SEOUL, May 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, Japan and China began a new round of negotiations on a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in Seoul on Tuesday in an effort to thrash out their remaining differences. The two-day meeting marks the seventh of its kind since the countries held the first round of negotiations in March 2013, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Like a huge container ship pushing its way into port, the trade pact known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership is about to drop anchor in Washington. The document is weighty and secret, stretching to perhaps 30 chapters, and is still being negotiated after nearly 10 years of talks. It would set new terms for trade and business investment among the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations — a far-flung group with an annual gross domestic product of nearly $28 trillion that represents roughly 40 percent of global G.D.P. and one-third of world trade.

May 11 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren hit back at President Barack Obama in their tussle over "fast-track" authorization to negotiate a Pacific Rim trade treaty, a power she says could be used in the future to weaken Wall Street reforms. The president, who wants expedited negotiating power to streamline the passage of trade deals through Congress, said last week that Warren's claims were "absolutely wrong."

The European Union and Mexico will soon enter into new negotiations to beef up their existing free trade agreement, the two governments announced Monday, citing the need for the accord to tackle new areas like investment, regulatory hurdles and intellectual property rights.

OTTAWA, Canada—President Benigno Aquino III and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Friday morning (Friday night in Manila) agreed to explore the possibility of forging a free trade agreement. Both leaders witnessed the signing of a letter of intent to launch exploratory discussions on a “mutually beneficial” and “comprehensive” free trade agreement between Canada and the Philippines. In a joint press briefing, Mr. Aquino said he hoped such an agreement would “broaden the horizon of meaningful opportunities for our citizens and our region.”

VGP  – The Victory in Great Patriotic War (May 9, 1945-2015) encouraged Viet Nam and other countries to rise up for independence and freedom, said State President Truong Tan Sang during his talks with Russian President V. Putin on Saturday. Regarding bilateral ties, the two leaders agreed on measures to further strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership in the new stage. They agreed to continue fostering the exchange of delegations to create stronger momentum for the development of the bilateral ties.

Vietnam expects a new wave of foreign direct investment (FDI) from the Republic of Korea (RoK) in the wake of the recently signed bilateral free trade agreement (FTA).  The RoK surpassed major investors from Japan and Singapore to become the biggest investor in Vietnam with hundreds of projects in 2014 and the first four months of this year. 

HCM CITY (VNS)— Viet Nam's pepper export revenue could set a new record this year or at least equal to that of last year despite lower export volume, according to the Viet Nam Pepper Association. Last year, 156,396 tonnes of pepper were exported worth US$1.2 billion, the highest figures so far in both volume and value, chairman Do Ha Nam told a review meeting in HCM City yesterday. This represented a year-on-year increase of 16.38 per cent in volume and 34.72 per cent in value.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a United States led trade agreement involving twelve countries, is currently under negotiation. A key part of the proposed format of the TPP is a rule known as “yarn forward”. In essence, “yarn forward” would require that only fabric produced from yarn made by a TPP country would qualify for the trade agreement’s duty-free status. The rule is intended to ensure that the trade benefits of the TPP only apply to signatory countries rather than outside players such as China.

Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang spoke to the Vietnam Government Portal on how Vietnam can make use of the free trade agreement signed with the Republic of Korea in Hanoi on May 5.