At a hearing of the Subcommittee on Trade of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Ways and Means, the Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) Miriam Sapiro explained the reasons for the continued delay to the presentation of the free trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia.

 South Korea's imports of Japanese fishery products have dropped significantly in the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that have turned into a nuclear crisis, according to the Korea Customs Service on Tuesday. The Korea Customs Service said that the country's average imports of Japanese fishery products per day were 2.78 million U.S. dollars between March 14 and March 18, down nearly 20 percent from 3.41 million U.S. dollars reported before the earthquake in Japan.

Beijing, Mar 22 (PTI) China, the largest trading partner of Japan in terms of imports and exports, today said the massive earthquake followed Tsunami and radiation crisis will have short-term impact on the bilateral trade. "The bilateral trade will be affected by the earthquake because not only the two countries have close trade ties, but also there are many Japan-funded companies in China, which import a large amount of raw materials and parts from Japan," Yao Jian, spokesman of Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MoC), said.

March 21 (Bloomberg) -- The trade and economic cooperation deal signed by the U.S. and Brazil will open a constrained market and help reach the administration’s goal of doubling exports by 2015, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China has missed a deadline to comply with a World Trade Organization ruling against restrictions on foreign companies distributing copyright-intensive goods like books, newspapers, films, DVDs and music, a U.S. official said on Monday. "The U.S. government is disappointed that China has not yet fully complied with the WTO ruling in this case, a lack of compliance which China has acknowledged," said Nkenge Harmon, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representative's office.

Many businesses have had their produce rejected and must sell their goods at a lower price or wait to export them to China. Since early 2011, many European countries have stopped importing fresh fruit because it did not meet Global GAP standards and this has caused a decline in prices. The price of grapefruit fell by VND10,000 per kilogram to VND18,000 per kilogram, while longans dropped by VND8,000 to VND12,000 per kilogram.

The Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of Ho Chi Minh City is coordinating with the Incheon Business Agency to organize a conference on business and investment between Vietnam and Incheon City in Korea, on March 23. Delegations from Incheon City include eight enterprises covering manufacturing, technology development, cosmetic distribution, cosmetic raw material and deep sea camera equipments.

BEIJING (MNI) - China's trade minister said he would be willing to discuss including the trade balance -- and indirectly, the exchange rate reducing current account imbalances. At the same time, Commerce Minister Deng Deming said China may post another trade deficit in March, noting that the nation posted a trade shortfall in the first 10 days of the month. Speaking at a forum at the weekend, Chen noted the G-20 is discussing which some indicators to use to monitor current account balances and so ensure sustainable world economic growth.

NEW DELHI — U.S. politician Sarah Palin stressed the importance of America’s ties with India, saying they were based on the shared values of freedom and free-market capitalism, while sounding a warning note on China’s rise during a speech Saturday in New Delhi.

March 19 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. and Brazil signed a trade and economic cooperation agreement to boost commerce between the Western Hemisphere’s largest economies as President Barack Obama arrived for his first visit to South America. The accord creates a U.S.-Brazil commission to expand trade and remove non-tariff barriers, according to a statement today from U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk’s office. The commission will be led by Kirk’s office and by officials from two Brazilian ministries responsible for trade, industry and development.