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Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka rejects EU’s rights conditions for trade benefits, saying they violate sovereignty
26-Jun-2010 Canadian Press
Sri Lanka’s trade benefits with the world’s biggest consumer market are due to expire Aug. 15. The EU had asked Sri Lanka to give a written commitment by July 1 pledging to improve human rights before it would consider renewing them.
Straight talk across Palk Strait — “No FTAs”!
15-Jun-2010 MONLAR
A joint India-Lanka people’s statement for cultivating peace and not free trade agreements
CEPA is yet another step in Indian Expansionism
13-Jun-2010 The Sunday Leader
Concerns over the proposed India-Sri Lanka Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) General Secretary Tilvin Silva
India, Sri Lanka ink pacts, discuss devolution of powers
9-Jun-2010
India and Sri Lanka on Wednesday signed seven agreements and discussed devolution of powers to the provinces and opening of negotiations with Tamil groups.
Services to be liberalised
9-Jun-2010
If entering into trade agreements is opening up the floodgates to bigger countries, then some in Sri Lanka do not want the flood-gates opened to India, but the government has already done so, for seven other countries besides India. CEPA is carved in stone, some claim, but it is far from reality
DNA wants a CEPA debate
31-May-2010 Daily Mirror
The Democratic National Alliance in Sri Lanka has decided to ask for a parliamentary debate on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to be signed with India and asked the government to disclose the contents of the agreement.
CEPA signing likely to delay
31-May-2010 The Nation
Although Governments of India and Sri Lanka have shown keen interest in expediting their mutual trade pact, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is likely to get delayed after local business leaders have expressed grave concerns over its impact on Sri Lankan economy.
Lankan entrepreneurs protest against CEPA
31-May-2010 Sunday Times
The Business Times reliably understands that sections of the government provided unofficial backing for the protest.
Catastrophic Economic Partisan Agreement (CEPA) with India means disaster
28-May-2010 Lanka Web
The India-Sri Lanka agreement is like the story of two farmers who share a cow by owning two equal halves of the cow. They tied a rope around the belly of the cow. One owned the front part and the other the rear. Farmer who owned the rear got all the economic benefits including milk, calves and even manure while the other paid for it!
President says no deal to unfair trade agreements
27-May-2010 The Island
President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday said Sri Lanka would not enter into trade agreements that would have an adverse effect on the country’s economy when he met a group of protestors against the implementation of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with India.
Protest against CEPA
26-May-2010 The Island
A large group of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs, businessmen and workers launched a protest outside the Liberty Plaza complex at Kollupitiya yesterday, opposing the CEPA trade agreement with India.
Protests in Sri Lanka over proposed trade pact with India
26-May-2010 AFP
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in the capital Colombo Tuesday demanding Sri Lanka’s government abandon a proposed trade pact with neighbouring India.
Paranoia does not prevent trade, Lanka should go for CEPA with India Prospects for deeper South Asian economic integration improves-IMF
26-Apr-2010
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes that South Asia’s prospects for a regional grouping have greatly improved and that prospects for deeper economic integration within the region and with the rest of Asia would continue to improve in future.
Indo-Lanka FTA is 10 years old
15-Mar-2010
The Free Trade Agreement between India and Sri Lanka is 10 years old and a top trade economist says trade between the two South Asian neighbours have improved and that Sri Lanka should consider upgrading the agreement into a comprehensive economic partnership.
FTA with Singapore ’good’ for both
22-Nov-2009
A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Singapore would be beneficial because it would result in more opportunities with Sri Lanka, currently attempting to develop itself as a hub to India and a financial hub; particularly due to the country’s existing respective FTAs with India and with Pakistan, a top Singapore businessman has said.
Sri Lanka-Pakistan trade: Minor hiccups, major hindrance
8-Nov-2009
Negative trade balance is not always negative. It could be looked in a broader context said the Head of Chancery of the Pakistan High Commission in Sri Lanka Balal Akram. Referring to the negative trade balance between the countries which is favourable to Pakistan Akram said that 35 per cent of Sri Lankan imports from Pakistan are raw material for the apparel industry.
Sri Lanka: Gov’t, EU in back-channel talks over fate of trade pact
8-Nov-2009 IPS
Sri Lanka has reacted strongly to a European Commission (EC) probe on its human rights record, saying it is politically motivated.
Sri Lanka pressed by USTR on IP protection, GM food
19-Oct-2009 Lanka Business
The United States has asked Sri Lanka, ranked high for software piracy in Asia, to better enforce intellectual property rights and also lift restrictions on American imports like genetically modified food.
Sri Lanka may lose clothes trade benefits for alleged human rights abuses
19-Oct-2009 ANI
The European Commission is all set to recommend withdrawal of trade benefits from Sri Lanka after allegations of large scale violation of human rights surfaced during the last stages of the civil war against the LTTE.
No CEPA with Pakistan before India
11-Oct-2009 The Island Business
Sri Lanka is very likely not pursue a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Pakistan because a similar agreement with India was put in cold storage last year amidst mounting domestic pressure.