The goals and intentions of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) such as eliminating tariffs on 90% of goods will be stillborn without essential regulatory and infrastructure changes. New policies must be created to facilitate the faster and seamless flow of goods and services across borders, especially into and out of African ports.

The Philippines’s move to lower tariffs on imported rice will open opportunities for Việt Nam to maintain stable supply of the product for the country and help it stabilise the domestic market, the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade has said.

The European Union and the United States are working intensively to resolve their dispute over subsidies to aircraft makers and should be able to do so by July, the EU’s trade chief said yesterday.

With its ratification steadily advancing, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement is likely to come into force next year, shoring up regional development and injecting strong growth impetus into the global economy, experts and industry insiders said.

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the consumption habits of seafood products, disrupting the needs of consumer market segments. However, many Vietnamese seafood enterprises have been flexible in product and market strategies to turn challenges into opportunities.

Robert Young knows that a trade deal covering 11 countries and spanning three continents may be the missing piece to solve the recovery puzzle of the garments industry.

is there still a trade war under Joe Biden’s presidency?

WTO members exchanged views with public and private sector experts on the growing challenges and opportunities facing businesses in the use of trade preferences, with a particular focus on product origin requirements. The discussion took place at a webinar entitled “What Drives the Utilization of Trade Preferences?” hosted by the WTO Secretariat on 19 May.

Despite the health crisis, Vietnam’s growing integration into the regional economy with significant investment and trade commitments is a big enabler for a brighter outlook in economic growth and investment attraction this year.

At a meeting on e-commerce negotiations held on 20 May, co-convenor Ambassador George Mina (Australia) urged WTO members to move the work of the small groups to a phase of “stronger and more intensified convergence”. He said that the time left between now and the 12th Ministerial Conference is “very critical” if members want to realize their shared ambition of achieving substantial progress by December this year.