The Bush administration faced pressure from pro-trade Democrats on Wednesday to begin free-trade talks with more countries around the world.
"What we continue to hear is the need for a real focus on some of the larger markets in Asia, such as Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand and other ASEAN countries," the Democrats said.
In a letter to US Trade Rep-resentative Robert Zoellick, the lawmakers also urged the Bush administration to look at "significant markets in other regions, such as Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Egypt."
It was signed by Senator Max Baucus, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, and Representatives Cal Dooley, John Tanner and William Jefferson.
Since winning enhanced trade negotiating authority from Con-gress last year, the Bush administration has started free-trade talks with Australia, Morocco, five Central American countries and five southern African countries.
The administration plans to open talks with Bahrain next year as part of its proposal for a Mideast free-trade agreement by 2013. The biggest US trading partner on the current negotiating list is Australia, which ranked 19th last year in two-way trade with the US.
Some of the countries on the Democrats' wish list are already in the line for free-trade negotiations.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
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