After talks with the United States last month on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement resulted in a stalemate, Japan now plans to give priority to talks with the other 10 TPP negotiating countries, government sources said Monday. Japan had planned to reach an accord with the United States on tariff reductions on farm imports before taking advantage of the Japan-U.S. agreement to accelerate overall TPP negotiations.

NEW DELHI: Expressing concern over declining automobile exports, a top government official today said India is always engaged with other countries to ensure that non- trade barriers should not affect the growth of the country's shipments. Exports of passenger vehicles in November declined by 13.5 per cent to 44,960 units as compared to 52,014 units in November 2012. Three-wheelers shipments too have dipped by 14.33 per cent to 24,561 units during the month.

Trade ministers last week met in Singapore to discuss finer points of a potential Trans Pacific Partnership, though much work remains to be done before a final agreement is reached, the U.S. Grains Council says. Ministers from the 12 nations involved – United States, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam – announced that they have achieved agreement on "landing zones" on nearly 20 of the 29 TPP chapters.

SEOUL, March. 4 (Xinhua) -- China, South Korea and Japan started the fourth round of negotiations on trilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in Seoul on Tuesday. The fresh round of negotiations, to last until Friday, focuses on modalities of tariff reduction, the way of opening service trade, investment and certain range and fields of the agreement, according to the Chinese delegation. South Korea's Trade Minister Yoon Sang-jick on Monday told reporters that although these talks may not always go smoothly, the negotiations are "moving toward an end."

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The United States would welcome Taiwan's participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as long as it meets the high standards set by TPP members, Taipei's diplomat to Washington was cited as saying yesterday. Leo Lee, Taipei's deputy representative to Washington, was speaking in the wake of a recent report that cited unnamed U.S. officials as claiming that Taiwan could join TPP as early as 2015.

(VOV) -Vietnam has shown its flexibility and held its clear view in bilateral and multilateral negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Ministerial Meeting held recently in Singapore. Pham Quynh Mai, an official of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), said MoIT Minister Vu Huy Hoang attended all sessions of the February 22-25 meeting and Vietnam’s view was acknowledged by all TPP members.

Prime Minister John Key says a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Russia could be delayed because of the escalating situation between the superpower and Ukraine. The Government has been negotiating a deal with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan for the past three years. Trade Minister Tim Groser has been in Moscow for the past few days and is making "good progress", Mr Key says. However, he will leave Moscow tonight after being told to leave the country following a trade meeting today.

THE PHILIPPINES and seven other countries have been found to be engaging in the dumping of steel pipes, documents from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) showed.

(Reuters) - India's trade minister on Tuesday accused the United States of excessive trade protectionism, launching a broadside that coincided with the visit of a top U.S. official to patch up a stormy bilateral friendship. Trade friction between the two countries has increased ahead of a general election in India, amid lingering tension over the recent arrest and strip search of a female diplomat in New York suspected of visa fraud.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says Japan will not set a deadline for concluding the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks. He says placing a time limit on negotiations could hurt Japan. Abe spoke at a Lower House budget committee on Thursday, after TPP ministerial talks in Singapore ended without a date for the next round of discussions. Abe said the talks are in their final stage and the direction they are taking is becoming clear.