Negotiators concluded another round of TPP discussions in Hawaii, sparking some protests but making "significant progress" on a number of issues, according to William Craft, the deputy assistant secretary of state for trade policy and programs. The negotiations involve 11 other countries - Australia, Brunei, Canada,Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Significantly, the TPP as it's now envisioned does not include China - though sources told CNBC that's likely to change.

Mexico's Senate has urged the Government to boost economic relations with Cuba, with a view to the possible signing of a free trade agreement (FTA). The Senate made the proposal following an announcement from the United States that President Barack Obama has notified Congress of his intention to remove Cuba from the state sponsors of terrorism list, paving the way for the easing of US economic sanctions on the Caribbean territory.

The Committee on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs), on 16 April, considered 14 complaints about investment measures that have raised concerns on allegedly favouring domestic over imported products through local-content requirements. Five of these complaints were made in relation to measures taken by Indonesia, three concerned measures of the Russian Federation, and two addressed measures taken by India. Six out of the 14 complaints were discussed for the first time at this meeting

WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers are close to finalizing details of a bill to speed trade deals through Congress, a move that would seal a sweeping Pacific trade pact that has been more than five years in the making and is a key part of the Obama administration's pivot to Asia. U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch said on Wednesday he was working with the panel's top Democrat, Ron Wyden, to get a deal.

Japan plans to reduce rice purchases from Thailand and import more from the United States if a trans-Pacific trade pact led by the two countries goes through. Japan bought 330,000 tonnes of rice from Thailand in the fiscal year that ended March 31, according to the Agriculture Ministry in Tokyo. It also purchased and 60,000 tonnes from China.

Japan plans to reduce rice purchases from Thailand and import more from the United States if a trans-Pacific trade pact led by the two countries goes through. Japan bought 330,000 tonnes of rice from Thailand in the fiscal year that ended March 31, according to the Agriculture Ministry in Tokyo. It also purchased and 60,000 tonnes from China.

HA NOI (VNS) — The European Union (EU) has granted a non-refundable aid package, worth 346 million euro (about US$368 million), to help Viet Nam develop sustainable energy over the next five years. This was announced at a workshop organised in Ha Noi yesterday by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and a European Union Delegation in Viet Nam. The support targets three main objectives - boosting energy generation and consumption, increasing the amount of renewable energy produced, and giving people more access to reliable and sustainable energy services.

GENEVA, April 14 (Reuters) - Global goods trade will grow by 3.3 percent this year and by 4.0 percent in 2016, less than previously forecast, mainly due to sluggish economic growth, the World Trade Organization said on Tuesday. "We expect trade to continue its slow recovery but with economic growth still fragile and continued geopolitical tensions, this trend could easily be undermined," WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said.

There has been much scaremongering surrounding the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and significantly less publicity around the potential benefits of the agreement, of which there are many. Liberalisation of trade should preferably advance on a multilateral basis; however, in the absence of any foreseeable completion of the World Trade Organisation Doha round of negotiations, advances in the liberalisation of international trade must occur, by default, pursuant to regional, bilateral and other free trade or similar agreements.

A recent diplomatic visit by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to Vietnam and Thailand may signal an increase in Russian capital flowing into Vietnamese and Thai markets, suggests a report by The Diplomat. In the wake of the Crimea Incident, amid increasing economic isolation from Western markets, Russia finalised a SU$400 billion energy deal with China. Politically, this represents a shift away from Russian Eurocentrism and a policy overhaul that could see significantly more capital being invested in the Asian markets.