Central America fears textile losses of $6bn to TPP
Central America is increasingly nervous about Vietnam’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade talks, with some experts claiming its inclusion could bring losses of around $6bn to its bread-winning textiles and apparel sector.
An early entrant to the highly controversial, 12-country free trade accord, Vietnam wants flexible rules of origin and zero trade duties as soon as it is signed.
But Central American and US textile executives claim that would be a disaster, robbing the five Central American countries and the Dominican Republic - which make up the DR-CAFTA free-trade zone with the US - of 25% of their exports during the TPP’s first year.
In 2013, DR-CAFTA countries exported $7.8bn worth of apparel to the US, according to Luis Estrada, general manager of Guatemala’s top textile and apparel association Vestex. Based on that figure, if Vietnam enters the TPP under its request for a non-yarn forward rule, export losses could total $1.95bn a year or nearly $6bn in the first three years of the TPP, he noted.
"The losses could be huge," Estrada said. "We are working very hard so that Vietnam enters the TPP under fair and equal terms."
DR-CAFTA members have teamed with US textile lobbies, notably the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), to ask US Congress to pressure Vietnam to accept a yarn-forward rule of origin forcing it to limit sourcing from the TPP bloc.
The partners are also asking that zero tariff benefits would also be granted over a number of years.
Vietnam should also follow the same short-supply rules as CAFTA-DR members to procure scarce inputs to make clothing, Vestex’s president Severino Matta, added. He said Central American countries must adhere to very strict short-supply lists demanding great detail about the scarce raw material required, whereas Vietnam wants to be able to use a much larger and broader list.
Some US executives expressed optimism that the US, which is leading TPP negotiations in hopes of signing a deal this year, can negotiate a win-win pact for all the parties involved.
Meanwhile, Matta said Central America is working to develop niche markets to take on Vietnam, notably in the higher priced synthetic and specialised apparel using intelligent fabrics including sportswear.
The TTP is currently being discussed by 12 countries including the US, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam - the last of which is the second-largest apparel supplier to the US after China.
For textiles specifically, the US says it is seeking the elimination of tariffs on textile and apparel exports to the 11 TPP countries, as well as a yarn-forward rule of origin which would require products to be made using only US or other TPP country yarns and fabrics in order to qualify for TPP benefits.
It is also trying to secure a short supply list of fabrics, yarns and fibres not commercially available in TPP countries, which would be exempt from this requirement.
But campaigners representing US brands, retailers and importers want the freedom to source inputs from the best suppliers, regardless of whether textiles from the US or partner countries are used.
Sumber HD - 3-7-2014
(Video) Parlimen New Zealand bahas isu serangan seksual tapi di Malaysia...
[Video] Parlimen NZ Bahas Isu Serangan Seksual, Di Malaysia?
Parlimen NZ bahas isu 'serangan seksual'
Isu seorang diplomat Malaysia yang menjadi suspek serangan seksual di New Zealand mendapat perhatian Parlimen negara kiwi itu.
Ia bermula apabila jurucakap hal ehwal luar negara Parti Buruh David Shearer mahukan sebuah perbahasan segera dibuat berhubung isu itu.
Shearer, seperti dilaporkan TVNZ, mempersoalkan cara menteri luar negara itu Murray McCully mengendalikan isu itu dengan mendakwa mangsa tidak diberikan keadilan selepas tertuduh pulang ke Malaysia.
McCully mengakui bahawa terhadap beberapa kelemahan dalam pengendaliannya.
“Ia sesuatu yang tidak dinafikan oleh anggota daripada bahagian ini di dalam dewan,” McCully dilaporkan sebagai berkata.
Pegawai tentera yang ditugaskan di Pejabat Suruhanjaya Tinggi Malaysia di Wellington pada Mei dituduh memecah rumah dan menyerang dengan niat merogol seorang gadis 21 tahun di rumahnya di ibu negara itu.
Bagaimanapun, ia kemudian didedahkan bahawa tertuduh telah pulang ke Malaysia melalui perbincangan tidak rasmi antara dua kerajaan dan dia kini disiasat oleh pasukan tentera negara ini.
Kementerian luar New Zealand baru sahaja meminta maaf kepada kerajaannya berhubung pengendaliannya terhadap kes melibatkan kekebalan diplomatik. ~mk
Video
ULASAN GB
Berbeza sungguh senarionya dengan Parlimen Malaysia.
Di sini, semua tak boleh bincang. Speaker yang bernama Pandikar Amin itu akan berikan pelbagai alasan apabila ada usul-usul menyentuh kepentingan negara dibawa oleh ahli parlimen Pakatan Rakyat untuk dibahaskan.
Kes penting seperti kehilangan MH370 pun tidak boleh lansung dibincangkan. Apabila speaker dikritik, maka wakil rakyat itu akan dihalau keluar dari Dewan Rakyat malah ada yang sampai digantung beberapa bulan.
# Harakahdaily tidak bertanggungjawab di atas segala info yang ditulis oleh pihak pengendali blog. Pandangan penulis blog tidak mewakili Harakahdaily.
Sumber HD - 3-7-2014
Malaysia: Next emerging market whipping boy?
Malaysia, Southeast Asia's third-largest economy, could be more vulnerable to large capital outflows than its emerging market peers like Indonesia and India when the Federal Reserve tightens monetary policy, warn market watchers.
"To the extent both India and Indonesia tightened policy in response to last year's problems, I suspect they are less vulnerable," Richard Yetsenga, head of global markets research at ANZ told CNBC on Monday, referring to efforts by both governments to rein in budget and current account deficits.
"My concerns are focused on economies where you have excessive foreign ownership [of government debt]; India doesn't seem to have that problem, but Malaysia does," he said.
Sumber HD - 25-6-2013
Pertaruh nyawa untuk ke sekolah
Pagi-pagi anda biasa mendengar budak-budak yang merungut kerana perlu ke sekolah, bukan? Sekarang fikir begini: ada budak-budak di seluruh dunia perlu bertaruh nyawa setiap hari semata-mata untuk ke sekolah untuk mendapat pendidikan yang sempurna. Mereka berjalan berbatu jauhnya, mendaki gunung, menyeberangi sungai, berjalan atas tali atau jambatan gantung untuk ke sekolah.
Lagi 13 gambar dengan membaca entri ini sepenuhnya.
# Harakahdaily tidak bertanggungjawab di atas segala info yang ditulis oleh pihak pengendali blog. Pandangan penulis blog tidak mewakili Harakahdaily.
Sumber HD - 19-6-2014
Somalia: Car bomb inside hospital compound leaves one dead
Mogadishu/Geneva (ICRC) – A car bomb exploded in Mogadishu at around 7.30 this morning inside the compound of Keysaney Hospital, a facility run by the Somali Red Crescent Society with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). One person was killed and seven others were injured in the blast.
The victim, a medical student, was not a Somali Red Crescent staff member. Of the seven people injured, two are Red Crescent nurses, the five others – including one woman who sustained severe injuries – patients' relatives. All are currently receiving treatment at the hospital.
According to the Somali Red Crescent, the explosion took place in the area where hospital staff park their cars. "The bomb exploded in a car belonging to one of our staff," said Somali Red Crescent Vice-President Yusuf Hassan Mohamed. "It exploded when the engine was switched on by one of his friends, who was killed on the spot."
"We do not know the motives behind this incident or whether the target was an individual or the hospital itself," said Patrick Vial, head of the ICRC delegation in Somalia. The Somali Red Crescent and the ICRC are calling with renewed urgency for health-care facilities and personnel, and their patients, to be treated with special restraint. People providing or receiving health care should be protected at all times and not be the object of attacks.
Keysaney Hospital, a 65-bed emergency facility in Mogadishu, has provided surgical and other medical care for more than 20 years, treating an average of 3,000 patients each year. It admits all persons in need of treatment, regardless of their origin, clan affiliation or political views. This is the first time the hospital, where the red crescent emblem is prominently displayed, has been hit directly except by random shelling during the conflict.
Sumber HD - 19-6-2014
The victim, a medical student, was not a Somali Red Crescent staff member. Of the seven people injured, two are Red Crescent nurses, the five others – including one woman who sustained severe injuries – patients' relatives. All are currently receiving treatment at the hospital.
According to the Somali Red Crescent, the explosion took place in the area where hospital staff park their cars. "The bomb exploded in a car belonging to one of our staff," said Somali Red Crescent Vice-President Yusuf Hassan Mohamed. "It exploded when the engine was switched on by one of his friends, who was killed on the spot."
"We do not know the motives behind this incident or whether the target was an individual or the hospital itself," said Patrick Vial, head of the ICRC delegation in Somalia. The Somali Red Crescent and the ICRC are calling with renewed urgency for health-care facilities and personnel, and their patients, to be treated with special restraint. People providing or receiving health care should be protected at all times and not be the object of attacks.
Keysaney Hospital, a 65-bed emergency facility in Mogadishu, has provided surgical and other medical care for more than 20 years, treating an average of 3,000 patients each year. It admits all persons in need of treatment, regardless of their origin, clan affiliation or political views. This is the first time the hospital, where the red crescent emblem is prominently displayed, has been hit directly except by random shelling during the conflict.
Sumber HD - 19-6-2014
(Foto) Mewahnya kereta api termahal di Asia ini
Maharaja 's Express! Kereta api yang beroperasi sejak tahun 2010 ini merupakan kereta api termewah yang dimiliki oleh syarikat Indian Railways. Sekaligus, kereta yang didominasi warna merah-emas ini merupakan kereta api termahal di Asia.
Dilapor oleh amusingplanet.com, kereta ini mempunyai 24 gerabak yang terdiri gerabak penumpang, gerabak makanan, bar, lounge, generator dan gerabak barang. Setiap bahagian kereta api ini direka eksklusif sehingga anda dapat merasakan gaya hidup Maharaja di zamannya. Tak hanya itu, semua kabin mempunyai tetapan suhu individu, satu set televisyen, LCD, DVD player, internet dan safe-deposit box yang dikendalikan secara digital, jadi dijamin barang-barang anda selamat.
Kereta api ini membawa penumpangnya mengelilingi Taj Mahal, kuil Khajuraho dan taman hidupan liar Ranthambore ini.
Dilapor oleh amusingplanet.com, kereta ini mempunyai 24 gerabak yang terdiri gerabak penumpang, gerabak makanan, bar, lounge, generator dan gerabak barang. Setiap bahagian kereta api ini direka eksklusif sehingga anda dapat merasakan gaya hidup Maharaja di zamannya. Tak hanya itu, semua kabin mempunyai tetapan suhu individu, satu set televisyen, LCD, DVD player, internet dan safe-deposit box yang dikendalikan secara digital, jadi dijamin barang-barang anda selamat.
Kereta api ini membawa penumpangnya mengelilingi Taj Mahal, kuil Khajuraho dan taman hidupan liar Ranthambore ini.
Sumber HD - 16-6-2014
Asian nations bare teeth over South China Sea
SINGAPORE - China’s early-May decision to dispatch the state-of-the-art oil rig, HYSY981, into Vietnam’s 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), has intensified ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea, raising fears of uncontrolled military escalation in one of the world’s most important waterways.
It wasn’t long before Vietnamese and Chinese maritime forces were locked in a dangerous naval standoff, which led to low-intensity clashes in the high seas.
China’s unilateral action sparked outrage across Vietnam, paving the way for unprecedented anti-China protests, which snowballed into massive destruction of foreign-owned factories, principally owned by China and Taiwan, and the exodus of thousands of Chinese citizens to neighbouring Cambodia.
The whole episode undermined years of painstaking negotiations between Hanoi and Beijing aimed at peacefully resolving bilateral territorial disputes across the South China Sea.
Shortly after, the Philippines also released photos suggesting Chinese construction activities on the Johnson South Reef, a disputed feature that falls within the Philippines EEZ in the Spratly Island chain in the South China Sea.
Later, China confirmed that it was indeed engaged in reclamation activities on the disputed reef, but it tried to justify it by claiming it exercised “indisputable and inherent” sovereignty over the said feature based on Beijing’s notorious “nine-dash-line” doctrine, which covers almost the entirety of the South China Sea.
The Philippines and Vietnam contend that China has flagrantly violated the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, which explicitly discourages claimant states from unilaterally altering the status by engaging in, among other things, construction activities on disputed features.
Alarmed by the intensifying territorial disputes between China and other claimant states, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) expressed “serious concern” and called for a rule-based, peaceful resolution of the disputes.
Expecting a more vigorous response from ASEAN, Vietnamese and Filipino leaders called for the swift finalisation of a legally-binding Code of Conduct (CoC) in the South China Sea, and vowed to forge a bilateral “strategic partnership” to counter China’s territorial assertiveness. Meanwhile, other Pacific powers such as Japan and the U.S. have also stepped up their criticism of China’s recent actions, underscoring their direct national interest in preserving freedom of navigation in international waters.
“Whatever construction China carries out on the [Johnson South] reef is a matter entirely within the scope of China’s sovereignty,” argued China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokeswoman Hua Chunyin, dismissing protests by Filipino officials.
Confronting an increasingly assertive and powerful China, the Philippines and Vietnam have moved closer to a genuine alliance. On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia in late-May, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and visiting Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung agreed to forge a bilateral strategic partnership, with a particular focus on maritime and defense cooperation vis-à-vis the ongoing disputes in the South China Sea.
“We face common challenges as maritime nations and as brothers in ASEAN,” declared Aquino during his meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart, underscoring Manila’s desire to establish a closer partnership with neighbouring countries.
“In defense and security, we discussed how we can enhance confidence building, our defense capabilities and interoperability in addressing security challenges.”
“More than ever before, ASEAN and the international community need to continue raising a strong voice in protesting against [China’s territorial assertiveness], securing a strict observance of the international law, and peace and stability in the region and the world,” lamented Dung, underscoring Hanoi’s urgent desire for the multilateral resolution of the ongoing disputes.
Recognising China’s military superiority, and the inefficacy of existing diplomatic mechanisms, both the Philippines and Vietnam have been looking towards external powers such as Japan and the U.S. to counter China’s territorial assertiveness.
Much of Asia’s trade and energy transport passes through the South China Sea, and there is a growing fear that ongoing territorial disputes will spiral into a prolonged, destructive conflict, which could affect all regional economies.
Influential actors across the region have been desperately searching for new mechanisms to deescalate ongoing territorial tensions, preventing claimant states, primarily China, from undertaking any destabilising action.
“Japan intends to play an even greater and more proactive role than it has until now in making peace in Asia and the world something more certain,” declared Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the recently-concluded 13th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, which brought together leading defense officials, experts, and journalists from around the world, and saw spirited exchanges between top officials from Japan, the U.S. and China.
During the high-level gathering, Abe, the keynote speaker, sought to present Japan as a counterweight to China, with Tokyo relaxing its self-imposed restrictions on arms exports, increasing its defense spending, and seeking new ways to expand its security role in the Asian region.
“We take no position on competing territorial claims [in the South China Sea]… But we firmly oppose any nation’s use of intimidation, coercion or the threat of force to assert these claims,” argued U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, underscoring Washington’s growing alarm over China’s territorial posturing in the Western Pacific.
In response, China’s top representative, Lt. Gen. Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of staff of the Chinese military, was uncharacteristically blunt in his criticisms, describing Hagel’s remarks as “excessive beyond . . . imagination [and] suffused with hegemonism . . . threats and intimidation.”
Under a new nationalist government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is also expected to play a more pro-active role in the region, given New Delhi’s growing trade with East Asia and its large-scale investments in the hydrocarbon-rich areas of the South China Sea. The U.S.’ treaty allies such as Australia have also stepped up their efforts at containing China’s rising territorial assertiveness, as the two Pacific powers deepen their naval interoperability and defense cooperation.
Overall, it seems that China’s rising assertiveness has encouraged a flexible counter-alliance of like-minded countries, which are heavily concerned with the economic and geopolitical fallout of the brewing conflict in the South China Sea. It remains to be seen, however, whether China will relent on its territorial claims amid growing international pressure.
Sumber HD - 15-6-2014
Feri karam: Korea Selatan rombak kabinet, 7 menteri diganti
Park Geun Hye (Reuters)
Seoul - Presiden Korea Selatan Park Geun Hye merombak kabinetnya, pasca tragedi kapal feri Sewol. Sebanyak 7 menteri dalam kabinetnya diganti dengan pegawai baru, sebagai tanggapan dari kritikan tajam yang menghujani pemerintahan Presiden Park.
Perombakan ini merupakan yang pertama kali dilakukan Presiden Park semenjak menjawat jawatannya pada Februari 2013 lalu. Anggota parimen dari parti berkuasa, Choi Kyoung Hwan ditunjuk menggantikan Menteri Kewangan Hyun Oh Seok yang bertanggung jawab atas perekonomian.
Demikian seperti disampaikan pejabat presiden Korsel atau yang biasa disebut Blue House dan dilansir AFP, Jumaat (13/6/2014)
Ada enam pegawai menteri baru yang ditunjuk oleh Presiden Park untuk menempati jabatan pada sektor keselamatan, pendidikan, tenaga kerja, budaya, kesetaraan gender, dan juga ilmu pengetahuan. Namun tidak disebutkan lebih jelas siapa saja pegawaiyang baru tersebut.
Seorang profesor undang-undang dari Seoul National University, Chong Jong Sup ditunjuk untuk menjadi Menteri Kselamatan dan Pentadbiran Awam, yang akan memimpin penerapan maklumat pemerintahan pasca tragedi Sewol yang mematikan hampir 300 orang.
Tragedi tenggelamnya kapal feri Sewol sangat mengguncang publik Korsel dan memicu gelombang kemarahan publik terhadap pemerintah. Mereka menuding pemerintahan Presiden Park tidak kompeten, sarat korupsi dan serakah sehingga berkontribusi terhadap tragedi.
Pemerintahan Presiden Park dikritik tajam atas respon penyelamatan yang lambat sehingga memicu banyaknya korban tewas. Terkait hal ini, Presiden Park telah membubarkan Patroli Laut Korsel dan memerintahkan peningkatan standar serta prosedur keselamatan nasional.
Awal pekan ini, Presiden Park menunjuk seorang perdana menteri baru untuk menggantikan Chung Hong Won yang dipaksa mundur pasca tragedi Sewol. Selain itu, Presiden Park juga menunjuk direktur baru untuk badan intelijen domestik, National Intelligence Service (NIS).
Perombakan ini merupakan yang pertama kali dilakukan Presiden Park semenjak menjawat jawatannya pada Februari 2013 lalu. Anggota parimen dari parti berkuasa, Choi Kyoung Hwan ditunjuk menggantikan Menteri Kewangan Hyun Oh Seok yang bertanggung jawab atas perekonomian.
Demikian seperti disampaikan pejabat presiden Korsel atau yang biasa disebut Blue House dan dilansir AFP, Jumaat (13/6/2014)
Ada enam pegawai menteri baru yang ditunjuk oleh Presiden Park untuk menempati jabatan pada sektor keselamatan, pendidikan, tenaga kerja, budaya, kesetaraan gender, dan juga ilmu pengetahuan. Namun tidak disebutkan lebih jelas siapa saja pegawaiyang baru tersebut.
Seorang profesor undang-undang dari Seoul National University, Chong Jong Sup ditunjuk untuk menjadi Menteri Kselamatan dan Pentadbiran Awam, yang akan memimpin penerapan maklumat pemerintahan pasca tragedi Sewol yang mematikan hampir 300 orang.
Tragedi tenggelamnya kapal feri Sewol sangat mengguncang publik Korsel dan memicu gelombang kemarahan publik terhadap pemerintah. Mereka menuding pemerintahan Presiden Park tidak kompeten, sarat korupsi dan serakah sehingga berkontribusi terhadap tragedi.
Pemerintahan Presiden Park dikritik tajam atas respon penyelamatan yang lambat sehingga memicu banyaknya korban tewas. Terkait hal ini, Presiden Park telah membubarkan Patroli Laut Korsel dan memerintahkan peningkatan standar serta prosedur keselamatan nasional.
Awal pekan ini, Presiden Park menunjuk seorang perdana menteri baru untuk menggantikan Chung Hong Won yang dipaksa mundur pasca tragedi Sewol. Selain itu, Presiden Park juga menunjuk direktur baru untuk badan intelijen domestik, National Intelligence Service (NIS).
Sumber HD - 14-6-2014
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