Minnesota company’s plastic-and-wire closures—a fixture on bread bags—are at the leading edge of Washington’s tariff tiff with Beijing

Vietnamese seafood exports brought in US$6.03 billion in the first nine months of 2020, down 3% from a year earlier, signalling recovery as the contraction was smaller than in the previous two quarters.

But some analysts warn that demand for Chinese-made protective equipment is waning, possibly hurting export growth over the coming months.

Vietnam is still regarded by investors as an attractive destination thanks to its stable politics and macro economy, favourable geographical location, and advantages in land and human resources, according to Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is set to be signed on November 14 via hologram, according to Director General of the Trade Negotiations Department Auramon Supthaweethum.

The United States is imposing new tariffs on $1.96 billion worth of aluminum sheet products from 18 countries after determining that the goods were being dumped, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Friday.

Generally, in the first nine months of this year, the total foreign investment capital into Vietnam reached US$21.2 billion. Of which, there were 1,947 newly-licensed projects. Many economic experts affirmed that the free trade agreements (FTAs) that Vietnam has already signed and will sign this year are accelerating the flow of foreign investment to Vietnam.

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in Cambodia on Sunday for a two-day official visit, during which the two countries are set to sign a landmark China-Cambodia free trade agreement (FTA) among other important bilateral documents. The FTA is hailed by observers as cementing the two sides' friendship in the post-COVID-19 era and paving the way for increased security cooperation.

Four years of work by the WTO Secretariat bore fruit with the launch on 9 October 2020 of the new import licensing database. The new platform gathers together import licensing information, analysis and reporting and streamlines notification procedures for WTO members. At a meeting of the Committee on Import Licensing, members commended the work done by WTO staff to provide a one-stop shop for members and interested parties seeking to access information on import licensing procedures.

At a meeting of the Committee on Government Procurement on 7 October, parties to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA) invited the United Kingdom to complete the remaining steps to join the Agreement in its own right following its departure from the European Union. They also applauded Brazil for submitting the first documentation required to start negotiations to join the Agreement.