A sweet deal for American sugar farmers is compounding delays in a proposed trade agreement affecting 40% of the world’s economy. The commodity has become a sticky subject in talks over the Trans-Pacific Partnership, potentially the biggest trade deal in history and a key goal of the Obama administration. TPP, as it's known, would link a dozen countries and, its proponents say, make it easier for US companies to sell goods around the world.

Washington, DC — As international trade negotiators continue attempting to conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), farm, labor and consumer groups from throughout the Pacific Rim are demanding that they not interfere with nations’ sovereign right and responsibility to protect family farmers, processing workers and domestic food supplies – including North America’s dairy sector.

ASEAN and China have announced that they expect to complete their negotiations on an expanded free trade agreement (FTA) by November of this year. The announcement was made on August 23 during the 47th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Ministers’ Meeting. During the recent gathering, the economic ministers of the ASEAN nations met with China’s Minister of Commerce, Gao Hucheng.

Negotiations for a multilateral Pacific Rim free trade agreement may be halted if the 12 participating countries cannot strike a broad deal before a general election in Canada in October, Japanese Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Akira Amari said Friday. “After election campaigning starts in Canada, it will be difficult” to continue negotiations, Amari said in an interview.

HCM CITY  (VNS) — Vietnamese bivalve mollusk exports to the EU are expected to face more challenges as imports have plummeted and the country faces stiff competition from other exporters, industry insiders heard at a forum this week. Le Hang, deputy director of Viet Nam Association of Seafood and Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said that imports from Italy, the UK and Spain had fallen between 15 and 35 per cent this year. The EU is Viet Nam's largest importer of bivalve mollusks, with total export value of 68 – 70 per cent.

Australia-Vietnam trade has grown very fast in recent years. The average growth rate of bilateral trade in the 2010-2014 period was nearly 10 percent and Mr Hugd Borrowman, Australian Ambassador in Vietnam forecasts that once TPP negotiations are concluded and the trade deal is implemented, Vietnam -Australia bilateral trade ties will strengthen even further. In the upcoming time, Vietnam will have to face the reduction in development aid from donors and international organizations, could you please tell us about Australia’s aid policy to Vietnam?

Expressing concern over problems being faced by domestic steelmakers due to large-scale dumping from abroad, Steel Minister Narendra Singh Tomar today said the government is looking into the issues related to import duties and Free Trade Agreements (FTA). The minister also said the government is seized of the issues impacting the steel sector and will take a decision in appropriate time, including on import duties. The industry has been demanding further hike in import duty on steel products.

Trade between Vietnam and France will benefit from the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement (VEFTA) thanks to market opening and cuts in almost all taxes, said Nguyen Canh Cuong, Trade Consellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in France. 

Australia and New Zealand market access to Vietnam's livestock sector is set to force drastic changes once the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement putting the livelihoods of millions at risk. Vietnam's media says almost 10 million people depend on the livestock industry, now under threat once meat and dairy products from Australia, New Zealand and the US enter Vietnam under the TPP.

Taipei, Aug. 25 (CNA) Former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg expressed support for Taiwan's inclusion in the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade bloc during a security dialogue in Taipei Tuesday. It will be in the interest of not just Taiwan, but also of the region and the world as a whole, he said, while taking questions on Taiwan's bid to join the U.S.-led trade bloc for the Asia-Pacific region.