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Ford warns Ottawa not to sign with South Korea
23-Nov-2007
Ford may redirect future investment away from Canada if Ottawa concludes a free-trade deal with South Korea that doesn’t open up that country to auto imports, the company’s top Canadian executive said yesterday.
Malaysia, India to enter comprehensive trade talks early next year
23-Nov-2007
Malaysia and India will enter into a comprehensive negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) in January next year, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said today.
EU trade chief impatient on Doha, Southeast Asia deal
23-Nov-2007
The European Union’s trade chief said on Thursday he was impatient with the lack of progress towards free trade deals in the global Doha round and between the EU and Southeast Asia. The Doha round of talks, launched six years ago, has been deadlocked as the United States and European Union call on developing nations to open up their markets for manufacturers in return for cuts by rich countries to trade-distorting subsidies.
Venezuela OK’d for MERCOSUR
23-Nov-2007
The Commission of the Constitution and Justice (CCJ) of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved the entrance of Venezuela to the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR).
Brazilian signal for Venezuela’s Mercosur membership
23-Nov-2007
The Brazilian Lower House Constitution and Justice Committee passed on Wednesday a motion for the long awaited incorporation of Venezuela to the South American trade block, Mercosur. However Venezuelan membership still faces a full debate in the House and must convince the Brazilian Senate.
CAFTA Becomes Law in Costa Rica
23-Nov-2007
Costa Rica’s president on Wednesday signed into law a free trade agreement with its Central American neighbors, the United States and the Dominican Republic.
EU lawmakers vow to block free-trade deal with ASEAN without reforms in Myanmar
23-Nov-2007
The European parliament will oppose any free-trade deal between Europe and Southeast Asia unless Myanmar makes democratic reforms, visiting parliamentarians warned Friday.
Government urged to disclose contents of Asean-Japan trade deal before signing it
23-Nov-2007 Business Mirror
Disclose to the public the contents of the Asean-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement first before signing it. This was the appeal aired by the multisectoral Fair Trade Alliance (FairTrade) to the Philippine government after news broke out that negotiations between Asean member-countries and Japan have been concluded during the Asean Summit in Singapore and the agreement is now up for signing.
ASEAN leaders endorse integration blueprint
23-Nov-2007 ASEAN leaders endorse integration blueprint
A detailed timetable seeking to establish an ASEAN Economic Community in eight years has hit the ground running, with leaders of 10 Southeast Asian countries affixing their signatures yesterday to a declaration adopting a so-called blueprint for economic integration and an attached "strategic schedule."
`Body blow to Kerala farmers`
23-Nov-2007
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remark that India will show the necessary flexibility on talks for the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) is worrying farmers in Kerala.
Govt warned on EPAs
22-Nov-2007
A group of civil society representatives in Uganda have warned the government against signing an Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union arguing that it will stifle the growth of local industries and frustrate the effort of local farmers.
Bend, but not backwards
22-Nov-2007
The “necessary flexibility” that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said India will show in order to conclude by March the free trade agreement with the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) may not be as daunting a task as some might imagine - because the gap between the positions on the two sides does not look unbridgeable.
Country is in a Quandary Over EPAs
22-Nov-2007
A Senior Research Fellow at the Botswana Institution of Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA) Dr Joel Sentsho says he hopes current negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) will yield something positive for Botswana.
South Korea Urged To Strengthen IP In EU Trade Talks
22-Nov-2007
South Korea has been urged to strengthen its intellectual property rules in order to sign a free trade agreement with the European Union.
Not the time for a Canada/Colombia trade deal - Colombian bishop
22-Nov-2007 CCIC Website
A Methodist Bishop from Colombia says the Canadian government is misguided to argue that a trade deal between Canada and Colombia will help democracy and human rights and bring economic prosperity to his country.
Ukraine to start free trade talks with Israel
22-Nov-2007
Ukraine plans to start free trade talks with Israel in the first quarter of 2008, President Victor Yushchenko said during his meeting with Israel’s business leaders on Thursday, according to the President`s press-office.
Disclose ASEAN-Japan deal, NGO says
22-Nov-2007 Disclose ASEAN-Japan deal, NGO says
The multisectoral Fair Trade Alliance (FairTrade) urges the Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila to disclose the contents of the ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and other possible agreements before any signing takes place during the 11th ASEAN-Japan, 11th ASEAN-Republic of Korea and 6th ASEAN-India Summits.
Reject the JPEPA
22-Nov-2007 Reject the JPEPA
WHEN environmentalists read news reports about Philippine and Japanese officials holding "quiet talks" to save JPEPA and "spare" Gloria Arroyo from embarrassment, they were visibly agitated. They have long voiced their opposition to the controversial pact and lobbied for its rejection by the Philippine Senate.
Why a Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement is a Big Mistake
22-Nov-2007 Canadian Labour Congress
Ten reasons why Canada should immediately stop negotiations of a free trade agreement with Colombia; the worst human rights violator in the Americas
What a vote for free trade means for the U.S.
22-Nov-2007
In the 2006 elections, aspiring Democrats attacked the Bush administration’s free trade policies, and more than 20 new members of Congress were elected, giving the Democratic Party its new majority in the House of Representatives. Yet, nearly two weeks ago, Democratic Party leaders urged those same members of Congress to vote for a new free trade agreement with Peru.