Vietnam posted a trade surplus of US$3.27 billion from agro-forestry-fishery trade in the first five months of 2021, down 28.3% from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

US and Chinese trade negotiators have made contact over the two countries' ongoing trade dispute for the first time since US President Joe Biden took office.

The Biden administration initiated a dispute process against the Canadian dairy industry, triggering the formal dispute mechanism of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement for the first time.

As Vietnam’s largest export market, the US economy is recovering powerfully, leading to a climb in demand for goods including those imported from the Southeast Asian nation, as the two countries enjoy a heyday in bilateral trade and investment ties.

The RCEP agreement creates a free trade arrangement between ASEAN and Asia-Pacific nations, providing new trading opportunities through tariff reduction, new rules of origin, and trade-facilitation measures.

Boasting huge production advantages and capitalising on good market opportunities, Vietnam’s furniture sector has stood firm amid COVID-19 and improved its position in the global market and especially in the US.

In an effort to secure and build on the already vital economic and security partnership between the U.S. and UK, the two nations embarked on negotiations for a long-desired Free Trade Agreement (FTA) last year shortly after the UK withdrawal from the European Union.

When China imposed punitive tariffs on Australian barley imports last year, grain farmers feared it would decimate a A$2bn industry.

Many container shipping lines have announced further increases in transportation fees starting from late May, causing difficulties for import-export companies.

However loudly U.S. politicians vow to compete with China, they seem happy to quit the field and let Beijing win in one crucial area: trade. If President Joe Biden hopes to build a coalition in Asia to counterbalance China’s rise, he can’t afford such defeatism.