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Chile moots FTA, India apprehensive
22-Apr-2008
Chile on Tuesday offered a platform for India to access Latin American markets but New Delhi appeared not forthcoming on a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Senate ‘okays’ JPEPA but sets stiff conditions
22-Apr-2008 PDI
Saying her committee had done a “technical makeover” of the proposed treaty, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago Monday formally recommended that the Senate give its “conditional concurrence” to the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
Rudd may give China investment rights
21-Apr-2008
The Rudd government is considering giving cashed-up Chinese companies the same investment rights enjoyed by the US in a bid to revitalise free-trade talks.
Spain extending its reach into Africa
21-Apr-2008 IPS
Spain has expanded its presence in Africa by recently signing trade agreements with Egypt and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The agreement with Egypt includes regular bilateral summits similar to Spain’s annual meetings with Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Both agreements will facilitate the entry of more Spanish companies into Africa.
S Korean farmers accuse Govt of ’selling out’ to US beef
21-Apr-2008 Trading Markets
South Korean farmers and civic groups on Friday accused the government of surrendering to US pressure in rewriting Seoul’s beef import rules. Groups including the Hanwoo Association, the Korea Dairy Beef Farmers Association and the Korean Advanced Farmers Federation said negotiators gave up the right to protect South Koreans from the health risks of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, more commonly called mad cow disease.
Santiago, Roxas seek conditions on JPEPA
21-Apr-2008
Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Manuel Roxas II on Monday endorsed the approval of the controversial Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) — but only on certain conditions.
New Zealand to hold free trade talks with Japan, South Korea next month
21-Apr-2008 IHT
Prime Minister Helen Clark said Monday she will hold exploratory free trade talks in Japan and South Korea next month — only weeks after securing a comprehensive free trade agreement with China.
’Unity swim’ staged vs JPEPA
21-Apr-2008 Inquirer
Protest rallies are common these days in the Philippines, but on Monday, militants staged a different kind of protest as they engaged in a "unity swim" at Manila Bay against the passage of the controversial trade agreement between the Philippines and Japan.
US election looms over North American summit
21-Apr-2008 Reuters
With the US election looming over their annual summit, North American leaders gather in New Orleans this week for what is expected to be a largely symbolic meeting overshadowed by questions about free trade.
A temporary victory: Colombian unions campaign against FTA
21-Apr-2008 Workers World
The postponement of a vote in the US Congress is just a temporary victory for Colombian workers, due primarily to the hard work of many Colombian trade unionists who have risked their lives visiting the United States to expose the crimes and violence against union leaders in their country.
Beef exports to South Korea may suffer
21-Apr-2008 SMH
Soaring Australian beef exports to the lucrative South Korean market could suffer after South Korea lifted restrictions on US imports.
South Korea, Japan fail to agree on free-trade talks
21-Apr-2008 Bloomberg
South Korean President Lee Myung Bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda failed to agree on resuming negotiations for a free-trade agreement when they met today in Tokyo for their first official summit.
EPA - could have dire consequences
21-Apr-2008 Jamaica Observer
Anyone could be forgiven for wanting to fall asleep whenever the new Economic Partnership Agreement between Europe and the Caribbean comes into the conversation. The language is so complex and dry that only professional diplomats can understand it. (And even some of them are pretending). But the Caribbean needs to pay attention, because the economic consequences of this new agreement are heading towards it like an express train with potentially catastrophic consequences.
Japan-ASEAN FTA (2008)
21-Apr-2008 MOFA
Lee, Bush connect FTA to alliance
20-Apr-2008
President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President George W. Bush shared the view that the free trade agreement (FTA) is important for the two countries’ alliance.
Colombian gov’t infiltrated by ’paras’-witness
20-Apr-2008 Reuters
The allegation could increase resistance in Washington to a US-Colombia free trade deal, blocked by House of Representatives Democrats concerned that Uribe is not doing enough to protect labor union members who are often targeted by the paramilitaries.
Tecom land dispute risks damaging US FTA
20-Apr-2008 Arabian Business
A $1 billion lawsuit between Tecom Investments and a US company could hinder free trade talks between the US and the UAE, a US Congressional document shows.
Vietnam, Chile eye free trade agreement
20-Apr-2008 Viet Nam Net
Vietnam and Chile have established a joint mission to study the feasibility of a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).
Business executives plan to stress free trade to Bush, Harper, Calderon
20-Apr-2008 Globe and Mail
Leading business executives from Canada, US and Mexico will try to rally NAFTA leaders against increasing protectionist sentiment next week by issuing a call for greater co-operation in the face of cries by Democratic presidential candidates to review free trade.
Filipino fishers JPEPA’s biggest losers, says leftwing group
20-Apr-2008 Inquirer
If approved, an estimated 200,000 metric tons of tuna would be fished annually by the Japanese in Philippine waters under the agreement. This would amount to $970 million annual loses for the Philippine fisher folk sector.