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Petrocaribe: New regional food firm
The PetroCaribe meeting on agriculture held Tuesday adopted several accords to face the international food crisis, among them the creation of a regional foodstuff enterprise. The company named Alba Alimentos (Alba Foods, after Venezuela’s integration initiative Alternativa Bolivariana de las Americas (ALBA)) will operate in member countries.
Andean Community approves reform without Bolivia - Peru-US free trade deal to move forward
Peru’s minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Mercedes Aráoz, announced on Thursday that the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) approved to modify the norm regarding intellectual property, which will allow Peru to implement the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States.
Reject JPEPA, leaders of 66 NGOs appeal
In a letter to Philippine Senate President Manuel Villar, 66 NGO leaders from around the world joined calls from local NGOs urging the Senate not to approve what they describe as a “flawed treaty” that promotes trade of toxic wastes.
Uruguay: After Doha, FTA with the EU and NAFTA fails once again
Trade agreements with big blocs like the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or with the European Union have experienced a recent boost in Uruguay.
Group welcomes move to suspend Jpepa deliberations
A Filipino movement against “unfair" economic treaties on Wednesday welcomed Sen. Mar Roxas III’s move to suspend deliberations on the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa).
EU Parliament head discusses EU-Syria pact with Syrian president
The President of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, discussed the future signature of a EU-Syria Association Agreement, during a meeting on Sunday in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
Labor to pursue bilateral FTAs
Kevin Rudd has vowed to "vigorously pursue" bilateral trade agreements on his latest swing through Asia following the collapse of the world free trade talks in Geneva.
Caricom hopes to renegotiate EPA
Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries will sign the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Europe on September 2 as planned, but they are still hoping to renegotiate the deal afterwards, Caricom Chairman Baldwin Spencer has said.
‘EU is getting flexible on EPAs’
Namibia is ready to put behind the unpleasant treatment it received from European Union negotiators during last year’s marathon negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), which resulted in the country’s refusal to sign until its protests were heard.
Colombia as a Model for Latin America
The US free trade agreement and the state and paramilitary violence in Colombia are part of the same project
Jpepa will worsen food crisis - group
The food crisis hounding the Philippines today may escalate if the government embarks on a full-scale liberalization of the economy under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa), according to food security advocates.
Overfishing linked to food crisis, migration
According to a recent report by the nongovernmental organisation ActionAid, West African seas are being devastated by legal and illegal overfishing, while local fishing industries decline. Moreover, the economic partnership agreements in their currently proposed form only exacerbate this problem.
Guyanese Government to host public EPA consultations
Weeks ago President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, announced his scepticism on signing the Economic Partnership Agreement trade deal with the European Community. Now it has been revealed that the Guyanese government will be hosting public consultations on the proposed arrangement come the beginning of September.
Human rights, rule of law sticky issues in RP-EU pact
THE Philippines is seeking to settle sticky issues in the proposed partnership cooperation agreement (PCA) with the European Union which include government’s commitments to uphold human rights and rule of law in the country before the Asia Europe Meeting (Asem) Summit in Beijing in October this year.
Pakistan, US to resume stalled negotiations on BIT soon: US official
Pakistan and the United States have agreed to resume stalled negotiations on Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), with the objective of deepening their strategic relations in various fields, a senior US official said Monday.
Australia seeks regional free trade deal
Australia is hopeful of an early conclusion to a regional free trade agreement (FTA) with intensive negotiations underway, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says. The potential deal between Australia, New Zealand and Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was discussed at bilateral talks between Smith and his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirajuda in Jakarta on Monday.
Labour leaders report back: No to Colombia FTA
We visited Colombia from July 18-25 on behalf of one million Canadian public sector workers. Our mission was to see for ourselves whether our opposition to the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement was justified. What we saw and learned confirmed that we are right to oppose this deal and to speak out against it on behalf of Colombian workers and their families.
Australia, South Korea to discuss FTA
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has reached agreement with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak to open preparatory talks on a free trade agreement (FTA).
Ratification of FTA with US urged this year
The Federation of Korean Industries is urging the ratification of the free trade agreement with the United States within this year.
SAARC rhetoric and economic realities
The focus of this year’s SAARC Summit was on terrorism. Economic cooperation, regional food security and the perennial issue of poverty reduction were among the economic issues that were deliberated. SAARC summits have tended to be high on rhetoric and low on achievement. Once upon a time, NATO was described as No Action Talk Only.