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Pakistan: EU’s dilemma
17-Oct-2009 Dawn
Pakistan’s repeated requests for a free trade agreement come at the right time: the EU has switched focus from the uphill struggle to conclude the Doha trade round of World Trade Organisation negotiations to a quest for bilateral pacts.
EU grabs Korea trade pact that was ours
17-Oct-2009 Investors.com
"For Europe, the deal with Korea was easy. The US had already negotiated a trade pact of its own that was ready to go in 2006. Details of the EU-Korea treaty are nearly identical, so it’s obvious the Europeans just Xeroxed the US-Korea pact and will now walk off with the spoils," write a US business journal.
Spain urges Namibia to join EU party
16-Oct-2009 Informante
The European Union, through its Spanish chair, has made an impassionate plea for Namibia to sign the interim Economic Partnership Agreement saying this will accelerate the country’s economic growth.
Zambia: Economic Partnership Agreements - for the rich or poor?
16-Oct-2009 Times of Zambia
The signing ceremony of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the East and Southern Africa Bloc to which Zambia belongs, raised some eyebrows, but also drew attention to something deeper when Zambia and other members refused to sign.
S.Africa sugar producers hopeful of EU trade deal
16-Oct-2009 Reuters
Durban-based Illovo Sugar — Africa’s biggest producer, majority-owned by British Sugar — said it plans to raise output by 50 percent to nearly 3 million tonnes in the next five years to cash in on the new tariff-free EU access.
Taiwan hopes to sign cross-strait trade pact as soon as possible
16-Oct-2009 Taiwan News
Taiwan hopes to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA), similar to a free trade agreement, with China as soon as possible: next year, if not earlier.
EU-Korea trade deal puts pressure on Obama to act
16-Oct-2009 Reuters
President Barack Obama faced increased pressure on Thursday to win approval of a free trade deal with South Korea after the European Union locked up its own pact with Asia’s third-largest market.
Pakistan, Turkey agree to start FTA talks
15-Oct-2009 The News
Pakistan and Turkey have initiated negotiations on a free trade agreement and a formal accord will be signed during Turkish prime minister’s visit to Pakistan next month.
EU, South Korea ink free-trade deal: commission
15-Oct-2009 AFP
The European Union and South Korea on Thursday signed a free trade deal which Brussels said would be worth 19 billion euros (28 billion dollars) in new trade for EU exporters.
S.Africa farmers want land in Zimbabwe investment pact
15-Oct-2009 Reuters
While Agri SA has been leading a push for South African farmers to invest and farm in a number of other countries across Africa, including the Republic of Congo, Libya and Zambia, the union has urged its members to stay away from countries where South Africa has no investment protection agreements.
EU-RP partnership deal will take 2 years - MacDonald
15-Oct-2009 GMA News
The Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the Philippines and the European Union, a prerequisite for an FTA, might take two years before being realized, an official said Wednesday.
Mexico revs up war on workers; Obama shrugs
13-Oct-2009 Huffington Post
Last Saturday night, October 10, several thousand Mexican government agents and police stormed into the headquarters and a hundred substations of the publicly owned electric utility, Luz Y Fuerza.
For safety’s sake
13-Oct-2009 The Star
Malaysia is about to adopt its biosafety regulations despite pressure from the US Biotechnology Industry Organisation that called on the US trade representative to reject mandatory labelling of GM products in the US-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement, claiming that labelling is tantamount to trade barrier.
World’s poor see few job benefits from trade boom
12-Oct-2009 Reuters
The boom in global trade over the last two decades has not improved the quality of most jobs in poorer countries, the World Trade Organisation and United Nations labour agency (ILO) said on Monday.
Costa Rica: March against impacts of CAFTA
12-Oct-2009 Infoshop
On 6 October, two years after the fraud that ordered the adoption of the FTA with the US, there was a People’s Walk for Dignity in the Southern Zone of Costa Rica.
Why did Seoul change to favour free trade with China?
12-Oct-2009 DPA
Last weekend’s news that South Korea and China had agreed to begin serious negotiations aimed at forging a free trade deal took many analysts by surprise, leading some to ask: What’s in it for Seoul?
New Via Campesina publication: FTAs in South East Asia and East Asia
12-Oct-2009 Via Campesina
This book is a compilation of various papers that were presented at a strategic meeting organized by La Via Campesina in South Korea in December 2008.
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.
US envoy hopeful of Indo-US bilateral investment treaty being endorsed
11-Oct-2009 ANI
US Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer has said that he is hopeful that a bilateral investment treaty between US and India will be signed by end of the year.
Korea-China FTA returns to agenda
11-Oct-2009 Korea Herald
A free trade pact between Korea and China is expected to pick up pace after the two countries on Saturday agreed to consider the deal. But a bumpy road is expected because of sensitive issues, such as agriculture.