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East African states to shield domestic industries in EU trade pact
16-Oct-2007 Angola Press
East African Ministers of Trade on Friday agreed to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPAs) with the European Union as a bloc before embarking on detailed negotiations with the Eastern and Southern Africa states.
No port, no sherry and no 15m euros
15-Oct-2007 Business Report
In return for free access to the EU and payment of €15 million, the South African government agreed to phase out the names port, sherry, grappa and ouzo over five years. Five years later, disillusionment and frustration has set in, with port producers in fear that the EU will renege on the agreement.
Korea, EU open 4th round of free trade talks
15-Oct-2007 Korea.net
The EU is demanding that Korea match reductions on beef and car-import tariffs that it granted the US in June.
SAfrica won’t ’roll over’ on services trade with EU
14-Oct-2007 Reuters
The European Union needs to scale down its ambitions for accessing the service sector in southern Africa as it negotiates an economic partnership agreement (EPA) with the region, said South Africa’s deputy trade minister Rob Davies.
Caribbean may sue to reinstate EU sugar deal
12-Oct-2007 IPS
Caribbean Community leaders may try to reinstate the EU sugar protocol through an international court.
Ghana: Industries against signing
10-Oct-2007 AllAfrica.com
The Association of Ghana Industry (AGI) has added its voice to the clarion cry on African governments not to sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) or risk killing local industries.
No deal reached in EU-Caribbean trade talks
7-Oct-2007 Reuters
The European Union and countries in the Caribbean failed to agree on a new trade and investment deal in two days of talks that ended on Friday. EU officials had expected the Caribbean to become the first of the ACP regions to agree to a new deal.
EU to recognise Vietnam having market economy if...
6-Oct-2007 VietNamNet Bridge
"I want to make clear that the EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement that we are building is with only seven member nations of ASEAN. Laos and Cambodia have their own trade deals with the EU while we plan to put an embargo on Myanmar," says a member of the European Parliament.
West Africa to miss EU trade partnership deadline
6-Oct-2007 Reuters
West Africa will miss a Dec. 31 deadline to sign a new trade partnership with the European Union and hopes to keep its preferential commercial privileges for up to two years while it negotiates, a West African official said.
EU, Pacific countries to seek interim trade deal
5-Oct-2007 Reuters
The European Union and Pacific countries agreed on Tuesday to seek an interim new trade deal, to enter into force on 1 January, while they continue negotiating an EPA by end of 2008.
EU, India to make major offers on duty cut
5-Oct-2007 The Hindu
EU sees a new readiness on the part of the Indian side which, for the first time, has put poverty reduction, labour standards and environmental protection under the bilateral trade framework.
The gloves are off — Europe dismisses sugar, insults tourism ahead of ’make-or-break’ trade talks
5-Oct-2007 Jamaica Gleaner
Tempers flare as Caricom trade negotiators and the European Commission work with an October 15 deadline to initial an EU-Caribbean EPA
EU group urges Vietnam to speed ASEAN trade deal
5-Oct-2007 Thanh Nien
European parliamentarians urged Vietnam on Wednesday to fast-track negotiations for an EU-ASEAN free trade agreement as European businesses worry about competition from the United States and elsewhere.
Clark pushes free trade deal in Europe
4-Oct-2007 Stuff
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has made a renewed push for a free trade deal between New Zealand and the European Union, though she admits it is likely to be five years before real negotiations begin.
Singapore bank secrecy threatens EU trade talks - MEP
3-Oct-2007 Reuters
Singapore’s refusal to soften its strict bank secrecy laws could scupper talks with Europe about a trade agreement, a European politician said on Tuesday.
520 items to get tariff shield under India-EU trade pact
3-Oct-2007 Times of India
India’s commerce department is on a drive to identify 520 items that would be shielded from tariff cuts planned under the proposed India-EU bilateral trade and investment agreement. Tariffs on all other items will have to be reduced to zero in 10 years from the date of implementation of the agreement.
Caribbean grapples with loss of EU sugar deal
3-Oct-2007 IPS
Last week, the EU unilaterally renounced a 32-year sugar protocol that had guaranteed fixed quotas and prices for ACP countries, with no clear indications of how exactly sugar will be treated in the new EPAs.
Myanmar should be excluded from ASEAN-EU free trade deal - EU parliamentarians
2-Oct-2007 Sharewatch
Myanmar should not be included in the free trade agreement (FTA) between the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the EU following the Yangon military regime’s crackdown on mass protests last week, according to members of the European Parliament visiting Singapore.
An analysis of the EC non-paper on the objectives and possible elements of an IP section in the EC-Pacific EPA
1-Oct-2007 ICTSD
The combination of the time-factor, the TRIPS-plus implications of many of the elements suggested by the EC, the challenges that would face non-WTO Pacific countries to even adhere to TRIPS and the general level of development in these countries, it is strongly recommended that Pacific countries do not agree to the inclusion of an IP section in the EC-Pacific EPA.
EU’s scrapping of sugar pact ’a slap in face’, says Caribbean
1-Oct-2007 Jamaica Observer
Caribbean trade and political officials are fuming at the European Union’s decision last Friday to scrap a 32-year-old agreement with African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) sugar-exporting countries, describing the action as "a slap in the face" of the region.