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Senior EC officials to discuss framework for agreement
Senior officials from the European Commission will visit Kuala Lumpur next month to discuss the framework for the possibility of signing a Partnership Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and Malaysia.
Kenya urged to look for trade alternative
Kenya Association of Manufacturers CEO Betty Maina said negotiators in the Economic Partnership Agreement, EPA, are not in-sync and the agreement might not be signed by the end of next year.
Free trade at the fore of races
Jack Davis remembers the night he left the Republican Party over free trade: Nov. 17, 2003, after he paid $2,000 to meet Dick Cheney at the upscale Park Lane Restaurant in Buffalo, N.Y.
Why the rush to ink more deals?
When asked why he would risk his life to climb Mount Everest, the British mountaineer George Mallory gave the classic reply: "Because it is there." When asked why they’re so anxious to sign new free-trade agreements, Canada’s trade bureaucrats have a similarly existential response: "Because we haven’t done one in a while."
Coup no threat to trade talks
Thailand has assured New Zealand that trade talks are not in danger after last week’s military coup.
USA: Labor & textile groups demand punitive measures against Jordan
The US Trade Representative has been urged by the largest US labor organization and textile group to file a complaint against Jordan for its failure to check companies from exploiting their laborers and subsequently cheating them on wages. Since the US-Jordan FTA was signed between the two nations in December 2001, this is the first time any US business group has come together with labor demanding action under the treaty.
US FTA team to push for opening of gambling: official
The United States has asked South Korea to open its gambling market during talks for a proposed free trade agreement between the two nations. According to South Korea’s proposal for the service and investment markets, horse racing and casinos are to be barred from access by the other country.
New article No6016
Thailand: Restore basic civil rights, NGOs urge
Thailand’s new NGO Network for Political and Social Reform says it wants the military-led Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy and the interim government to scrap free-trade agreements and the privatisation of state enterprises.
AFL-CIO and National Textile Association file first-ever worker rights case under US-Jordan FTA
This is the first time that a business association has formally joined in filing a worker rights case under a trade agreement. The groups called on the Bush Administration to initiate dispute settlement proceedings under the FTA that would halt gross workers’ rights violations occurring in Jordan.
UNICE speech - EU-China Business Summit
Outline intervention by Michael Treschow, Vice-President, UNICE (Confederation of European Business)
UNICE - Trade and investment liberalization: An EU business perspective
Presentation at EU-Asia Business Forum, Helsinki, 10-11 September 2006
S. Korea, Canada to hold 7th round of free trade talks
South Korea said Friday it will open a seventh round of formal talks next week on a proposed free trade agreement with Canada.
Thai coup puts FTA, investment in doubt
Tuesday’s bloodless coup in Thailand has left a free-trade agreement negotiated between Tokyo and Bangkok up in the air, a senior Japanese official said Thursday as businesses waited for the dust to settle.
Chile, Japan free trade agreement
Chile and Japan have negotiated a free trade agreement that among other facilities will sever bilateral exchange tariffs by 92 percent.
Japan looks to limit FTA proposal
A proposed free-trade deal between Australia and Japan is looking shaky, with agriculture again the most contentious issue.
France eyes bilateral trade deals after WTO failure
France intends to target the Gulf, India, Asia and the Mediterranean basin in a push towards bilateral trade deals following the collapse of global free trade talks, Trade Minister Christine Lagarde said on Tuesday.
Chile re-enters Andean Community
A council of Andean foreign ministers yesterday approved Chile’s re-entry to the Andean Community of Nations trade group after a three-decade absence.
Does investment always foster development? The effects of BITs on developing countries
BITs are generally crafted as political documents and quite often contain no mention of development. Western countries prefer to prioritize investment. If a development objective is involved, it is often generalized to the exclusion of any role for government.