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CPTech hosts post-election FTA strategy session
Last Thursday at CPTech a packed audience and 8 panelists discussed strategies for addressing the access to medicine implications of bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) between the US and other countries.
Free trade deals give Singapore insurance
We cannot eat disk drives, says Prime Minister.
ACP Heads of State and Government will meet in Khartoum (Sudan) on 7 and 8 December for their 5th Summit
The 5th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group) will be held in Khartoum, Sudan, on 7 and 8 December around the theme “United for peace, solidarity and sustainable development”.
Thailand asks Korea to liberalise agricultural trade terms
Commerce Minister Krirkkrai Jirapaet on Wednesday reiterated that Thailand would not sign an ASEAN-Korea free trade area (FTA) agreement unless Korea agrees to liberalise its policies on agricultural products, especially rice.
Egypt will be ready for free trade with Europe in three years
Egypt will be ready to create free trade area with Europe in three years, announced prime minister Ahmed Nazif. The Arab country already has a tariff preference agreement with the EU, but it does not include all products traded.
US-Colombia trade agreement must face Congress
United States signed Wednesday a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia. The agreement must now face approval by both countries legislatures.
Prosecution warns of crackdown on violent anti-FTA protests
South Korea’s state prosecution said Thursday it will clamp down on farmers and activists who stage violent protests against a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
S Korean workers protest US trade deal
Tens of thousands of South Korean workers held rallies and labor strikes Wednesday to oppose a free trade agreement with the United States and demand better working conditions.
Bilateral trade agreements and the world trading system
Bilateral Trade Agreements (BTAs) have been proliferating. Why are they so popular? What are their impacts on multilateralism and the world trading system? This papers attempts to answer these questions.
Reject the Economic Partnership Agreement EU-ACP!
The member organizations of Via Campesina in Africa, in Europe and in the Caribbean consider that the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the European Union (EU) and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) are a new threat for the peasants and small farmers in the four regions. We ask a definitive stop in the negotiations and the opening of a period of debate and analyses on the impacts of free-trade on our national agricultures. Alternatives based on the right to food sovereignty exist.
Adhesion to SADC free trade zone postponed
Angola is not yet prepared to join the free trade zone in the year 2008, under the process of regional integration of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), said Tuesday in Luanda the Planning minister, Ana Dias Lourenço.
Chilean trade to span Asia
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet concluded a new tour of Asia and the Pacific in search of markets.
Colombia: Concern over US free trade deal and tariff benefits
Indigenous and black people, trade unionists and victims of the armed conflict in Colombia are preparing to fight the ratification of the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, which will be signed by the trade ministers of both countries Wednesday in Washington.
Democrats urge USTR renegotiate Andean trade pacts
A group of Democrats urged the Bush administration on Tuesday to renegotiate trade pacts with Peru and Colombia to strengthen their worker protections. The request came in a letter to US Trade Representative Susan Schwab one day before the United States was set to sign the trade deal with Colombia.
Americans protest US-Korea free trade agreement in Seoul
An American delegation of peace, labor and social justice activists led by Cindy Sheehan is in Seoul to join the nationwide mobilization against the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement currently being negotiated.
Sacu-US to pursue scaled-back trade talks after FTA process ceases
The South African Customs Unions (Sacu) has formally accepted an offer made by the US government to progress a so-called trade and investment cooperation agreement (Tica), following the breakdown of the more ambitious free-trade agreement (FTA) talks earlier in the year.
Peru, India to sign commercial pact
Peru is a good investment destination for India because the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) it has with the United States provides a platform for Indian investors to export to the US, said Vice President, Peru-India Chambers of Commerce, Marco Hurtado.
S Korea labor unions to launch general strike tomorrow to oppose FTA with US
The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) said that its members will launch a general strike tomorrow to pressure the government to halt free-trade talks with the US.
Japan to accept Indonesian nurses, hotel trainees under economic pact
Japan will accept nurses, care workers and hotel trainees from Indonesia under a bilateral economic partnership agreement in the final stages of talks, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported.
Unequal partners
This paper by Claire Godfrey provides a wide-ranging look at the many problems with the EPAs, and investigates how these could impact on the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries’ future development.