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US union, business group slam Jordan sweatshops
28-Sep-2006
A leading US labour coalition and an industry group have filed a complaint with the US Trade Representative asking that it formally sanction the government of Jordan for "gross workers’ rights violations" under a controversial free trade agreement with the United States and Israel.
Japan gets serious about trade deal
28-Sep-2006
When the idea of a free trade agreement with Japan was floated four years ago, there was not much enthusiasm in Tokyo.
Mauritian MLAs asked to stop the process of EPA
28-Sep-2006
A Mauritian political party called Rezistans ek Alternativ (RA) has asked local MLAs to help in stopping the process of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) which, according to its members, Mauritius and fourteen other African countries have agreed to negotiate with the European Union, without realising the implication of such an agreement.
Global trade no longer hostage to US consumers
28-Sep-2006
Europe, Japan and emerging economies are weaning themselves from dependence on the American consumer, and economists say it’s just in time.
India to document revenue loss due to NTBs in Bimstec trade
28-Sep-2006
Concerned over the possibility of non-tariff barriers (NTBs) of Bimstec nations becoming an obstacle to the projected 74% jump in India’s exports to them from 2003 figures, the government will soon collect data regarding the current and future revenue loss incurred due to the NTBs.
10 reasons to challenge the Pacific EPA
28-Sep-2006
Do the Pacific Islands’ negotiators genuinely hope they can negotiate a beneficial Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union or are they simply going through the motions and doing what is required of them under the Cotonou Agreement 2000? In the secretive chess game of trade negotiations it is impossible to know.
China refuses to put cards on trade table
28-Sep-2006
Agriculture minister Peter McGauran’s lightning trip to Xian, home of the famed terracotta warriors, yesterday was to open a joint agriculture conference intended to persuade the Chinese that Australian farmers are no threat to their 800 million peasant counterparts, most of whom are barely above the poverty line and who form a potentially volatile force in Chinese politics.
Opening discussions on free trade with Greenland
28-Sep-2006
The Prime Minister of the Faroes, Mr Jóannes Eidesgaard and the Prime Minister of Greenland, Mr Hans Enoksen, discussed various topics of mutual interest in connection with the Faroese Prime Minister’s official visit to Ilulissat.
Japan eyes launching FTA talks with India, Vietnam next year
28-Sep-2006
Japan wants to launch separate talks with India and Vietnam next year to develop bilateral free trade agreements, reflecting new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s push to expand such pacts through Asia, a news report said Thursday.
Chosun-CSIS meet tackles Korea-US FTA
28-Sep-2006
US Deputy Trade Representative Karan Bhatia said Tuesday the substance of the Korea-US free trade negotiations is more important than any deadline. That suggests the US will not push for a conclusion just to meet the expiry of the Trade Promotion Authority, a fast-track authority for FTAs granted to the Bush administration by Congress, which expires in June next year.
Nothing cropped from agriculture in Australia-China FTA
28-Sep-2006
All agricultural products remain on the table in talks for a free trade agreement with China - which Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran describes as the "single most important thing" anyone can do for Australia’s farming industry.
«EFTA FTAs may have serious consequences on Thailand and Indonesia» tell civil society representatives to EFTA governments
27-Sep-2006
Lobby travel from Indonesian and Thai civil society in EFTA countries (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Oslo)
Philippine congress urged to investigate Japan-RP FTA
27-Sep-2006
The recently signed free trade agreement between the Philippines and Japan may have given economic concessions to Japan that go beyond Philippine commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO), a Filipino opposition legislator today warned.
Nippon Keidanren urges Abe govt to mend ties with China, S. Korea
27-Sep-2006 Mainchi Daily News
The Japan Business Federation, or Nippon Keidanren, on Tuesday urged the new government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to repair the country’s soured relations with China and South Korea in order for Japan to achieve its goal of concluding an economic partnership agreement with ASEAN, China and South Korea.
ACP-EU relations: The development challenge of EPAs
27-Sep-2006 South Centre
The South Centre, in partnership with a consortium of ACP and European NGOs, is organizing a high-level conference on negotiations related to Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) in Brussels on 12 October 2006.
IP rights under investment agreements: the TRIPS-plus implications for enforcement and protection of public interest
27-Sep-2006 South Centre
One of the issues that has recently started to influence the negotiations for new investment agreements involves the question of the status of IP rights and the impact of investment agreements on the rights, obligations and regulatory discretions of countries under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Development compatibility of EPAS - A critical civil society review of the EU-ACP negotiations on Regional Free Trade Agreements
27-Sep-2006 WEED
The conference focuses on three particular problem areas of EPAs. Are EPAs endangering food sovereignty and rural development of mostly agrarian oriented ACP states? Are EPAs in their current form undermining autonomous initiatives of regional integration? What effects are to be expected from a broad liberalisation agenda including the so called "new issues” of investments, competition and public procurement?
Coup puts Indo-Thai free trade deal in doldrums
27-Sep-2006 IPS
An ambitious free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Thailand may have been stalled indefinitely by the Sep. 19 military coup. The two countries were meant to renegotiate the FTA after elections in Thailand set for mid-October, but this process is now shrouded in uncertainty.
BIO-IPR: Draft EU-Eastern and Southern Africa EPA
27-Sep-2006 GRAIN
A recent draft of the EPA between the EU and 16 Eastern and Southern Africa countries gives a taste of what these treaties might spell out in terms of rights to local biodiversity and traditional knowledge.
Kenya: Lobby groups oppose signing of trade agreement with EU
27-Sep-2006 AllAfrica.com
Civil societies have asked the Government not to sign any agreement that emerges from current talks with European Union. The non-governmental organisations accused the EU of pursuing its own agenda, which does not match Kenya’s or any other African country’s.