Negotiations will resume in the next round to be held in Thailand from 9-13 February New Delhi: Members of the regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP) grouping were unable to agree a template for negotiations on a proposed mega regional trade agreement at the sixth round of talks held in Greater Noida near New Delhi last week.

(Reuters) - An appeals board of the World Trade Organization reversed much of an earlier ruling against the United States on Monday, but it said U.S. duties on Indian steel broke WTO rules and asked the United States to bring them into line with its regulation. In one of the most complicated appeals decisions ever handled by the 19-year-old trade watchdog, the WTO's Appellate Body reversed much of a ruling by a three-person panel in July, which said the U.S. duties had wrongly penalised India for subsidising steel exports by Tata Steel [TATAI.UL].

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Turkish electronics and domestic appliances maker Vestel has asked the government to impose emergency import tariffs on mobile phones, according to a filing from Turkey published by the World Trade Organization on Monday. Such "safeguard tariffs" are permitted if a country can show that a surge in imports is damaging domestic producers, but they may be challenged by other WTO members. Turkey said in the filing that it would examine the case and invited interested parties to apply to have their comments taken into account.

Canada has decided to launch an anti-dumping investigation into Chinese-made solar panels and solar laminates, following in the footsteps of the US and EU. If they are found guilty, Chinese solar manufacturers could face anti-dumping and countervailing duties. The Canada Border Services Agency announced on December 5 that it has begun its investigation following complaints from Canadian firms Eclipsall Energy Corporation, Heliene, Silfab Ontario and Solgate. 

A decision by Canada to launch an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy probe into Chinese solar products will not cause substantial damage but does serve as a reminder for Chinese companies to boost their core competitiveness, experts said Sunday.  The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said on its website Friday that it had initiated investigations "under the Special Import Measures Act respecting the alleged injurious dumping and subsidizing of certain photovoltaic modules and laminates originating in or exported from China." 

Japan and the European Union began five-day talks in Tokyo on Monday on concluding an economic partnership agreement for free trade. In the negotiations, the eighth of their kind, the two sides are expected to discuss issues, including goods trade liberalization and an easing in nontariff trade barriers. Japan has been calling on the EU to scrap its high tariffs on industrial goods. The EU tariffs stand at 10 percent for passenger cars and 14 percent for television sets.

The fifth round of the China–Japan–South Korea Free Trade Agreement (CJK FTA) negotiations concluded in Beijing on 5 September. The three countries hope the negotiations will finish in 2015, but this partly depends on the progress of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.

What will it take to change the way Asia thinks about trade strategy? As the negotiators of the RCEP agreement are meeting in New Delhi, India, from 1–5 December 2014, attention is turned to the question of whether this mega-regional represents a ‘new paradigm’ of regional trade agreements or not.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) offers an opportunity for the United States to increase trade with 11 other countries. Completing the agreement will create the largest free trade area, in terms of both goods and services, in which the United States participates [see Figure I].

The members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) adopted the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) at a meeting of the General Council on November 27, 2014. Director-General Roberto Azevêdo congratulated the WTO members for adopting decisions related to the TFA, public stockholding for food security purposes, and the post-Bali work. "By agreeing these three decisions we have put ourselves back in the game," he said. "We have put our negotiating work back on track."