WASHINGTON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. Trade Representative's Office said on Tuesday that important progress was being made on a Pacific trade deal, but did not give any time frame for wrapping up an agreement. "The coming months will be an important time in trade policy," USTR spokesman Trevor Kincaid said in a statement. "At home, we are working on bipartisan trade legislation. And with our TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) partners we are making important progress, though the substance of the negotiations will drive the timeline for completion."

Panama has announced that it will not ratify its free trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia until its dispute over the nation's import tariffs on textiles, apparel, and footwear is resolved.

An economic partnership agreement between Tokyo and Canberra will take effect Thursday, with Australia becoming the first major farm produce exporter to have an EPA with Japan. It is Japan’s 14th EPA. Under the agreement, Japan will lower its tariff rates on Australian beef in stages, while Australia’s tariffs on Japanese vehicles will be abolished within three years. With major retailer Aeon Co. selling Australian beef at a 10 percent discount in December, some Japanese consumers have already benefited from the EPA.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union promised on Tuesday more talks with campaigners against a free-trade accord with the United States, delaying a long-awaited decision on how to protect investors in the world's biggest trade deal. Almost a year after Brussels launched a public consultation to defuse a row over investment protection in the proposed pact, Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said the results showed "a huge scepticism" about arbitration and how to handle it.

Chile is seeking a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Philippines, Filipino Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo has said. Domingo told reporters that officials from the two countries are scheduled to meet in the Philippines in March to carry out "informal talks" regarding an FTA. If those talks are positive they will be followed up with further negotiations in Chile around the middle of this year.

System of quotas have been in place since 1999. The World Trade Organisation says China’s export controls on rare earths are illegal and the 15-year quota system must now be abandoned, the state agency Xinhua reported last week. Rare earths are 17 elements lurking in the middle of the periodic table, used in everything from iPads, iPhones, flat-screen TVs to missile technology.

(Reuters) - Disagreements about food safety and farming are not likely to stand in the way of a free-trade agreement between the European Union and the United States, Germany's farm minister told Reuters on Monday. The two sides are grappling with how to integrate Europe's food production and farm animal welfare standards into the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which will be the largest free-trade agreement in the world.

Colombian Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin remains optimistic about the free trade agreement with Korea despite protests from the automobile industry. During a press meeting at the Embassy of Colombia on Wednesday, Holguin said that she was happy to inform the Korean media that the Colombian parliament approved the trade pact on Dec. 16. "I am happy to let you know that our parliament ratified the pact," she told reporters.

Over 80% of American businesses in Taiwan say they support the government's intention of joining the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement to enhance Taiwan's growth prospects, according to a survey released Thursday.

NEW DELHI: Trade Ministers of India, US and India, US, among other countries, will meet on January 24 on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum Summit at Davos to discuss the road-ahead for the WTO, including the post-Bali programme. "It will be a kind of WTO mini-Ministerial meeting. About 20-22 trade ministers may attend the meeting. Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would participate besides WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo and others," an official said.