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Poll predicts Costa Ricans will vote against free trade agreement with US, Central America
5-Oct-2007 AP
Costa Ricans are poised to reject the U.S.-Central American free trade agreement in a referendum Sunday, according to a poll published Thursday.
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.
Anti-JPEPA advocates ask RP to renegotiate treaty
4-Oct-2007 INQUIRER.net
The multisectoral Fair Trade Alliance calls for a renegotiation of JPEPA
Opposition gains strength as pro-CAFTA forces caught in manipulation scheme
4-Oct-2007 IRC Americas Program
The remarkable coalition of public employees, farmers, small business owners, intellectuals, and assorted citizens has already changed Costa Rican politics regardless of the outcome of the referendum vote.
Costa Ricans oppose FTA
4-Oct-2007 Prensa Latina
Four days before a referendum in Costa Rica on CAFTA, a poll carried out by the company Demoscopia for the newspaper Al Dia shows that 50.8 percent of voters oppose the FTA.
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.
India to start FTA talks with Brazil, S Africa this week
4-Oct-2007 Times of India
Bilateral trade agreement with Asean and European Union are passe. The stage is set for the first trans-continental treaty with India, South Africa and Mercosur — comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay — launching negotiations on a preferential trade agreement later this week.India will also start technical negotiations on Saturday for a PTA with the Southern African Customs Union, which consists of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland.
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.
Sempra Energy awarded $172 million in Argentine arbitration
3-Oct-2007 CNN
The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington DC has awarded Sempra Energy approximately $172 million, including interest, to settle a 2002 dispute involving the company’s 43-percent ownership in two Argentine natural gas holding companies, Sodigas Pampeana and Sodigas Sur.
Philippine Senators ’could reject’ Japan free trade deal
3-Oct-2007 AFP
Philippine lawmakers are unlikely to ratify a free trade agreement with Japan in the deal’s present form, the president of the Southeast Asian nation’s Senate said 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.
Senator says US needs "new vision" for trade
3-Oct-2007 Reuters
Washington needs to "think bigger" than it has in the past few years and look at possible trade deals with countries such as Taiwan, Indonesia, India and Japan, US Senate Democrat Max Baucus said.
Middle class incomes further behind since trade deal
3-Oct-2007 NDP
On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the negotiations of the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement, NDP International Trade Critic Peter Julian presented his analysis of the new figures from Statistics Canada that show a drastic increase in income inequality for most Canadian families since 1989.
Japan FTA all set for November
3-Oct-2007 Bangkok Post
The Thai and Japanese governments yesterday ironed out the last details before the free trade agreement takes effect on November 1. FTA Watch member Jacquechai Chomthongdi said the activist group would bring the case to the Constitutional Court as the new Thai constitution requires transparent consideration of all international treaties, including the trade deal signed with Japan.
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.
World Trade Organization accession agreements: intellectual property issues
1-Oct-2007
This paper addresses intellectual property issues that arise in the context of the WTO accession process
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.
State’s favourite fish may escape duty-free import net
1-Oct-2007 The Hindu
Oil sardine and mackerel are likely to escape the list of duty-free import from Europe in the Indo-European Union trade and investment agreement, set to be signed late next year. The exemption is a major victory for fish workers.