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Thousands of Guatemalans protest against ratification of FTA with US
3-Mar-2005    
Thousands of public-school teachers, peasants, university students and workers rallied in Guatemala City Tuesday against the imminent approval of a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.
COMESA demands changes to current intellectual property system
3-Mar-2005     Xinhua
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) said it wants changes to the current intellectual property right system to protect the interests of developing countries. It will accordingly conduct an audit and formulate a negotiating position for COMESA member countries in their negotiations with the European Union for the Economic Partnership Agreements due to start in December 2005.
Bahrain-Germany to sign BIT
3-Mar-2005     Gulf Daily news
An agreement on the protection and promotion of investments between Bahrain and Germany is due to be signed "very soon". Germany is also pushing for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union and the GCC.
Egypt: FTA controversy
3-Mar-2005     Zawya
Egypt and the US held the most high-level bilateral trade meeting since 2002 last week - a sign that the eventual opening of formal negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) could be in the works. However, officials on both sides were vague as to when that might be, saying that there were still important issues to be resolved before proceeding to the next stage of trade negotiations.
Honduras ratifies CAFTA
3-Mar-2005     Forbes
Honduras on Thursday became the second Latin American country after El Salvador to ratify a free trade agreement with the United States. Lawmakers immediately fled Congress following their decision, however, to avoid 1,000 government employees who were protesting the measure outside.
Bush administration submits annual trade report to Congress
2-Mar-2005     USTR
The Bush Administration today submitted to Congress the 2005 Trade Policy Agenda and the 2004 Annual Report of the President on the Trade Agreements Program.
Clash continues on US-Central America trade deal
2-Mar-2005     IP Watch
Protection of pharmaceutical patents may not be the biggest reason the Bush administration is struggling to line up congressional votes for a free trade agreement with five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic, but it remains critical to its passage.
BIT Treaty with US: Pakistan opposes inclusion of IPR
2-Mar-2005     Daily Times
Pakistan has refused to accept the inclusion of the Intellectual Property Rights issue in the proposed draft for a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between the US and Pakistan, a senior government official told Daily Times.
An FTA with the US, what are we really in for?
1-Mar-2005    
Regional and bilateral trade agreements have been around since the 1950's. In the last decade however, there has been an increasing spurt of trade pacts being signed all over the world that pose challenges to the multilateral trading system.
The Andean Free Trade Agreement Behind Plan Colombia
1-Mar-2005    
Although Colombia is the third largest recipient of U.S. financial aid after Iraq and Israel, it still remains a mystery nation to the majority of taxpayers.