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News archives

Monday, November 24, 2003

End Of Trans-Atlantic Dispute Over Tax Breaks In Sight, Senior US Official Says
Associated Press | November 24, 2003 A senior U.S. official said on Monday he expects a long-running trade dispute over tax breaks for U.S. exporters to be resolved in the first quarter of next year. "We have to move the (tax) legislation through Congress," U.S. Commerce Undersecretary Grant ... Continued...

The WTO: Love It Or Leave It?
Business Week | By Paul Magnusson | November 24, 2003 Free-traders are cheering the World Trade Organization's Nov. 10 ruling slapping down President George W. Bush's three-year tariffs on imported steel. But there's reason for them to fret, too: The decision is fanning the flames of bipartisan a... Continued...

Friday, November 21, 2003

U.S. and Brazil End Talks
New York Times | By SIMON ROMERO | November 21, 2003 MIAMI, Nov. 20 - The United States and Brazil abruptly called an early end on Thursday to talks aimed at creating a 34-nation trade agreement in the Western Hemisphere after concluding there was little left to discuss here aside from a vague fr... Continued...

Americas Trade Pact Gets Narrowed Focus
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | By NEIL KING JR. | November 21, 2003 MIAMI -- The U.S. and 33 countries will push toward an Americas-wide trade deal by the end of next year, but the pact may not be as bold as first envisioned. After the breakdown in global talks two months ago, the U.S. and Brazil p... Continued...

Free-trade Bloc Now Has Basic Blueprint
Associated Press | By Traci Carl | November 21, 2003 MIAMI -- Trade ministers from across the Americas, unable to agree on issues such as farm subsidies, approved a watered-down framework on Thursday for the world's largest free-trade bloc. Ministers from 34 countries in the Americas, excludi... Continued...

Trade Ministers Wrap Up FTAA Summit Ahead Of Schedule
Agence France Presse | By LAURA BONILLA | November 21, 2003 Trade ministers from the hemisphere working on the Free Trade Area of the Americas agreement wrapped up work late Thursday one day ahead of schedule, with a deal that scales back the original plan for a free trade bloc of 34 nations. ... Continued...

Weak FTAA Ends With A Whimper
Calgary Herald | By Annette Hester | November 21, 2003 As I arrived here this week for the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) talks, I looked for protesters, but couldn't find any. Maybe it was the tight security, the kind that has become commonplace in all multilateral meetings since t... Continued...

Accord Offers Buffet-Style Free Trade; Nations Can Spurn Parts They Dislike
Chicago Tribune | By James P. Miller | November 21, 2003 Top trade officials from 34 nations reached agreement Thursday on a framework for the planned Free Trade Area of the Americas, though the accord falls far short of the concrete plan that the meeting had originally been expected to yield. ... Continued...

Thursday, November 20, 2003

Miami Trade Talks Move Into Final Stage
Associated Press | By JOHN PAIN | November 20, 2003 The top trade officials from 34 nations are inching closer to binding their countries in what would be the world's largest free trade area. But some countries complained that the draft agreement the trade ministers will take up Thursday is wa... Continued...

Protesters Tell a Different Tale of Free Trade
Los Angeles Times | By John-Thor Dahlburg | November 20, 2003 HEADLINE: THE WORLD; From Mexican sweatshops and peasant farms in the Amazon to Spanish-speaking neighborhoods of the United States, protesters have come here to warn that plans for hemisphere-wide free trade would lead to greater mise... Continued...

Brazil Takes Exception To U.S. Andes Talk
The Miami Herald | By ALEJANDRO LANDES | November 20, 2003 The Brazilian press wasn't amused by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick's comments Tuesday when he announced a U.S. plan to begin trade negotiations with Andean countries. According to Brazil's Folha de Sao Paulo, Zoellick was ... Continued...

NGOs For Global Free Trade
Financial Post | November 20, 2003 'The poor have nothing to lose but their poverty," say pro-trade NGOs NGOs are urging the business, civil society and political leaders from the western hemisphere that have gathered in Miami for the Free Trade Areas of America Ministerial to promote real fr... Continued...

Trade Draft Criticized As Diluted
The Miami Herald | By JANE BUSSEY | November 20, 2003 A 'great timing, less filling' debate emerges at the Miami trade talks, as a compromise buys negotiators time but is attacked as 'FTAA Lite' for not resolving disputes.; FREE TRADE AREA OF THE AMERICAS BYLINE: AND GREGG FIELDS; jbussey@her... Continued...

China May Raise Duties on U.S. Imports
Associated Press | By Stephanie Hoo | Nov. 20, 2003 BEIJING - China said Thursday it plans to raise import duties on some American products if Washington doesn't abide by a World Trade Organization ruling that U.S. tariffs on steel are illegal. Late Thursday, Vice Commerce Minister Ma Xiuhong... Continued...

Police, Trade Protesters Clash in Miami
Associated Press | By Mike Schneider | Nov. 20, 2003 MIAMI - Officers and hundreds of demonstrators clashed Thursday near the site of talks to create a free trade zone for North and South America. Police blanketed downtown, remembering trade-related riots in other cities. Officers clad in rio... Continued...

Whispers of ""FTAA Lite""
Miami Herald | By Douglas Hanks III | Nov. 20, 2003 Today is the deadline for cities to join the hemispheric contest for the headquarters of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. But the prize itself is getting fuzzier and fuzzier. Facing differences with Brazil over the FTAA, the United Sta... Continued...

Latin America Waking from Its Economic Siesta
Christian Science Monitor | By Tom Hennigan | Nov. 20, 2003 BUENOS AIRES - Latin America may finally be waking from its economic siesta. After five years of recession, Argentina's economy is expected to expand by more than 7 percent this year. Mexico's stock prices have risen more than 20 percen... Continued...

Wednesday, November 19, 2003

China, U.S. Square Off Over Textiles
Reuters | By Scott Hillis | Nov. 19, 2003 BEIJING (Reuters) - China struck back at the United States over a cap on selected textile imports on Wednesday, saying the move ran against the spirit of free trade and hinting at possible retaliation. China, the world's fifth-biggest trading nation,... Continued...

Trade Conference Expectations Sag
Los Angeles Times | By Carol J. Williams | November 19, 2003 Billed as an effort to form the world's biggest common market and secure prosperity for the Western Hemisphere, the Free Trade Area of the Americas pact is looking more like The Incredible Shrinking Treaty. Fearful of acrimony and f... Continued...

Trade Negotiators Work On Draft For World""s Largest Free Trade Region
Associated Press | By TRACI CARL | November 19, 2003 : 534 words Trade negotiators worked on a draft for the world's largest free trade region, with Canada, Mexico, Chile and several Caribbean nations advocating a compromise agreement that attempts to skirt the thorny issue of agriculture. Tra... Continued...

Poor Worried Trade Pacts Will Hurt Them, Latin Leaders Warn
The Miami Herald | By Tyler Bridges | November 19, 2003 SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia _ The free-trade discussions in Miami this week must address the rising concerns in Latin America that eliminating trade barriers hurts the poor, some of the region's presidents said during a summit in Bolivia. Guatema... Continued...

The New Miami Dolphins March to Oppose the FTAA
U.S. Newswire | November 19, 2003 On Nov. 20, hundreds of demonstrators from across the United States will march in dolphin costumes with thousands of allies in opposition to the ongoing Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Eighth Ministerial Meeting and 16th Trade Negotiations Committee in Mi... Continued...

Tariffs Would Control Oversupply
Miami Herald | By Mark Ritchie | Nov. 19, 2003 Last September in Cancun, the Bush administration's promises of free trade's benefits ran headlong into the reality of the last ten years under the World Trade Organization and the U.S.-Canada-Mexico arrangement known as NAFTA -- the North American F... Continued...

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Ministers Begin Talks on Free Trade Pact
Associated Press | By John Pain | Nov. 17, 2003 MIAMI - Negotiations to turn the Americas into the world's largest free trade zone hit a roadblock Monday on the second day of talks. Canada and Chile complained about a proposal from Brazil and the United States that was supposedly aimed at mak... Continued...

With a Few Exceptions, Nothing Serious Reported during First Day of Trade Talks
Miami Herald | By Susannah A. Nesmith, Elaine de Valle and Martin Merzer | Nov. 17, 2003 A work week like few in South Florida history began today with nothing more than modest traffic delays, a visible display of authority in Downtown Miami and only a hint of what might lie in store for the rest... Continued...

Miami Trade Talks Hit Their First Snag
Associated Press | Nov. 18, 2003 MIAMI (AP) -- Early conflicts among negotiators trying to turn the Americas into the world's largest free trade zone have focused on the scope of the proposed agreement. A stumbling block emerged Monday over a Brazilian and U.S. proposal that would create a bas... Continued...

U.S. Farm Groups Oppose Favoring Brazil in WTO
Southwest Farm Press | By Forrest Laws | November 20, 2003 The nation's largest farm organizations have written the Bush administration, asking it to continue to fight efforts by Brazil and other so-called "developing" countries to garner preferential treatment in the Doha Round of WTO negotiatio... Continued...

US Steelmakers Agree Compromise On Tariffs, But EU Seen Sceptical
AFX.COM | November 18, 2003 US steelmakers have agreed to ending tariffs on steel imports earlier than scheduled after the White House urged the companies to avert a threatened transatlantic trade war, the Wall Street Journal reported. But the EU sees itself in a strong position and has... Continued...

Miami Police Suit Up As Antiglobalisation Protesters Arrive For Americas Trade Summit
Agence France Presse | By CARLOS HAMANN | November 18, 2003 Miami police are suiting up to square off against tens of thousands of antiglobalisation protesters here Tuesday, ahead of a key summit of Americas trade ministers who are vying to establish the world's largest free trade area by 2005. ... Continued...

WTO Negotiators Acknowledge They May Miss Another Deadline
Associated Press | By NAOMI KOPPEL | November 18, 2003 Members of the World Trade Organization conceded Tuesday that they may fail to put their stalled trade negotiations back on track when they meet next month. "If we come to the conclusion that we aren't ready on Dec. 15, we won't convene ... Continued...

U.S. Seeks Separate Free Trade Pacts
Associated Press | By Traci Carl | Nov. 18, 2003 MIAMI - The United States, struggling to negotiate a free-trade area that would stretch from Canada to Chile, announced Tuesday it would seek separate agreements with Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellic... Continued...

Honduran Maquila Worker Stands By Her Denunciation of Working Conditions
National Labor Committee | November 18, 2003 Returning to Honduras on Sunday, November 16, and into the eye of the storm, Lydda Gonzalez did not for one second blink. She stood tall, again denouncing abusive factory conditions, stating that she was proud of what she and the others ... Continued...

Monday, November 17, 2003

Hemisphere Trade Talks in Miami Are Reported to Hit a Bump
New York Times | By Simon Romero | Nov. 17, 2003 MIAMI, Nov. 16 - Talks here intended to produce a tariff-reducing agreement for 34 countries in the Western Hemisphere may have already hit a bump: officials from Canada, Chile and several other nations disapprove of an agreement reached between th... Continued...

Miami Looks to Trade Group to Revive Bank Industry
New York Times | By Simon Romero | Nov. 17, 2003 MIAMI, Nov. 16 - Glancing at the skyline along Brickell Avenue in Miami's financial district, this city's international banking industry seems anything but sickly. Developers even recently completed a 70-story skyscraper, the nation's tallest build... Continued...

Governor Says Trade Talks Illustrate Miami""s ""Privileged Role""
Miami Herald | By Christina Hoag | Nov. 17, 2003 Gov. Jeb Bush kicked off the Americas Business Forum this morning, saying that this week's free trade talks are a continuation of Miami's ''privileged role'' in the development of tariff-free commerce in the Western Hemisphere. Bush told several... Continued...

FTAA Meeting Called Miami""s Biggest Event
Miami Herald | By Nancy San Martin | Nov. 17, 2003 Of all the mega events South Florida has hosted -- from the World Series to the Super Bowl to a variety of prominent conventions -- this week's Free Trade Area of the Americas meeting in downtown Miami is the most important, an organizer of the e... Continued...

Dispute Settlement Body Establishes Three Panels
WTO NEWS | November 7, 2003 DS136 & DS162: United States - Anti-dumping Act of 1916 The US said that the US Administration would continue to work with Congress to achieve further progress in resolving this dispute. The EC complained about the lack of progress and added that EC companies we... Continued...

Snow Says Bush Still Mulling Steel Decision
Agence France Presse | Nov. 17, 2003 WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Treasury Secretary John Snow said that Washington's steel tariffs ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization "served a useful purpose," but gave no hint on the administration's response to the decision. "The president's decision is... Continued...

Sunday, November 16, 2003

Activists Begin Free-Trade Protests
Associated Press | By John Pain | Nov. 16, 2003 MIAMI - Hundreds of anti-globalization activists kicked off demonstrations Sunday as representatives of 34 Western Hemisphere nations started talks on creating the world's largest free trade bloc. Aides to trade ministers were preparing for meet... Continued...

Friday, November 14, 2003

Sparks Fly Over Steel
The Economist | November 15, 2003 ON NOVEMBER 11th the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruled definitively that America's so-called "safeguard" steel tariffs were illegal. The first response from the White House was defiant, but by mid-week it became clear that the Bush administration was in two m... Continued...

Miami Braces For Thousands Of Protesters For Free Trade Talks
Associated Press | By RACHEL LA CORTE | November 14, 2003 Thousands of protesters are expected to take to the streets of Miami to protest trade talks next week, and while many of them say they will demonstrate peacefully, police are preparing for extremist groups bent on wreaking havoc. More ... Continued...

Foreign Minister Amorim Interviewed on Washington Meetings on FTAA
BBC Monitoring Latin America | November 14, 2003, Friday Text of report by Arnaldo Galvao on telephone interview with Celso Amorim on 8 November from Washington, published by Brazilian newspaper Correio Braziliense web site on 10 November Brazilian diplomacy is confident that the constructive ... Continued...

No One Policy Fits All; U.S. Trade Positions Shift According to Geography
The Washington Post | By Paul Blustein | November 14, 2003 Just a few days ago, Bush administration officials warned China that it had better open its market in accord with its obligations under the World Trade Organization. "Our patience is wearing thin," Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans admon... Continued...

Wednesday, November 12, 2003

For Bush, a Janus-Like View of Trade
New York Times | By ELIZABETH BECKER | November 12, 2003 WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 - In the next few weeks, President Bush will decide what kind of a trade president he wants to be. After coming into office vowing to surpass the record of President Bill Clinton and aggressively press for new free tr... Continued...

Tuesday, November 11, 2003

Anti-Globalization Activists Flock To Paris For Four-Day Forum
Agence France Presse | By SOPHIE LAUTIER | November 11, 2003 Tens of thousands of anti-globalization activists are expected in the Paris area from Wednesday for the second European Social Forum, a four-day gathering aimed at pushing an alternate vision for Europe's future. Organizers say betw... Continued...

White House Faces Delicate Economic-Political Decision On Fate Of Steel Tariffs
Associated Press | LARA JAKES JORDAN | November 11, 2003 A global trade ruling against U.S. steel tariffs is squeezing the White House between political and economic interests as President George W. Bush weighs the sanctions' fate - and his re-election prospects. The White House is being pumm... Continued...

Monday, November 10, 2003

WTO Panel Says U.S. Steel Duties Illegal
Associated Press | By Naomi Koppel | Nov. 10, 2003 GENEVA - U.S. duties on imported steel introduced last year are illegal under international trade rules, a World Trade Organization appeals panel ruled Monday, according to trade officials. The panel upheld the major findings of a July ruling... Continued...

WTO Chief Sees Trade Talks Gaining Momentum
Reuters | Nov. 9, 2003 BEIJING (Reuters) - Free trade talks are building momentum after a recent setback, and an upcoming meeting of African ministers could be "crucial" in getting them back on track, the head of the World Trade Organization said on Sunday. "I don't agree with people who rate... Continued...

Guatemala""s Portillo: US-Central America Free Trade Pact to be Delayed
Agence France Presse | Nov. 8, 2003 GUATEMALA CITY (AFP) - Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo told AFP that a US-Central America free trade deal would not be signed in December as scheduled. The negotiators' timetable called for the deal to be signed next month, but Portillo ruled that out... Continued...

EU Slaps $200m Tariff on U.S. Imports
BBC News | Nov. 5, 2003 The EU has said US imports are to face duties of $200m (£120m) from March 2004. The European Commission decided to impose the duties in retaliation against US tax breaks for exporters, which have been criticised by the World Trade Organisation. Initially, the tarif... Continued...

Mad Cows -- Ottawa""s Fear of NAFTA
Country Life in BC | November 2003 Canada's cows should be MAD! It took a while to dispel the "spin", but by mid-October, Canada's ranchers finally had the straight goods: "Yes, NAFTA applies. No, we are not going to use it. Why? Because we prefer a "soft approach". Euphemisms aside, Canada i... Continued...

Sunday, November 9, 2003

Prescription Drugs To Be Free-Trade Topic
Miami Herald | By JOHN DORSCHNER | November 9, 2003 MIAMI - Access to prescription drugs may be one of the hottest and most contested topics in the free-trade conference coming up in Miami later this month. A vast array of major U.S. corporations and trade groups - including the National Assoc... Continued...

Saturday, November 8, 2003

No US Breakthroughs With Brazil Reported In Trade Talks
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES | November 8, 2003 WASHINGTON (AP)--The Bush administration reported no breakthroughs Saturday in informal discussions aimed at trying to resolve deep differences between the U.S. and Brazil over the scope of a hemisphere-wide free trade agreement. U.S. Trade Representativ... Continued...

Friday, November 7, 2003

Japan Farms: An Old Man""s Game
New York Times | By James Brooke | Nov. 7, 2003 MIHARU, Japan, Nov. 6 - When the motorcade of earnest agricultural promotion agents rolled up the other morning to his father's rice paddy, Shunseki Ouchi sensed a lecture on the virtues of farming. Without even a bow, Mr. Ouchi, a 22-year-old colle... Continued...

Harbinson Resigns As Chairman Of WTO Agriculture Negotiations
Inside US Trade | November 7, 2003 Stuart Harbinson announced Nov. 6 that he would resign as chairman of the World Trade Organization agriculture negotiations once a successor is chosen. He will continue serving as chief of staff for the office of Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi, a G... Continued...

Thursday, November 6, 2003

Miami Girds for Melee as Trade Talks Near
Reuters | By Jane Sutton | Nov. 6, 2003 MIAMI (Reuters) - Miami is preparing for protests during the Americas trade talks as if for a human hurricane, with federal judges moving trials out of town, cruise ships heading for calmer ports and security guards becoming the hottest date for the opera. ... Continued...

Putin Wins WTO Assurances, but Yukos Haunts EU-Russia Summit
Agence France Presse | Nov. 6, 2003 ROME (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin won support from the European Union for Russia's membership of the World Trade Organisation by the end of next year at a summit with EU leaders overshadowed by controversy over the Yukos affair and Chechnya. "We reitera... Continued...

Tuesday, November 4, 2003

New Book: Debating the Tobin Tax
New Rules for Global Finance Coalition | November 4, 2003 The New Rules for Global Finance Coalition is proud to announce the publication of a new volume of policy research. This book, the second in a series, explores the argument for and against one of the most provocative policy proposals in t... Continued...

Iraq War Bill Includes Millions For Miami Trade Meeting
Palm Beach Post | By Alex Clifton | November 4, 2003 Buried in a bill that provides money for the war in Iraq is an $8.5 million federal boost for Miami to host the Free Trade Area of the Americas conference later this month. Passed in the House last week and the Senate Monday, the FTAA money ... Continued...

Brazil Takes Cotton War to U.S.
BBC | November 4, 2003 Brazil has become increasingly confident under President Lula Cotton farmers in Brazil have accused the US of destroying their industry - but now an increasingly confident Brazilian Government has said it is set to hit back on trade. The Brazilian farmers blame the collap... Continued...

Monday, November 3, 2003

Sugar, Citrus At Odds With Bush
The Miami Herald | By PETER WALLSTEN | November 3, 2003 Listeners to Spanish-language radio in South Florida tuned in last week to hear a surprising political ad aired by the state's sugar makers. The industry is usually happy to help Gov. Jeb Bush and his brother, President Bush, both of who... Continued...

Taking Health Care Off The Table
The Toronto Star | By Carol Goar | November 3, 2003 Roy Romanow's health-care blueprint is about to be put to its second big test. It still hasn't passed Test #1. The Health Council of Canada that Romanow recommended has fallen prey to federal-provincial bickering. Nine months after agreei... Continued...

US and Brazil Agree to Pe-summit Summit
Latinnews Daily | November 3, 2003 HEADLINE: Brazil and the US have agreed to hold a meeting before the make-or-break Free Trade Area of the Americas summit on 20 and 21 November in Miami. The pre-meeting will take place in Washington on 7 and 8 November: Brazil will certainly be represented as ... Continued...

Foreign Investment Grows In Service Industries: UNCTAD
Agence France Presse | October 28, 2003 Foreign investment into service industries is rising, with new areas such as telecoms attracting interest from more traditional financial and trading services, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said Tuesday. The services se... Continued...

Changing Tack, Brazil Pitches Flexible FTAA Approach
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES | By GERALD JEFFRIS | November 3, 2003 BRASILIA -- In an apparent shift from a hard-line stance against some U.S. trade positions, Brazil is proposing a more flexible approach on Free Trade Area of the Americas talks this month. Brazilian FTAA Coordinator Tovar da Silva Nun... Continued...

Sunday, November 2, 2003

Citrus Industry Fears For Survival
The Miami Herald | By NANCY SAN MARTIN AND RICHARD BRAND | November 2, 2003 The oranges that weigh branches down on row after row of trees as far as the eye can see make a beautiful sight. But immersed in the intoxicating scent of citrus is a death threat to Florida's signature industry. The ... Continued...