New Via Campesina publication: FTAs in South East Asia and East Asia

La Via Campesina | September 2009

Free Trade Agreement in South East Asia and East Asia

Download the full booklet (PDF - 520Kb) here:
http://viacampesina.net/downloads/PDF/FTA_IRM_complit3.pdf

INTRODUCTION

La Via Campesina South East Asia and East Asia organized their
strategic meeting with alliances in Dae-gu, South Korea on December 1-5, 2008.

Korean Women Peasant Association (KWPA) and Korean Peasant
League (KPL) hosted the meeting. The objective of the meeting was to
analyze the current financial crisis and its impact on the Asian population.
Various experiences of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), struggle against
FTAs and finding strategies for unified struggle against FTAs were shared.

The struggle against FTAs/EPAs is the struggle against neoliberalism.
Another name for Free Trade Agreement is the Economic Partnership
Agreement (EPA). The same thing but with different name with the
aim of expanding capitalism. Current bilateral or regional FTAs/EPAs have
had a negative impact in all sectors. A FTA is not only a bilateral agree-
ment but also structured tools to change the regime with the aim of
taking power in these countries. The power is not only dominant in the
economic sector but also supports the role of TNC’s so they to do whatever they want wherever they want. Beside that, the other aim is geopolitical, which forces each country to go to war with each other.

For La Via Campesina members, FTAs represent continous struggle
even if we realize that the struggle against FTAs will be difficult compared to the struggle against the WTO. FTAs with connected bilateral
and regional agreements need to be fought strategically.

The FTAs/EPAs which have been implemented demonstrate the
negative impact on agriculture and the environment. FTAs between
developed and developing countries are always agreed by agreements
which ignore developing countries.

This book is a compilation of various papers that were presented at
the strategic meeting in South Korea. La Via Campesina hopes that this
booklet can be useful and provide more information about FTAs/EPAs
and inspire all of you who fight for the FTA in your country.

We would like to thank all of you who contributed to the publication of this booklet.

— Jakarta, September, 2009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 Sugar Story by Vijay Jawandhia, Shetkari Sanghatan, India
 Position Paper of Japan’s Family Farmers Movement NOUMINREN on the issues of FTAs
 Food crisis and Landgrabbing, contextualizing the struggle against FTA in Asia, GRAIN
 An Activity report about the Korean Alliance against the Korea–US FTA (KoA)
 Free Trade agreement and its impact on small peasants in Indonesia, SPI Indonesia
 Experience of and future plans for struggle against FTAs
 Strengthening the effort of workers and consumers against the WTO and FTAs, Shokkenren, Japan

source : Via Campesina

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