(Yonhap) Producers of nine local farm goods have suffered damage from a rise in imports due to free trade agreements, becoming eligible for government support and compensation, the agriculture ministry said Tuesday. In a meeting in Seoul, the government committee on support for farmers recognized that the agricultural products were affected by a sudden increase in imports in 2014, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. They include soybeans, potatoes, cherries, melons, grapes, chestnuts and chickens.

The United States will press potential partners in a Pacific trade pact for agreement on currency policies "in the context of" the trade deal, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Tuesday. It was not clear what form this agreement could take as the negotiators from the United States, Japan, South Korea and other countries try to reach a Trans Pacific Partnership deal.

Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari said on Tuesday it is becoming "extremely difficult" to hold ministerial talks on a Pacific trade pact unless a fast-track bill is passed in the United States. Approval of the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives would give momentum to negotiations on the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)trade deal.

Representatives of the EU, Ukraine, and Russia have met to discuss the implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement/ Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), which will be provisionally applied from January 1, 2016.

Concerted efforts have been made by Vietnam to fully implement commitments under the World Trade Organisation (WTO)’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), it was revealed at a conference held in northern province of Lao Cai province on May 18. In his opening remarks, Vu Ngoc Anh, Deputy Director General of Vietnam Customs, said that the agreement contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods.

India and the European Union could break the deadlock impeding the Free Trade Agreement when Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman travels to Paris in June to attend an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) event, European Union Ambassador in New Delhi Joao Cravinho told The Hindu. Mr. Cravinho says though there have been no negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement with India, decision-makers in New Delhi and Brussels are keen on ending the stalemate.

The European Parliament (EP) advocates the signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) to since it benefits Vietnam, the EU and other Southeast Asian nations, executives of the EP’s International Trade Committee (INTA) have said. 

The civil society has urged the European Union Delegation to enhance trade ties with Rwanda. This was during a debate and interaction programme at Goethe Institute in Kiyovu on Wednesday. The debate was organised by the Delegation of the European Union to Rwanda to evaluate the role EU plays in improving lives of Rwandans.

Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are set to formally accept the new Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), with many affirming their hope of seeing the agreement enter into force by the WTO’s 10th Ministerial Conference in Nairobi next December. At a recent meeting of the WTO’s Preparatory Committee on Trade Facilitation (PCTF), representatives from more than a dozen delegations said the domestic ratification process for the TFA was already underway, with some delegations outlining target dates for securing approval.

Nguyen Duc Tiep, deputy head of the Quang Ninh Provincial Investment Promotion Division, told VIR that Hong Kong’s Texhong Group is nearing completion of its second production factory which is worth US$200 million. The complex is located within the US$953.6 million, 3,300 hectare Hai Ha Industry Park, which is also under the group’s construction.