Vietnam is strongly committed to completing the role of ASEAN Chair in 2020, promoting the ASEAN community and foreign affairs as well as improving the working way of ASEAN.

The import and export of Vietnamese agricultural products to China have faced numerous difficulties with the sharp declines in both volume and value of goods amid the complicated developments of the Covid-19 epidemic. The customs clearance of goods through border gates has initially been restored, but remains slow and incomprehensive.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has instructed the Government to provide the maximum possible assistance to production and business activities in the context of complicated impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The head of the World Trade Organisation said that he expected the coronavirus epidemic to have a "substantial" impact on the global economy, but plans for a June ministerial meeting were going ahead.

China and the US reportedly agreed on the first phase of the trade deal at the beginning of December, and officially signed the agreement after the finalization of the text in January, 2020. Although the terms of the agreement will not be disclosed to the public at China’s request, it’s not hard to predict that intellectual property rights (IPR) will be the key issue of the agreement.

Diversification of the export basket a must for Bangladesh

The United Kingdom has published its negotiating policy for a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.

Britain will use its new independent seat at the World Trade Organization to push for a crackdown on unfair trade practices and protectionism, trade minister Liz Truss will say in a speech on Tuesday.

The Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam recently received information that the US Department of Commerce was requested to launch an anti-dumping and countervailing investigation on certain hardwood plywood products imports from Vietnam by the Coalition for Fair Trade of Hardwood Plywood.

The US recently slimmed down its list of developing and least developed countries, thus removing Vietnam from receiving preferential trade benefits. The move, however, was not directed specifically at Vietnam but included several countries such as China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore among others.