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EU-SA free trade agreement stalls
The free trade agreement reached between South Africa and the EU on automotive products in November last year has run into trouble and has not been implemented.
Bimstec free trade pact set to come into force in July
The BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) free trade agreement is expected to come into force from July 1 this year, the Bangladesh Parliament was told Sunday.
Costa Rica election another blow to US trade pact
A US free trade pact with Central America, already delayed by a legal wrangle, has run into further trouble at presidential elections in Costa Rica where voters punished the main pro-trade candidate.
Philippines: Exporters press free trade pacts
Exporters are pressing the government to pursue bilateral free trade arrangements to enable them to benefit from liberalization instead of waiting until 2013 for developed countries to lift their subsidies on agricultural exports.
S. Korea, India aim to sign free trade deal by end of 2007
South Korea and India announced Tuesday the start of negotiations aimed at signing a free trade deal by the end of next year, officials said.
EDITORIAL: Health at stake in free-trade talks
For the United States, intellectual property rights represent the single most valuable asset in light of the new reality of information-based economies and where they derive their national wealth. The supremacy of the US as a global power depends on how effective it is in acquiring and maintaining its ownership of knowledge assets.
Draft amendment to patent law a ’sell-out’
Opponents of a free trade area (FTA) agreement with the US have lashed out at the government’s proposed amendment of Thai patent law to facilitate the United States’ patenting of drugs and living organisms in Thailand. They fear it would lead to greater control of the country’s resources by American firms.
Sudan: Uganda losing out to FTA countries
Uganda is losing business in the Sudanese market because of its failure to ratify the Free Trade Area of the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (Comesa).
Japan wants to seal FTAs with GCC — report
Japan wants to open free trade agreement (FTA) talks with the Gulf Cooperation Council, China, India, Australia and South Africa, a top-selling business daily here reported Sunday.
Free trade agreements and Labour: Much more than a Labour Clause
The FTA signed between Peru and the US has 24 chapters. One of these is a labor chapter that is identical to that found in the US-Colombia FTA and the US-Ecuador. On the subject of including this chapter, it is necessary to analyze the impact of signing this Treaty on labor and employment conditions for Colombians.
Stars Fight Losing Battle Against Screen Quota Cut
One of Asia’s best known movie stars stood in front of the National Assembly in Yoido, Seoul, holding a picket which read: ``Be a friend of the screen quota system and we will flap Taegukgi in the world.’’
Work for a win-win agreement
The competition over "mating" between countries and regions through free trade agreements is unusual. One hundred and twenty free trade agreements have been entered to date - 95 of them in the past five years. Fifteen agreements were reached last year and 37 are currently underway. Immediately after he came into office in 2001, US President George W. Bush pushed to enter free trade agreements, saying the United States was behind the European Union in making such pacts.
FTA to ease NK nuclear concern
A free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the United States would help ease concerns over North Korea’s nuclear weapons development, a high-ranking official said Tuesday.
US wants free trade agreement with Mercosur: diplomat
The United States is seeking a free trade agreement with the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), Latin America’s largest trading bloc, according to a top US diplomat.
Japan, Thailand likely to sign bilateral FTA in April
Japan and Thailand are likely to sign a bilateral free trade agreement in April, a high-ranking Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry official said Monday.
S. Korea set to re-open FTA talks with Japan
South Korea is willing to resume talks with Japan on a free trade agreement (FTA) if the latter promises to open its agricultural market wider, Seoul’s top economic policymaker said Saturday.
Vietnam, Japan to start FTA negotiations
Vietnam and Japan will begin their first round of negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in mid-February, local media on Monday quoted sources from the Vietnamese Trade Ministry.
PM proposes FTA with Oman
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday proposed that Pakistan and Oman should sign Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to further expand their economic ties and this would be Pakistan’s first FTA with a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) country.
Free-Trade Backer Favored in Costa Rica
A Nobel Peace Prize winner who supports a free-trade agreement with the United States was favored in pre-election polls as Costa Ricans chose a new president on Sunday. He faced a rival who said the pact would hurt farmers.
FTA deals a wild card: farmers
To the delight of free traders and the apprehension of Korean farmers and other globalization foes, the United States and Korea announced Thursday that they would begin negotiations on a free trade agreement.