HO CHI MINH CITY, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam is likely to earn 1.4 billion U.S. dollars from fruit and vegetable exports in 2014, the ever record high made so far, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). In the first 10 months, fruit and vegetable exports brought over 1.2 billion dollars to the country, surpassing the yearly target set by the ministry, local Saigon Times daily reported Wednesday, quoting general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetables Association (Vinafruit) Nguyen Van Ky as saying.

(Reuters) - The United States and China announced a largely symbolic plan on Wednesday to implement new limits on carbon emissions, the highlight of a summit between Barack Obama and Xi Jinping at which both leaders played down suggestions of differences and rivalry. U.S. officials said the commitments by the world's two biggest carbon polluters came after months of backroom negotiations and would set the stage for a global climate control pact, but experts said the limits did not break significant new ground.

BEIJING, Nov. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- China-ASEAN Business Council held a promotion meeting in Tianjin lately to introduce business chances from the upgraded China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) and construction of the Maritime Silk Road. Executive president of the council Xu Ningning said,the Tianjin Commission of Commerce has set this year as the year of economic and trade cooperation with ASEAN, and launched bilateral economic and trade exchanges.

HCM CITY (VNS) — Vietnamese enterprises, especially small- and medium-sized companies, have been repeatedly warned to prepare for both the challenges and opportunities when the ASEAN Economic Community is established next year. During a recent forum organised yesterday at HCM City University of Technology, local and foreign experts have expressed concern about the preparation of Vietnamese enterprises.

Vietnam’s seafood exports are expected to hit USD1.8-2.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014, bringing the total value for the year to USD7.6 billion, the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) reported. The year-end period often brings opportunities for domestic traders to intensify seafood exports because of a lot of orders from foreign markets to serve the Christmas and New Year holiday period.

Colombia's Foreign Ministry announced on November 6, 2014, that the country has completed the domestic procedures necessary to fully implement a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) and Peru. The FTA has been applied provisionally between the EU and Colombia since August 1, 2013. The South American country is now waiting for the agreement to be ratified by nine EU member states, the Foreign Ministry said.

(Reuters) - China and the United States have reached a breakthrough in talks on eliminating duties on information technology products, a deal that could pave the way for the first major tariff-cutting agreement at the World Trade Organisation in 17 years.

At a meeting on November 10 between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, both of whom were in Beijing for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings, it was declared that "substantive negotiations" on the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between their two countries had been successful. It was in July this year, at their previous meeting in Seoul, that Park and Xi placed an impetus on the FTA talks, which had started in May 2012.

The US International Trade Commission recently announced it would extend the final decision of countervailing duties on solar photovoltaic (PV) imports from China and change the scope of the investigation to target modules and cells.

The Harper government prides itself on having staked out a leadership position over the years when it comes to strongly advocating for increased global trade liberalization. Calling for the elimination of trade barriers that significantly hamper market access for Canadian exporters and battling egregious forms of domestic protectionism in other countries have been key features of the government’s international trade agenda.