WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The United States reached a Cooperation Agreement with the East African Community (EAC), said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on Thursday. Ambassador Michael Froman hailed the agreement "an important milestone" for Trade Africa, an initiative announced by President Barack Obama during a visit to Africa in 2013 to support greater U. S.-Africa trade and investment, beginning with the EAC.

The World Trade Organization's (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) established a panel on February 23, 2015, to study a complaint by the European Union against the United States over alleged tax incentives for the manufacturing of large commercial aircraft.

(Reuters) - The Obama administration is confident lawmakers will warm up to a proposed Pacific free trade deal on the grounds it is a chance for the United States, rather than China, to dictate the rules of Asian trade, a top official said on Thursday. "It's a choice between us writing it and, frankly, China writing it, which I think is very compelling to many members of Congress," Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews said during a call to announce more support for rural exporters, such as by promoting more trade shows and workshops.

The European Parliament (EP) heard reports on the progress of negotiations on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in Brussels on February 24 ahead of the final round of negotiations to take place in Vietnam in March 2015.  Chief Negotiator of the EU Mauro Petriccione noted that as Vietnam is the first developing country to get involved in FTA negotiations with the EU, the EU has taken into consideration Vietnam’s development level and has showed certain flexibility in the negotiation process. 

HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam expects the export value for its wooden products to jump to US$7 billion this year, according to the Viet Nam Wood and Forestry Product Association. The association said the export value will be higher than the $6.23 billion reported last year, because global demand for timber and wooden products is predicted to jump this year, while trade agreements that are expected to be signed this year will improve the export prospects for the domestic wooden industry, the Voice of Viet Nam reported.

Vietnam is working fast to repair business gaps in anticipation of a myriad of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements (FTA) expected to be signed in 2015. Commenting on FTA impacts, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc said domestic firms will be able to enter major markets worldwide with minimal tariffs and barriers, such as the US, Europe, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the ASEAN, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

HA NOI (VNS) — The bilateral trade turnover between Viet Nam and the United Kingdom reached GBP2.8 billion (US$4.5 billion) last year, reflecting a year-on-year drop of 2 per cent. The numbers were recently released by the commerce division of the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK. Of the total, the embassy said, Viet Nam's export value to the UK came to somewhere around $3.95 billion. The key export products were mobile phones, garments and textiles, footwear and timber furniture.

Negotiations have been finalized in preparation for the launch of Africa’s largest free trade area in May, officials said on Tuesday.

SEJONG, Feb. 25 (Yonhap) — South Korea and China initialed their free trade agreement (FTA) Wednesday, taking a step closer to implementing what South Korean officials hail as the most significant trade deal for the country. The initialing came about three months after the two countries concluded their FTA negotiations that began in May 2012. The agreement, currently written only in English, will be translated into the two parties’ native languages before it is officially signed.

Ongoing European Union (EU)-Vietnam free trade negotiations are reaching a critical point. Although negotiations have advanced well so far, the most difficult part of the talks still lies ahead of Brussels and Hanoi, a hearing at the EU parliament revealed. Some idea of the likely carve-outs from trade liberalisation in this politically sensitive deal for both parties starts emerging.