Asean leaders actively engaged with the Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean BAC) via video conference during their 17th Dialogue last Friday.

South Korea said Wednesday it is still open to talks with Japan to settle the yearlong trade spat with the Asian neighbor but hinted that it has no intention to drop its complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased 1.81 percent during the first six months of 2020, the lowest first-half growth pace since 2011, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

WTO members stressed the importance of providing a coordinated response to global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring that trade in agricultural and food products is not unduly restricted at a meeting of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures on 24 June. The meeting began with a session dedicated to COVID-19 information-sharing. Members commended the extensive work of the WTO Secretariat in compiling SPS measures implemented since the start of the pandemic. Almost half of these measures facilitate trade, with increased use of electronic certification.

Coffee is one of the nation’s agricultural commodities that has grown a presence in Africa in recent years, with a specific focus on North Africa, according to the latest statistics released by the Vietnamese trade office in Algeria.

The heads of the WTO, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) announced on 26 June the rollout of an improved and expanded digital tool, the Global Trade Helpdesk, that will help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) gain access to trade data and take advantage of new market opportunities.

The market of countries in the ASEAN currently is the fourth largest industrial trade partner of Vietnam after China, the US, and South Korea. Despite many incentives, enterprises have not focused on exploiting this market to promote exports.

Vietnamese enterprises need to improve product quality, build their brands, and ensure product traceability to increase the exports of agricultural and aquatic products, experts said at a recent seminar held in HCM City.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade pact, once signed, will act as a meaningful symbol of trade liberalization and multilateralism, not only in the region but also in the world, said a Vietnamese scholar.

As tensions between Washington and Beijing grow more toxic, East Asia is adopting a regional approach to economic integration The CPTPP and RCEP agreements offer hope in a dangerously divided world, and a path for China to shape the future global trading system