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S Korea signs trade deal with Asean
The Korea-ASEAN FTA will include the free flow of goods, services and investments, but a stumbling block emerged with a dispute over rice imports from Thailand. The issue is a sensitive one when Korean farmers are protesting about the removal of trade barriers on farm products under the WTO.
South Korea seeks FTA with India
President Roh Moo-hyun Tuesday held back-to-back summits with his counterparts from India and New Zealand on the sidelines of a regional conference here to discuss ways to strengthen South Korea’s bilateral ties with those countries.
China talks going well, Clark says
Prime Minister Helen Clark says talks on a free-trade agreement with China are going pretty smoothly.
Vietnam, Japan conclude WTO talks, eye FTA
Vietnam and Japan yesterday concluded bilateral negotiations over the former’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) while agreeing to hold preliminary talks on a bilateral free-trade agreement (FTA).
Japan can help ASEAN integration
Japan plays a key role in promoting economic integration in Southeast Asia by helping to narrow the gap between developed and less developed countries in the region, scholars from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations told a recent symposium in Tokyo.
FTA will open up new avenues: US official
The immediate effect of the free-trade agreements would help unleash the economic potential of both the US and Oman, a top US official said yesterday.
South Korea signs free trade pact with ASEAN, excludes Thailand
South Korea and Southeast Asian nations on Tuesday inked a tariff-slashing Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with Thailand choosing to be excluded from the pact which does not include rice in its list of items.
ASEAN+3 leaders urge efforts for regional free trade bloc
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and leaders of the 10 ASEAN countries, Japan and China held a one-day "ASEAN Plus Three Summit" in the Malaysian capital on Monday and adopted a joint statement calling for redoubled efforts for the formation of the so-called East Asia free trade agreement.
FTA ’to bar cheap Aids drugs’
Aids patients are unlikely to gain access to cheaper drugs after the free trade agreement between Thailand and the United States is signed, as the planned Thai-US FTA is likely to protect only American patented drugs.
Bilateral truths
When was the last time you heard Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh talk about the World Trade Organisation?
Accord on early harvest programme with Malaysia next week
Pakistan and Malaysia are signing agreement on Early Harvest Programme (EHP) next week, reducing tariff on 239 industrial and agricultural products, to be effective from next calendar year.
Investment opportunities will continue to increase in the UAE
Investment opportunities will continue to increase in the UAE, according to the principal of one private Equity fund, who pointed to anticipated changes in the federal Company Law as further indication of the country’s liberal economy.
Reciprocal investment protection
The Heads of State and/or Government of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), during the Panama Summit held in July of this year, recognised in its Declaration, “the importance of having a Framework Agreement for the Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments among ACS members, an instrument that will help to promote, protect and confer legal certainty on investments ...”
Australian ambassador’s big regret: no FTA
Australian Ambassador Colin Heseltine left Seoul two days ago for home at the end of his assignment with one major bit of unfinished business - he was not able to push the excellent bilateral relations between both countries to an even higher level with a free trade agreement.
Manama welcomes US Congress approval of draft FTA with Bahrain
The Bahraini cabinet on Sunday welcomed the US Congress’ endorsement of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Bahrain.
FTA with Asean provides level playing field for South Korea
With the preliminary Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with Asean, South Korea is expected to compete with China and Japan on a level playing field, a South Korean minister said Monday.
PM makes out a strong case for Pan-Asian FTA
Saying that India was examining ways to develop regional trading arrangements with China, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today gave an affirmative commitment here that India will dismantle ’’unwarranted’’ barriers, expand global capital flows and bring down tariff rates to levels prevalent in ASEAN countries, as a build-up to creating an East Asian Community.
Venezuela gains Mercosur entry, deepening relations
Venezuela today gained entry into the South American trade group Mercosur, a move pursued by President Hugo Chavez to help strengthen regional agreements and thwart a US-sponsored accord for the hemisphere.
CARICOM signs free trade agreement with Cuba
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders and Cuban President Fidel Castro have made an agreement giving Cuba access to free trade in the region.
Statement from US sugar producers regarding US-Peru FTA
The US sugar industry strongly prefers that negotiation of sugar market access occur in the multilateral, comprehensive WTO context, where foreign subsidies can also be addressed, rather than in bilateral and regional FTAs, where subsidies are not addressed.