Free Trade Agreements

MANILA, Philippines – The European Union is awaiting the Philippines’ official confirmation on its expression of interest to engage in serious negotiation for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU.

THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU) is keen on preparing for the implementation of soon to be signed cooperation deal with the Philippines through the forging of a free trade deal and the streamlining of customs procedures, its new ambassador yesterday said.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is lagging behind other Asean countries in forging free trade agreements (FTAs) with total of 12, while Vietnam, Brunei and Indonesia have 14, 14 and 17, respectively.

MANILA, Philippines—Civil society groups in Europe are calling for an European Union international investment policy that promotes sustainable development and decent work, INQUIRER.net learned Monday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) needs to ratify the comprehensive free trade agreement (FTA) that the member countries signed with India to implement the deals expected to remove tariffs on close to 98 per cent of products being traded with the dialogue partners.

MANILA, Philippines –  The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has expressed disappointment over the hiring scheme for Filipino nurses and caregivers under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).

THE Philippines should maximize the utilization of benefits under its existing free trade agreements with other countries as one of the vital market strategies to increase exports, a high-ranking Trade official said.

MEMBERS of the Fair Trade Alliance (FTA) and other business groups are pushing for the passage of a bill that would promote fair competition among the country’s industries. In a forum held at the Sulo Reviera Hotel in Quezon City on Friday, the FTA and various stakeholders expressed support for the passage of the “Philippine…

FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, boost investment and trade and enhance development cooperation to aid the Philippines in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Fourth in a series As Japan continues to debate the merits of economic partnership accords with South Korea, China and other parts of Asia, one area of concern receiving relatively little public attention is how any final pact would cover immigrant labor.

Asean members this year will attempt to build on free trade gains, but investment liberalisation will be a challenge Another challenging year has begun for Asean nations looking to affirm their cooperation and integrity in a concerted effort to speed up talks on further free trade pacts covering investment and services after the six original…

Another commerce ministry official said, also on condition of anonymity, that a long pending proposal for a Ceca with Indonesia may be reopened during the visit of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in January.

Europe is on the cusp of change. An EU heads-of-state summit Dec. 16 launched a process aimed to save the common European currency. If successful, this process would be the most significant step toward creating a singular European po-wer since the creation of the European Union itself in 1992—that is, if it doesn’t destroy the…

BUSINESSMEN want the Philippine government to act fast, negotiate with the European Union for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) and warn that continued pussy-footing will cause our country to miss the opportunities that our Association of Southeast Asian Nations fellow-member-countries have begun to benefit from.

Davao City (14 December) — The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is urging private institutions to tap a facility under the co-operation program between the European Union (EU) and the Philippine government that provides assistance on trade matters that impacts on poverty reduction.

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Delegation launched last week a P42-million trade-related project that will provide short-term technical assistance to the Philippines to improve its access to foreign markets.

YOKOHAMA, Japan (AFP) – The United States and eight other Pacific Rim nations aim to forge a free-trade pact before President Barack Obama hosts an APEC summit in Hawaii in a year, Chile’s president said Sunday.

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has launched an information campaign on how to benefit from the economic partnership agreements of the Philippines with other countries after a study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) showed the country’s low utilization of free trade agreements (FTAs).

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN — A little-known trade pact promoted by US President Barack Obama has emerged as a key vehicle towards ambitions of creating a free trade treaty embracing more than half the world’s economy.

THE PHILIPPINES and European Union (EU) yesterday signed a three-year development cooperation deal worth 69 million euros (P4.12 billion), the bulk of which will go to health programs.

Yokohama — Pacific Rim leaders meeting in Japan this weekend will pledge not to introduce new trade and investment barriers until 2013, according to a draft Apec statement.

MANILA, Philippines— Philippine exporters are urged to tap existing free trade agreements (FTAs) in striking new business partnerships with prospective foreign companies and in further expanding their markets abroad.

MANILA, Philippines – Local businessmen are worried that the Philippines will be left behind by its ASEAN neighbors as the government continues to drag its feet on the negotiations for a possible bilateral agreement with the European Union.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines and the European Union are set to sign a Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) as the government indicated interest in engaging in serious negotiation for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Europe, according to a visiting European parliamentarian.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is still keen on pursuing an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

Oct. 19–The International Institute for Trade and Development has urged Thailand to prepare for its role as a major logistics hub as Asean economic integration is planned for 2015.

MANILA, Philippines – The European Union (EU) has warned that if the Philippines continues to drag its feet on a possible Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the EU might not be able to accommodate the Philippines anymore because it is processing several agreements with other Asian countries.

BRUSSELS, Belgium—Civil society groups that gathered in Brussels for the Asia Europe People’s Forum (AEPF) have called for the cancellation of the free trade agreements between the European Union and the developing economies, particularly those with India and South Korea.

THE government needs to do better in informing the private sector on how they will utilize the free-trade agreements (FTAs) the Philippines has entered into after a study of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) showed that the country is lagging behind its trading partners in taking advantage of these FTAs, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce…

“The world wants ASEAN to succeed,” says Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary General of ASEAN “The world wants ASEAN to succeed.” This buoyant statement put forth by Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of the Association for South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), presented a much cheerier prognosis of the regional bloc’s ability to survive and thrive than most…