bilaterals.org logo
bilaterals.org logo

Articles by language

EN
ES
FR
DE
HI
NL
PT
JA
ID
TL
For the GCC and India, escalating opportunities
9-Jan-2006
Regional economic diversification received a boost when the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and India - which signed a bilateral framework agreement for economic cooperation in August 2004 - announced that final negotiations for a free-trade agreement (FTA) would start this month, to thrash out niggling issues like rules of origin and differential tariffs.
USTR mulls FTA talks with Egypt, S Korea, Malaysia, Swiss
9-Jan-2006
The Bush administration is considering free-trade negotiations with Egypt, South Korea, Malaysia, and Switzerland, the US Trade Representative’s top agriculture trade negotiator said Monday.
Crisis-ridden Vanaspati producers to hold protest tomorrow
9-Jan-2006
Threatened with virtual closure of domestic Vanaspati industry, manufacturers for the first time will resort to workers-type-demonstration, staging a march to the Parliament, as a protest against import of Vanaspati on zero-tariff from Sri Lanka under Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that rendered the local production uncompetitive.
Time to raise the flag
9-Jan-2006
The Free Trade Agreement with the United States, we were told last year, was a political and bureaucratic triumph, with Trade Minister Mark Vaile and his Canberra mandarins being fearless in their negotiations with our star spangled cousins.
Guatemalan FTA with US said risky
9-Jan-2006
“The Free Trade Agreement imposed by the United States on Central America and Dominican Republic will have negative consequences for our countries,” said Guatemalan jurist Alfonso Bauer Paiz.
Government urged to build financial architecture before opening up FTA with US
9-Jan-2006
The government should build a financial architecture before establishing a free trade area (FTA) between Thailand and the United States, according to leading financiers.
Korea saw rapid FTA progress in 2005
9-Jan-2006
Korea made significant achievements in the area of free trade agreements in 2005, demonstrating the government’s stellar management of trade policies, experts say.
Australia left holding trade’s billion-dollar baby
9-Jan-2006
THE United States-Australia free trade agreement has now been operating for a year. Australian exports to the US appear to be down and American exports to Australia appear to be up. The net result is another billion dollars of deficit in the current account between the two countries. Some people are saying that we have been sold a pup and others are saying that it is too early to tell.
Thai-US FTA: Somkid aide assigned to trade talks
9-Jan-2006
Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak has tightened his grip over the Thai-US FTA talks by assigning his right-hand man, Uttama Savanayana, to play a key role in the negotiations with the US team in Chiang Mai, a source said yesterday.
Thaksin promises FTA details later
9-Jan-2006
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra reiterated on Monday that the government is ready to reveal the result of negotiations to establish a free trade area (FTA) between Thailand and the United States - in due course.
Korea-US FTA: Cool-headed approach needed to maximize actual benefits
9-Jan-2006 Korea Times
The atmosphere is ripe for starting talks with the United States for a tariff-free trade scheme, which, if realized, may change this country’s overall industrial picture as never before. But an FTA with giant, advanced economies, like America’s, requires a very careful approach.
Thaksin says no to parliamentary debate on FTA
9-Jan-2006 The Nation
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra Monday shot down a proposal for Parliament to debate free trade agreements (FTAs), including a draft being negotiated between Thailand and the United States. "I see no justification for legislative debate on FTAs as Parliament does not have qualified personnel to scrutinise the matter," he said.
10,000 protest US-Thai FTA talks
9-Jan-2006 Bangkok Post
Thousands of Thais representing a diverse swath of society ranging from garlic growers to HIV/AIDS activists gathered outside a hotel in Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai Monday to protest closed-door talks on a Thai-US free trade agreement (FTA).
FTA protesters’ views
9-Jan-2006 The Nation
Rallies against free-trade talks between Thai and US officials today are set to draw a record number of protesters. Here are the reasons for this given by some planning to attend the protests.
Green signal for Ceca with Malaysia
9-Jan-2006 Financial Express
A comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA) between India and Malaysia may soon become a reality. The joint study group appointed by the two countries to examine the feasibility of such an agreement has given it the green signal.
Vanaspati firms feel free trade heat
9-Jan-2006 The Telegraph
In what could be one of the first adverse fall-outs of free-trade agreements, domestic vanaspati producers have alleged that India is turning out to be a major market for imports from Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan, although these countries have no major cultivation of oilseeds.
’Time not ripe for Korea, US to start FTA talks’
9-Jan-2006
As Washington pushes Seoul to begin talks for forging a free trade agreement, the Korean government says both countries have not yet agreed on when or even whether negotiations will begin.
PM ’failed to consult the public’
9-Jan-2006 Bangkok Post
The civic sector joined forces against the ongoing Thai-US free trade agreement (FTA) pact by drawing up a petition stating that it does not approve the mandate of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra as being a representative of the Thai people in signing the deal.
Bush plans to advance US-Peru trade pact
8-Jan-2006 St Louis Post Dispatch
President George W. Bush notified Congress on Friday of his plan to sign a trade agreement with Peru, a pact the administration views as a step in advancing commerce within the Western Hemisphere.
Australia, Mexico to explore FTA
8-Jan-2006 Sydney Morning Herald
Australia and Mexico will explore the viability of a free trade agreement between the two countries.