ISDS Case Map
agriculture | farmers | food
plus livestock, forestry, etc
When United States negotiators fly into Thailand to thrash out a bilateral free trade deal, next week, they will be greeted with jeers rather than this country's famed smile of welcome.
The agreement eliminates tariffs on US sorghum immediately and phases out duties on US corn over five years.
Civil society sector is demanding that the Thai government not give in on reduction of tariffs for US agricultural product, not ratify the treaty on plant varieties protection, and not recognise patenting of biological resources. In addition, they said the Thai government must resist the US demand to extend protection of pharmaceutical patent to more than 20 years or to protect data exclusivity.
There are calls today for Australia to scrap the free trade agreement.
The US Sugar Alliance, representing cane and beet farmers, says it will lobby strongly against any further opening of the US market to Australian sugar. Meantime, there are calls today for Australia to scrap the free trade agreement.
Thai finance officials will for the first time make an offer to open up the country's financial services, which should make or break the proposed Thai-US free-trade agreement (FTA) during talks next week, says a Thai finance source.
Crowder has been president and CEO of the American Seed Trade Association since 2002. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President, International, of DEKALB Genetics Corporation -- now part of Monsanto -- a worldwide leader in agricultural genetics and seed biotechnology.
Australia will urge the US to prise open its lucrative sugar markets as part of a fresh push to improve access for farmers under the free trade deal. The Howard Government's renewed attempt to secure a better deal from the free trade agreement came as Acting Prime Minister Mark Vaile defended lopsided results from the first year of the pact.
The National Farmers Federation (NFF) is still backing the Australia-US free trade agreement, despite poor terms of trade in its first year of operation.
Thailand said it had refused to sign a trade agreement between South Korea and ASEAN, insisting that rice be included on the list of goods facing tariff cuts.
