion baht a year if the government allowed Japan to patent micro-organisms.
Visa rules for professionals to ease after India-EU FTA
17-Feb-2007 Zee News
Freer movement of Indian professionals in 25 European Union member countries is likely to be a reality in the near future, as this will be a key point of negotiations in the proposed free trade agreement with EU.
KoA No FTA newsletter #3
17-Feb-2007 KoA
For the Korean Alliance Against Korea-U.S. FTA, February and March will become a crucial month for mass mobilization both domestically and internationally.
Policy space for Mexican maize: Protecting agro-biodiversity by promoting rural livelihoods
16-Feb-2007 GDAE
With maize trade scheduled to be fully liberalized under NAFTA in 2008, many farm groups are calling for a renegotiation of the treaty’s agricultural provisions to prevent further damage. This analysis examines the room for alternative policies in Mexico under existing economic and environmental agreements, including NAFTA. It concludes that the Mexican government retains access to many useful policy instruments that could promote rural livelihoods while arresting the losses of important maize diversity. What is lacking is the political will to make use of them.
The EU welcomes South Africa in the SADC EPA negotiation
16-Feb-2007 DG Trade
The EU Council of Ministers has decided to include South Africa in the SADC EPA negotiation.
South Africa: Govt faces first expropriation suit
16-Feb-2007 Mining MX
A foreign mining company is suing the South African government over alleged expropriation of its mineral rights in a move that has huge implications for the country’s new mining dispensation.
Namibia: Beef deadline looms
16-Feb-2007 AllAfrica.com
The deadline is looming for the day when the preferential treatment that Namibia has enjoyed for its beef, lamb and table grape exports to the European Union ends on January 1 2008.
Legislators face tough choice over Thai-Japan FTA
16-Feb-2007 MCOT
Despite the Thai government’s intense effort to press ahead with the draft free trade agreement with Japan, appointed members of the National Legislative Assembly remain divided as to its pros and cons.
Peru, China to view viability of free trade deal
16-Feb-2007 Reuters
Peru and China on Thursday took a first official step toward a free trade agreement that would unite one of giant Latin American metals producer and the world’s most voracious consumer.
US, Emirates seen getting closer to free trade pact
15-Feb-2007 Business Times
Major sticking points still obstruct a deal, including Washington’s insistence on improvement of labourers’ rights and the country’s overall human rights record.
Statement of concern regarding the proposed EU-ASEAN free trade negotiations
15-Feb-2007
Civil society movements and organisations from ASEAN and Europe express strong concerns about the proposed EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) slated to be concluded within the next two years.
SK-US free trade deal may open 10 out of 18 types of rice products
15-Feb-2007 Hankyoreh
Contrary to its long-standing assertion that rice will be excluded from a free trade agreement (FTA) with the US, South Korea’s government is reviewing measures to open some less sensitive rice products.
No major breakthrough in US-S Korea free trade talks
15-Feb-2007 Dow Jones News
US-South Korea free trade talks netted some progress this week, but at least one more session will be needed to reach a final deal, the lead US negotiator said.
US envoy says solving farm issues is key to possible FTA with Japan
15-Feb-2007 Kyodo
US Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer sounded a positive note Wednesday over a possible free trade agreement between the world’s two major economies and indicated that resolving farm issues would be the key.
KoA No FTA Newsletter #2
15-Feb-2007 KoA
Farmers release animals in protest, 500 attend all-night vigil; KoA protest delegation holds all-night vigil, congressional briefing in DC; Limiting access to healthcare: FTA and pharmaceuticals