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Japan pushes for trade accord with GCC states
Japanese Ambassador to Bahrain, Takao Natsume, said his government has proposed an FTA to GCC governments but has yet to schedule the beginning of negotiations. "The main stumbling blocks with previous free trade agreements we have been involved in were in the area of agriculture and since the GCC countries are not huge agriculture producers, we don’t see this as a problem here," he said.
Govt proposes to begin talks with GCC on FTA
The Indian government proposes to initiate negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA), Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday.
Egypt and Turkey to sign free trade agreement
Egyptian Minister of Foreign Trade and Industry, Rasheed Mohammed Rasheed, said a free trade agreement will be signed by Egypt and Turkey during next week’s visit of Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer to Cairo.
Legislature ratifies Taiwan-Guatemala free trade agreement
The Legislative Yuan on Tuesday ratified the Taiwan-Guatemala free trade agreement (FTA), which will now take effect Jan. 1, 2006 as scheduled.
Chine, Thailand to wipe out trade obstables
Thailand and China have begun a joint meeting in the former’s northern city of Chiang Rai to strengthen ties and wipe out trade obstacles, hoping to increase bilateral trade under the free trade area (FTA) framework.
EU-AGCC FTA to be signed next year
A free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and the AGCC, the first region to region trade agreement outside Europe, will not be concluded by the end of this year as originally scheduled, according to a high-ranking EU official.
US ratifies DR not on board for DR-CAFTA in January
The United States ratified implementation of the Free Trade Agreement as of January 1st, 2006 with the sole inclusion of El Salvador and Honduras, since these were the only countries that met all requirements by the set deadline.
BIMSTEC trade negotiation to begin today
Trade officials from seven South and Southeast Asian countries are convening in the capital from Wednesday for the 10th BIMSTEC Trade Negotiation Committee (TNC) meeting to finalize a free trade accord on trade in goods.
EU regrets postponing free trade accord with GCC - European official
European Commissioner for Justice Franco Fratini expressed on Tuesday regret because the GCC Summit postponed yesterday signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the EU, calling on Gulf states to advance cooperation with the EU.
Legislature ratifies Guatemalan FTA
The Legislative Yuan yesterday ratified the ROC-Guatemala free trade agreement (FTA), which will take effect this Jan. 1 as scheduled.
Improbable DR enters CAFTA in January
US Ambassador Hans Hertell affirmed yesterday that there is a good possibility that the Dominican Republic be impeded to integrate this upcoming January onto the Free Trade Agreement known as DR-CAFTA, given that the voluminous documentation that authorities recently sent to the United States is currently under review.
Korea, EFTA ink free trade deal
South Korea’s trade minister and his counterparts from the European Free Trade Association, or EFTA, signed a free trade agreement yesterday at the World Trade Organization ministerial conference in Hong Kong.
SAFTA to come into effect from new year
South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) will come into effect from January one next, Lok Sabha was informed today.
Avoid marginalization by China, analysts urge
While it’s too early to judge the prospects for the "pan-Asian" free trade community mentioned in the inaugural East Asia Summit (EAS), Taiwan, which has been excluded from participating, should devise a strategy to avoid being marginalized before it’s too late, analysts said.
Some Asian nations eye free trade pact
A free trade pact between seven South and Southeast Asia nations was likely to be in place by July 2006, Bangladesh’s foreign minister said Monday after a meeting of a regional economic forum.
Agro producers favor postponing DR-CAFTA
The Pork Industry Association, president Jose Alba, considered that not entering the Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) in January 2006 would be a welcomed break for the productive sector. This grace period, in his view, would be well-used to correct distortions in the tax system and enable competitiveness.
Chiang Rai meeting probes Thai-China trade barriers
Thailand and China have begun a joint meeting here to strengthen ties and remove trade barriers, hoping to increase bilateral trade under the free trade area (FTA) framework.
10 reasons why Latin American women oppose Bush’s free trade agenda
Bush is branding Latin Americans’ broad rejection of his trade agenda at last month’s Summit of the Americas in Argentina as an attempt to "roll back the democratic process of the past two decades". What Latin Americans are actually rolling back is the US-driven economic process of the past two decades, which worsened poverty, income inequality, displacement, and cultural and environmental destruction.
Natural resources in the US-Andean Free Trade Agreement
The three Andean countries currently negotiating a free trade agreement with the United States, in their double capacity as signatories to the CBD and members of the group of biologically “mega-diverse” countries, are demanding that the agreement establish regulations that clearly specify the terms of access to genetic resources and the population’s traditional knowledge, and in which proper economic consideration, conservation, and development act as guiding principles.
Thailand’s new FTAs and its trade policies post-Asia crisis: an assessment
How credible is Thailand’s FTA policy? What can be done to improve it?