The European Union (EU) is set to ink new Association Agreements with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine that will eventually eliminate tariff barriers to trade. The EU will sign the deals in their entirety with Georgia and Moldova on June 27, and is shortly due to complete the signature process with Ukraine. Each agreement will provide for a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, and will ensure the progressive removal of customs tariffs and quotas, and harmonize laws, norms and regulations in various trade-related sectors.

The European Union rejected on June 18, 2014, a request by Russia for the establishment of a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement panel to examine the EU's anti-dumping measures on imports from Russia. Russia requested the establishment of a panel on this dispute, saying that certain EU anti-dumping measures and "cost adjustment" methodologies used by the EU for the calculation of dumping margins severely hampered trade and raised systemic concerns. In Russia's view, the measures are inconsistent with a number of WTO Agreements.

HANOI, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's rice export hit nearly 2. 68 million tons from the start of this year till date, down by 23. 48 percent year on year, said Vietnam Food Association (VFA). Vietnam Industry and Trade Information Center (VITIC) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade on Wednesday quoted VFA as saying that as of June 20, Vietnam had earned 1.16 billion U.S. dollars from rice exports. Asian countries remained Vietnam's largest rice importer, buying over 267,500 tons in June, accounting for 76.08 percent of the country's total rice exports in the month.

China would increase the size of its economy by about 2 percent by joining a Pacific trade pact in the view of the central bank’s chief research economist, according to presentation slides seen by Bloomberg News.

In a relief to Tokyo ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit, the commerce ministry’s trade remedies wing has ruled in favour of the Japanese company Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation’s (MCC) local affiliate.

NEW DELHI: The government's move to extend the export subsidy for sugar until the end of the sugar season in September may increase India's headache at the World Trade Organization. 

MANILA, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines is expected to be allowed to retain import restrictions for rice until 2017, a senior government official said Monday. Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said the Philippines has secured the nod of the Council for Trade in Goods of the World Trade Organization (WTO) for its request to again extend the implementation of quantitative restrictions (QR) on rice imports until 2017. The first five-year extension of the QR expired in 2012.

(Reuters) - Following are key economic policy proposals that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to unveil on Tuesday. They are from draft outlines of macroeconomic policies and "growth strategy" structural reforms. TAX: - Aims to cut the effective corporate tax rate below 30 percent over several years from the next fiscal year. Aims to secure "permanent sources" to fund the tax cut, such as by broadening the tax base, in order to maintain the goal of achieving a primary budget surplus in the fiscal year 2020/21.

Group of Twenty nations initiated 88 new anti-dumping investigations between November 15, 2013, and May 15, 2014, according to a new report from the World Trade Organization, but there was a net fall in trade-restrictive measures.The figure represents an increase on the 76 anti-dumping investigations initiated between November 15, 2012, and May 15, 2013.<

HA NOI  (VNS) — Domestic enterprises have been urged to draw up effective business strategies, improve management capacities and foster technological innovation in order to successfully tap into the demanding EU market.