The Lunar New Year, ‘Tet’ in Vietnamese, is the most important celebration in the country. This year’s festival on 12 February was accompanied by much uncertainty as Vietnam was hit by a third COVID-19 outbreak just days prior.

Vietnam’s automobile industry has grown significantly in recent years. The average growth rate of domestically assembled vehicles was approximately 10 percent per year in the 2015-2018 period. With major manufacturers such as Toyota, Honda, Ford, Nissan, and Kia in the Vietnamese market, the number of spare parts suppliers has also invested in the industry giving the sector a much-needed boost.

The economic relationship between India and ASEAN began in 1992 as both regions recognized each other’s trade capabilities. The relationship has since strengthened with India’s growing manufacturing capacity and the rise of ASEAN’s services sector exports, namely travel, transport, and business services.

South-east Asia's economy as a whole is expected to recover in 2021, and strong consumer sentiments and efforts to diversify in the Middle East provide potential for greater economic engagement between the two regions, Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng said on Tuesday (Feb 23).

International trade among nations, based on comparative advantage, has been as old as civilisation. And yet, it has not been free and fair in terms of the conditions to be made for access to each others markets. The desire to protect domestic industries through tariff and non-tariff barriers has been hard to overcome.

The TBT Agreement entered into force with the establishment of the WTO on 1 January 1995. It aims to ensure that product requirements in regulations and standards — on safety, quality, health, etc. — as well as procedures for assessing product compliance with such requirements (testing, inspection, accreditation, etc.) are not unjustifiably discriminatory and do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. The Agreement also emphasizes the importance of transparency and strongly encourages the use of international standards as a basis for harmonizing regulations across WTO members.

According to Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union (EU) Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC), the opening up of the services sector and more pro-trade measures could help EU businesses as well as Chinese enterprises further expand their growth.

The United Kingdom and Australia start on Monday the fourth round of talks on a post-Brexit free trade deal that will slash tariffs and "propel an exports-led, investment-led recovery across the UK," International Trade Minister Liz Truss said.

India and Mauritius have signed a free trade agreement, under which over 300 domestic goods from agriculture, textiles, electronics and other sectors will get market access at concessional customs duties in the African nation, an official statement said on Tuesday.

To achieve important targets in 2021-2025, Vietnam should consider economic digitalisation key to shifting its growth model and shortly carry out a “post-COVID-19” mid-term programme in association with economic restructuring on the basis of taking advantage of opportunities brought about by free trade agreements (FTAs).