SEOUL, March 7 (Xinhua) -- China, South Korea and Japan advanced their free trade deal negotiations further at the fourth round of talks held in Seoul for four days through Friday, the South Korean trade ministry said. Trade delegates from the three Asian countries gathered in Seoul for talks on the trilateral free trade agreement (FTA), which ran from Tuesday to Friday, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement. The delegates discussed modality, or basic guideline, on the goods sector and the range of future negotiations.

Recent positive comments by the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on the negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Australia have been welcomed by the Australian Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb, who visited Beijing in November last year. In his speech to the annual meeting of the National People's Congress on March 5, Li said that China would be looking to "accelerate" the progress of FTA talks with Australia, while also pushing for an agreement with South Korea. He did not, however, provide an indication of when the agreements might be signed.

The European Union (EU) is contemplating reintroducing an anti-dumping duty (at 16.5%) on five China and Hong Kong-based shoemakers. The proposal - which would apply to standard footwear made with leather uppers in mainland China by Brosmann Footwear, Seasonable Footwear, Lung Pao Footwear, Risen Footwear and Zhejiang Aokang Shoes - was submitted to the EU Council of Ministers last month by the European Commission. "We'll have a clearer picture on the possible approval by the council in the coming weeks," spokesperson Victor Flavian told just-style.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has outlined a goal of concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement in 2014. "In pursuit of job-supporting trade opportunities, the administration will work to conclude negotiations of the TPP in 2014," the office said in a document attached to President Barack Obama's budget blueprint for fiscal 2015.

(Reuters) - When it comes to trade policy, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe faces a choice between the fears of Japan's ageing farm lobby and the hopes of suburban families lined up here at a nearly 20-metre long meat counter in a mall showcasing Australian beef.

Trade policy stands at the intersection of a nation’s diplomatic and security strategies and its broad economic goals. Though not necessarily in conflict, security imperatives and economic realities exist in two very different universes, inhabited by very different constituencies and interest groups.

BEIJING, March 6 (Reuters) - China will increase its 2014 budget for farming subsidies by 10 percent from last year's 1.6 trillion yuan ($261.09 billion), a top government official said on Thursday, even as critics argue that subsidies play a limited role in boosting food production. Maintaining food security is one of China's top priorities for this year, as rapid urbanisation and pollution threaten to swallow up arable farmland.

(Reuters) - Imports of high-tech steel from China are unfairly subsidized by the Chinese government, U.S. trade officials said in a preliminary ruling on Wednesday, potentially escalating a spat over trade of the specialty steel product. The U.S. Commerce Department estimated a subsidy rate of 49.15 percent on imports of grain-oriented electrical steel from Baoshan Iron & Steel Co and other Chinese exporters.

The Ministry of Finance yesterday said it would levy stiff anti-dumping duties on select cold-rolled stainless steel products from China and South Korea, citing damage to the local steel sector. Duties ranging from 20.18 percent to 38.11 percent are to be slapped on such products for a period of five years, which would be retroactive to Aug. 15 last year and carry through Aug. 14, 2018, ministry officials said in a statement.

WASHINGTON, March 5 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Commerce on Wednesday announced its preliminary affirmative determination in the countervailing duty investigation against imports of monosodium glutamate from China, signaling that it may pose punitive duties on the products. The department alleged that Chinese producers and exporters of monosodium glutamate had received countervailing subsidies from 13.41 percent to 404.03 percent.