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geopolitics


U.S. blocked S.K.-China trade deal: politician
According to recently-released data from a conference held last year, when China showed its intention to seek a free trade agreement with Korea, the U.S. gave a strong warning and the Korean government backed away from the deal, going with the U.S. instead.
S Korea denies report of rejecting China’s FTA offer on US worries
South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong on Thursday denied a report that the Seoul government rejected China’s proposal to sign a free trade agreement last year after the United States expressed concerns over Beijing’s huge presence in Northeast Asia.
Managing Globalization: A new trade bandwagon - Are rich-poor pacts fair?
You might as well call it Newton’s Third Law of Trade Negotiations.
No san-tong, no U.S. FTA
The U.S. has bluntly warned the pro-independence government of President Chen Shui-bian that it will not negotiate a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Taiwan unless the island opens san-tong (three direct transport links) with the mainland, the island’s biggest export market.
Australia, Japan hope to start FTA talks
Visiting Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer expressed hope that Canberra could enter into official negotiations on a free trade agreement with Japan next year by concluding the ongoing feasibility study at an early date, Japanese officials said.
Taiwan presses for US trade pact
Taiwan urged the United States to move quickly to forge a free-trade agreement (FTA) with America’s eighth biggest trading partner, despite bitter objections from China.
P5+1 nuclear package of incentives offered to Iran (2006)
The elements of a proposal to Iran as approved on 1 June 2006 at the meeting in Vienna of Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, the United States and the European Union, including the commitment to achieve an EU-Iran Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement on trade and investment.
Venezuela’s Chavez looms large over US vote on Peru trade pact
Free-trade agreements generally set tariffs on beef and commodities and deal with government procurement contracts and labor provisions. But as US Congress prepares to vote on a contentious free-trade accord with Peru, the figure of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is looming large.
Korea could drop Kaesong goods in FTA talks with US
The government could give up trying to persuade the U to recognize products from the inter-Korea Kaesong Industrial Complex as made in South Korea in free trade negotiations. “It has become impossible to win Washington’s consent about the Kaesong issue because of North Korea’s sudden missile launches,” an official here said.
U.S., Oman Pact Nixes Israel Boycott
The U.S. Congress is likely to approve a free trade agreement that includes strong foreign policy components with Oman, one of Washington’s closest allies in the Middle East, despite protests over the Arab country’s record on labour standards, human rights and the environment.
FTAs: Much more than trade pacts
In keeping with the global trend, it is free trade agreement (FTA) talks galore in the Gulf. Apart from a deal with Lebanon, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are collectively and individually negotiating FTAs with the United States, European Union and India at present.
Trading on terror to profit a few
Even as Congress has finally begun a serious debate about whether U.S. troops should be withdrawn from Iraq, another part of President Bush’s "war on terror" is advancing with far less public fanfare. Last month, the Senate Finance Committee approved the implementation of the U.S.-Oman Free Trade Agreement and cleared the way for its consideration by Congress.
Trade should be linked to normalisation with India and not resolution of Kashmir
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said in Karachi on Sunday that no progress had been made so far with the Indian government on the resolution of Siachen, let alone Kashmir and other vital issues, but he hoped that “outstanding issues will be resolved soon if the dialogue between the two neighbours continues”.
Malaysia and America as free trade partners?
The American-backed FTA is certainly not designed to serve the interest of ordinary Malaysian or American workers (it may well lead to the practice of dumping and out-sourcing instead), but it will invariably open up the Malaysian economy to the rigours and discipline of the global market.
US draws distinct lines on what Congress will reject in Korea FTA
A senior US senator drew clear lines Wednesday on what the Congress will not accept in a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea, including imports from an industrial complex inside North Korea.
The myth of free trade
Once we confront the flimsiness of the free trade ideal and admit that every deal has varied implications, the sleight of hand that characterizes so-called global free trade might begin to be broken down and something called fair trade might yet emerge.
Boycott of Israel still in effect, Omani official tells ’Post’
Five months after signing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US, Oman continues to restrict the import of Israeli-made goods despite a pledge made to the US that it would not boycott the Jewish state, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
Korea, US fail to agree on Kaesong-made goods
The first round of free-trade negotiations between Korea and the US failed to produce agreement on products made at the joint-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea.
FTA ’followed in letter and spirit’
The US government has confirmed that Bahrain is no longer part of an Arab boycott of Israeli products in line with its commitment to the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Tensions stall Japan/South Korea FTA
Negotiations for a free trade pact between South Korea and Japan have been deadlocked for more than a year partly due to differences over how the two sides view their history, South Korea’s commerce minister said on Friday.