July 1 marked the fourth anniversary of the EU-Korea free trade agreement, which entered into force in 2011. It was touted as the first of a new generation of FTAs, going further than any previous agreements in lifting trade barriers. Being also the EU’s first trade deal with an Asian country, Korea was expected to benefit immensely.

The free trade agreement (FTA) with China will allow Beijing to reinstate tariffs on some Australian beef and dairy products once imports hit a certain volume, a federal parliamentary committee has been told. Under the FTA signed last year, China is to phase out tariffs on imported Australian beef over nine years. But agribusiness lawyer Lea Fua told a Brisbane hearing that China has a safeguard clause which allows it to add customs duties to fresh and frozen beef carcasses and meat when Australian beef imports hit a volume trigger of 170,000 tonnes.

Australia is on the cusp of joining a huge new United States-led trade deal which will "set the rules" for doing business in the region at the expense of China. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, involving twelve Pacific-Rim nations, could be sealed in coming days, after talks that had drifted for five years narrowly escaped death in the US Congress. "It could be done this week," said Trade Minister Andrew Robb last night, as he prepared to depart for what he hopes will be one final round of talks in Maui, Hawaii.

Bangladesh's export of ready-made garments (RMG) to the United States grew remarkably between 2005 and 2011. Since then, there has been little growth in export of either knit or woven garments. Total apparel export increased by 7.3 per cent between 2011 and 2014, which is slightly more than the increase in the US apparel import demand.  This obviously means that Bangladesh barely managed a very small increase of 0.1 per cent in its share of the US market.

HANOI: The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, of which Vietnam is a member, will come to a conclusion late this year has turned the Southeast Asian country into a so popular destination for investment for export. Many other countries outside of the TPP have already poured billions into the group to grasp the chances for exporting to the remaining eleven members, especially the U.S., which almost every country in the world wants to sell their goods to.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal has been cast as a showdown between Canada and the United States over this country’s protected dairy and poultry industries. But the real stakes are about Japan – the world’s third-largest market. And Canada risks losing a big chunk of that market if it’s not part of the deal.

Talks on the complex and controversial Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) are said to be nearing completion as top negotiators from 12 nations gathered Friday in Hawaii. Trade ministers will join the talks next Tuesday in an effort to resolve remaining issues. If completed, the TPP would cut tariffs and trade barriers among participants, something supporters say would boost economic growth.

Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) have increased in recent years, posing numerous opportunities and challenges for Vietnamese enterprises since tariffs are no longer a barrier. However, the liberalisation of services and investment is much harder to achieve.

JAKARTA, July 24 (Xinhua) — Indonesia and the European Union ( EU) are set to negotiate over a plan to engage in free trade between the two sides, according to Indonesian officials Friday. "There is a plan of initial meeting between senior officials from industry ministry and trade ministry, and officials from the European Union in September," Achmad Sigit Dwiwahjono, director general for security and international access development of the industry ministry said at his office.

The number of tariff lines South Korea will cut for Vietnamese imports under the Vietnam-Korea FTA (VKFTA) is 95.4 per cent of the total, 5 per cent higher than other countries such as China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The question, however, is whether Vietnam can take advantage of the opportunities, which was asked at the conference “Vietnam-Korea FTA: Opportunity to Boost Exports”, held by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on July 14. Tax reductions