Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht today (22 August) welcomed a ruling by an independent panel at the World Trade Organization (WTO) that certain conditions which Argentina introduced for firms wishing to import goods into the country break WTO law.

(Reuters) - China has appealed against a WTO dispute panel report on anti-dumping duties applied on certain Chinese products by the United States, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Friday. The appeal covers products including solar panels, wind towers, thermal and coated paper, certain lawn trimmers, kitchen shelving, steel sinks and cylinders, line pipes and extrusions.

The 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum confirmed that work is moving forward on the implementation of its landmark agreement to boost trade in over 50 environmental goods categories. Delegates and experts gathered in Beijing, China as part of a two-week forum meet reportedly focused on building technical capacity among member economies towards in order to respect an upcoming deadline on reducing tariffs in the sector.

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A delegation from the Legislative Yuan will visit the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone in September to gain a better understanding of the operations of the special trade area in China, lawmakers said Saturday. Lai Shyh-bao, a lawmaker of the ruling Kuomintang, and Lee Ying- yuan, from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, have organized the delegation that will visit Shanghai Sept. 3-5, and the free trade zone will be one of their stops.

CAIRO: “Russia is rushing Egypt to conduct negotiations to sign a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Customs Union that includes Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus, Al-Ahram Arabic reported Minister of Trade and Industry Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour as saying. Abdel Nour said Russia formed a committee including group of experts from the Eurasian Economic Union to coordinate with Egyptian authorities and set a timetable for negotiations due to begin within a week.

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Durao Barroso is going to pay an official visit to Vietnam from August 25-26 at the invitation of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. On the occasion, he granted Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent in Brussels an interview on the bilateral ties between Vietnam and the EU.  Following is the full text of the interview:  - Could you please tell us the purpose of your upcoming visit to Vietnam? 

A recent meeting of its senior officials was assured that Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries are continuing their work to ensure the realization of their commitment to boost free trade in environmental goods, while also laying a foundation for the opening of this sector with other World Trade Organization (WTO) members.

HA NOI  (VNS) — Free trade agreements (FTAs) have opened up opportunities for Vietnamese plastic makers to expand their exports, according to a report in the Vietnam Economic News. The article stated that the domestic plastic industry would need to foster joint production among businesses in order to take advantage of new markets. The country exported an estimated US$992.12 million worth of plastic products in the first half of 2014, up 17.61 percent from the same period last year.

Trade Minister Andrew Robb has warned Clive Palmer’s anti-China rant could jeopardise free-trade talks with Australia. Speaking to the BBC, Mr Robb said it was a “welcome sign” that the Chinese government officially acknowledged that it does not believe Mr Palmer’s comments reflect the view of the Australian government or public. "Nevertheless, comments by someone in his position [are]... extraordinarily unhelpful," said Mr Robb. "It can be misinterpreted, it can colour the attitudes of the people we are trying to negotiate with."

Australian Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb said Friday the 12 countries negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement are closer to concluding a deal, but perhaps not by the end of this year. "On the TPP I think it's certainly at a stage where we could see a conclusion, if the political will is there, there is a possibility. I think we would be 85 to 90 percent of the way to a final document," he said at a press conference in Singapore after a meeting on cooperation between the two countries in a broad range of areas.