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Time to put a US-South Korea free trade agreement on the fast-track agenda
23-Jan-2006 Heritage Foundation
A memo from the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation.
USTR cites needs for agricultural tariff cuts in Korea
23-Jan-2006 Yonhap
US Trade Representative Rob Portman said South Korean farmers’ protests are not expected to affect efforts to start negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA).
Powerful NGO wants open talks
23-Jan-2006 The Nation
Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission yesterday asked the government to suspend talks on a free-trade agreement with the United States and to disclose what is being negotiated.
Sri Lanka’s free trade agreement with Pakistan
23-Jan-2006 Daily News
By having preferential access to the two major markets in South Asia - India and Pakistan - Sri Lanka can now position itself as the conduit for Indo-Pakistan trade that has diminished due to political problems centred around the Most Favoured Nation treatment.
Switzerland to explore FTA with India
23-Jan-2006 Sify
Switzerland would explore the prospects of a Free Trade Agreement with India. Identifying India as an important market, the Swiss Minister of Economic Affairs, Joseph Deiss, said he would be discussing the issue with his counterparts in Delhi in the next two days.
Chile, Thailand discuss joint study of FTA
23-Jan-2006 Xinhua
Chile and Thailand held their first round of pre-free trade talks in Santiago in January 2005, and are set to hold the next round Monday through Friday next week in Bangkok.
New Bolivia leader vows to nationalize natural gas but says he’s open to free-trade zone
23-Jan-2006 Money Sense
Bolivian President Evo Morales used his inaugural address Sunday to renew his pledge to nationalize the country’s vast natural gas reserves, but said he’s open to the idea of a large US-sponsored trade zone he harshly criticized last year during his campaign.
New Australian envoy looking ahead to FTA deal
22-Jan-2006
The new Australian Ambassador’s third posting in Korea might be the charm that helps bring Australia-Korea trade relations to its zenith.
Value pact over quota
22-Jan-2006
Work on talks for a free trade pact between Korea and the United States has been accelerating since President Roh Moo-hyun’s New Year’s address. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade recently announced it would hold a public hearing early next month to gather opinions on such a pact. Accordingly, the government is likely to soon declare the start of negotiations with Washington.
Scoping studies to pave way for Free Trade Agreement
22-Jan-2006
MALAYSIA and Chile are moving towards an eventual Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with both sides to undertake scoping studies. A Joint Study Group has been formed to complete the task and submit recommendations to both governments by the end of the year.
‘Thaksinisation’ strains Thai-US relations
22-Jan-2006 The Nation
When Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra went to Washington DC last September to meet President George W Bush, they agreed that the Thai-US free-trade agreement (FTA) would be completed by this June. At a subsequent meeting with Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, he also asked for US assistance in southern Thailand. Obviously there was a clear link between the trade and defence policies of the two countries.
Free trade and movies
22-Jan-2006
The government is hurrying to conclude a free trade agreement with the United States before June 2007 at the latest. It appears natural for Korea to facilitate the FTA process with America, the world’s largest economy and Seoul’s greatest ally. The biggest stumbling block is the screen quota, a protective device for the domestic film industry, or so says Washington.
Panama: Wave of protests
22-Jan-2006 Prensa Latina
Panamanian unions and civilian groups Friday warned they would continue pressuring the government in order to hamper signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US and support a similar pact with Chile.
Investment treaty: Pakistan, US fail to make progress
21-Jan-2006 Dawn
Pakistan and United States on Friday concluded the fourth round of talks on the proposed Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), which remained inconclusive due to differences on some clauses of the agreement.
Oman pact boosts US agenda in the Middle East
21-Jan-2006 IPS
The Bush administration is pushing a spate of free trade agreements with its allies in the Middle East that mostly lack input from marginalised local communities or civil society groups.
Korea-US trade talks could start soon
21-Jan-2006 donga.com
Trade Minister Kim Hyun-jong said in a news conference Friday, “It remains to be seen whether the upcoming international economic ministers’ meeting scheduled for February 2 will decide to begin Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations.” Current Korean FTA regulations stipulate that an international economic ministers’ meeting shall make decisions on whether to start FTA negotiations after taking public opinion into consideration at a public hearing.
Peru endorsed Miami as site of free trade pact secretariat
21-Jan-2006 Miami Herald
President Alejandro Toledo endorsed Miami as the headquarters for a proposed free trade secretariat as Florida Gov. Jeb Bush completed a two-day trade visit to Ecuador and Peru.
Morales not opposed to US trade deal
21-Jan-2006 AP
Backing away from his tough campaign talk against US-sponsored trade initiatives, Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales said Friday he no longer rules out a free-trade deal with the United States and three other Andean nations. But he did not say he supported such a deal, either.
Clashes lead to chaos in Ecuador
21-Jan-2006 BBC
Students and police have clashed again in Ecuador, as protests against a possible rise in bus fares entered a second week. The students also want the government to cancel its contract with the Occidental Petroleum Corporation and for it to refuse to join the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.
China-ASEAN FTA agreement benefits China’s textile export
21-Jan-2006 Xinhua
Since China and the ASEAN started their tariff reduction process on July 1, 2005 on the basis of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA) agreement, the ASEAN would gradually lower its tariff upon Chinese textile and apparel, which may increase China’s textile export to this region.