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Free trade pacts now in fashion
9-Dec-2006 The Telegraph
The Gulf nations and Japan are the next in line for free trade agreements (FTAs) with India.
EU ’strongly committed’ to Mediterranean agriculture
8-Dec-2006 Food Navigator
The EU has sought to ease frustrations that agricultural trade within the Mediterranean region has not advanced as quickly as hoped.
South American summit dreams of uniting continent’s governments, people
8-Dec-2006 IHT
Hopes for a continentwide trading community and a celebration of the region’s populist movements will highlight a two-day summit of South American leaders hosted by Bolivian President Evo Morales.
Japan, China, S Korea to negotiate investment pact from 2007
8-Dec-2006 Black Enterprise
Japan, China and South Korea have decided to start negotiations in 2007 with the aim of concluding a tripartite investment treaty, it was learned Thursday.
EC to negotiate Association Agreements with Andean Community and Central America
8-Dec-2006 FreshPlaza
The EU Commission notified its intention to begin negotiations for Association Agreements in the first quarter of 2007, which would gradually become free trade agreements with the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) and Central American countries (Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala). However, this process could be broken because of the new demands on part of Ecuador before the WTO.
Mercosur/EU talks depend on the Doha Round
8-Dec-2006 MercoPress
As long as the Doha Round is pending, “significant advances” in negotiations with Mercosur for a free trade agreement will not be forthcoming anticipated on Friday the European Union External Trade Commissioner, Peter Mandelson.
EU tactics over African trade are ’bribery’, say aid groups
8-Dec-2006 Guardian
The European Union is insisting that some of Africa’s poorest countries accept liberalisation of services, investment and competition policy as the price of better access to the world’s richest market, it emerged last night.
US bilateral free trade agreements in Asia
8-Dec-2006 IRDF
In an effort to create more informed actions among groups working on food sovereignty and fairer trade rules in the region, the Asia Pacific Network for Food Sovereignty launched a research on US FTAs that looked at the common features of existing US FTAs and those that are being negotiated in the region like the US-Thailand FTA and analyzed their implications on developing countries’ agriculture particularly on small-scale farmers’ livelihoods; food security; farmers’ access to and control of their land, seed and productive resources; and rural development.
ALBA: Venezuela’s answer to free trade
7-Dec-2006 Focus
The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA) represents the first attempt at regional integration that is not based primarily on trade liberalization but on a new vision of social welfare and equity. This report provides a detailed account, and a critical assessment, of the ALBA project to date.
Oman-US free trade to begin in early 2007
7-Dec-2006 Oman Daily Observer
The US-Oman Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is expected to take effect in the first quarter of 2007, offering boundless bilateral trading opportunities, Maqbool bin Ali Sultan, Minister of Commerce and Industry, told the Sultanate’s corporate sector yesterday.
Japan parliament OKs Philippines free-trade pact
7-Dec-2006 NASDAQ
Japan’s parliament approved a free trade agreement with the Philippines on Wednesday, paving the way for the pact to take effect next spring, Kyodo News Service reports.
Fishers planning summit protest alarmed by security measures
7-Dec-2006 INQ7
Fisher folk groups are opposing the ASEAN’s Roadmap to Fisheries Integration, saying the facilitation of free trade of fisheries products without consideration for the biological limits to fisheries productivity would lead to overfishing and adversely affect artisanal fishers who could not compete with commercial fishing fleets.
Shrimpers cry foul over new Australia ban
7-Dec-2006 Bangkok Post
Thai shrimpers yesterday submitted a letter to protest against Australia’s ban on shrimp imports even before its import risk analysis is completed. Viewing the move as unfair, Thai officials will also discuss the issue at a forum on the Thailand-Australia free trade agreement next week.
Central America & Andean Community: Commission proposes negotiating directives for Association Agreements
7-Dec-2006 DG Trade
The Agreements will set out the conditions for the gradual establishment of Free Trade Area between the EU and the two regions, and develop both intra- and bi-regional trade exchanges.
Slim chance for Dominicans to enter DR-CAFTA in January
7-Dec-2006 Dominican Today
There is little probability that the Dominican Republic will enter the Free Trade Agreement with Central America and the United States next January, as scheduled, because at least seven legislative pieces are still pending approval.
UAE and Egypt aim to increase trade
7-Dec-2006 Gulf News
"We do not need a free trade agreement with the UAE as there is already the Pan-Arab Free Trade Agreement (PAFTA), which we will implement," Prime Minister Dr Nadeef said. PAFTA is an agreement to establish a pan-Arab free trade area by 2008.
Police counter anti-FTA protests
7-Dec-2006 Korea Herald
The Korean government mobilized 45,000 riot police yesterday to thwart banned protests as crucial talks on forging a free trade agreement with the United States faltered. But 20,000 people managed to take part in street demonstrations in Seoul and nine other places.
Chief US negotiator likens South Korean-US trade process to dating
7-Dec-2006 MSU
Wendy Cutler, the chief negotiator of a proposed free trade agreement with South Korea, told an audience at Montana State University Tuesday that the process is much like dating — both countries were ready to find out how compatible they could be on trade issues.
Workers protest US, S Korea FTA
7-Dec-2006 NDTV
Thousands of farmers and factory workers took to the streets of Seoul on Wednesday to protest against a free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the US.
S. Korean prime minister says FTA with EU is mandatory, not optional
7-Dec-2006 Yonhap
A free trade agreement betwen South Korea and the European Union (EU) is mandatory, not optional, South Korean Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook said Wednesday.