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Veneers, plywood, timber. Look around your home and office and you will find much of what surrounds you is made of wood. From the desk that takes up your workspace to the framework supporting your walls, the wood products used provide an important element...
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Where the standard Free Trade Agreement, or FTA, creates a trade bloc within multiple countries that eliminates tariffs and import quotas between borders, preliminary measures like the TIFA work to expand that bloc's trade activity to include outside...
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When one reads news of the European Union, it is important that note that not all European countries are part of the EU. Norway, Iceland, and Switzerland are three notable examples of countries without membership, though this doesn't necessarily mean...
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To look at a series of maps highlighting of the history of the Central European Free Trade Agreement, one will be amazed to see how the landscape has drastically changed in the last decade. Founding members of the FTA have long since left the union, while...
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Within the African Union of fifty-four sovereign states exists a free trade zone that encompasses nearly half of the countries, one designed to improve individual economies and give support to eradicated tariffs and common currency. Plans for an African...
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Free trade agreements are typically established between countries that share various demographics in common - most notably proximity. Countries that enter into treaties with neighboring countries demonstrate their willingness to remove tariffs on goods...
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The purpose of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement is not only to encourage economic development of many poor countries in this region, but to help eliminate tariffs among member nations and create a free-trade bloc. With the signing of...
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Similar to the structure and practice of the European Union, the organization known as ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has worked for decades to encourage cultural and economic development among the lesser nations in this region, as...
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For a number of island nations, the perceived notion of isolation implies that trade with other nations can prove challenging. In Southeast Asia, for example, resident nations have come to rely upon each other for goods, therefore it stands to reason...
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While the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement has existed in this incarnation for less than a decade, the trade agreement has roots in the earlier Bangkok Agreement, finalized in 1975 as a means of increasing intra-regional trade among nations in the region...
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The American perception of Arab nations as a whole may be colored by media reports of unrest of conflicts. We turn on the news to watch revolutions unfold and troops trade fire, nonetheless the Greater Arab Free Trade Area remains intact. Recent summits...
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The early 1990s saw drastic changes in global politics, trade, and geography in Europe and parts of Asia. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, numerous independent states became recognized, and many would form an association of sorts to promote trade...
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The continent of Africa is perhaps the most diverse landscape on the planet in terms of natural resources and inhabitants. The Western perspective of Africa is likely so colored by media reports of internal unrest, drought, and poverty that one might...
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People in the Western Hemisphere may consider Australia and New Zealand more as tourist destinations than viable, exporting trade partners. While it's true Australia alone enjoyed an increase in foreign visitors in the last year, one cannot rule out...
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The Western mindset of Africa is likely filled with visions of poverty, primitive resources, and political unrest. Indeed, much of what we see in the news on Africa tends to perpetuate these general opinions, though it is unfair to place all African countries...