Negotiators had hoped to finalise what could be the world's biggest free trade agreement by the end of 2013. But a number of issues remain and talks on the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement will resume in 2014. And in Australia, at least, there have been growing calls for the talks to be more transparent, with fears the agreement could have some negative implications. Ildi Amon reports. Negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement involve 12 countries which account for up to 40 per cent of the world's GDP.

KUALA LUMPUR (Scrap Monster) : Vietnam has unilaterally imposed anti dumping tariffs on Malaysian origin cold-rolled stainless steel coils. Late December, Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade imposed provisional anti dumping duty on Malaysian steel exporters.

The U.S. Commerce Department said on Wednesday it has launched antidumping duty (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations into imported calcium hypochlorite from China. Calcium hypochlorite is an ingredient in bleaching powder, widely used for the disinfection of drinking water or swimming pool water. The investigations are in response to a petition filed by Arch Chemicals based in Georgia, the department said in a statement.

Turkish Steel Exporters' Union chairman Mr Namık Ekinci said that Colombia also plans to file an anti-dumping suit against Turkish steel exporters following a US investigation and that the union will be visiting Colombia in the next few weeks to further discuss the issue. Mr Ekinci emphasized that the union is confident that the ongoing US anti-dumping investigation on Turkish steel exports into the country will work out in Turkey's favor because exporters know they have not been involved in dumping.

Turkish steel producers can look forward to an anti-dumping suit, courtesy of Columbia, following a US investigation, claims Namik Ekinci, chairman of the Turkish Steel Exporters’ Union. Ekinci believes that the on-going US investigation will work in favour of Turkish producers simply because, he argues, they have not been involved in anti-dumping. Speaking recently at a shale gas conference in the Turkish capital of Istanbul, Ekinci said that, in the past, the European Union and Egypt have filed anti-dumping suits on Turkish producers.

(Reuters) – China pledged further support for its ailing solar power industry on Saturday as the government seeks to revive a sector struggling with overcapacity and falling prices. The State Council, China's cabinet, said in July that the country aimed to more than quadruple solar power generating capacity to 35 gigawatts by 2015 in an apparent bid to ease a glut in the domestic solar power industry.

The advantages Vietnam will enjoy once the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) become effective were discussed in detail at a seminar held in Hanoi on January 8.  The event was jointly organised by the Vietnam Peace and Development Fund and the Vietnam Economics Times.  Economic experts and researchers said that the TPP is a great opportunity for Vietnam and the country’s participation in the pact fits the Party and State’s strategy for promoting international integration and restructuring the economy. 

The Vietnamese fisheries sector has grasped opportunities arising from the current trend of global integration, placing the country fifth in the world rankings in terms of seafood production and export after a record 6.8 billion USD worth of total shipments were made last year.  In a recent interview granted to Vietnam News Agency, Deputy General Secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) Nguyen Hoai Nam said shrimps for overseas delivery recorded a growth of nearly 40 percent while others saw stagnancy or even decline. 

Vietnam will face severe competition in 2014 due to reduced prices in the world’s rice market as Thailand keeps lowering its selling price and competition between exporters in Asia still remains, according to the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).  At a meeting to implement a working 2014 rice production plan held in Ho Chi Minh City on January 9, the VFA warned that domestic products now have to vie with Thai fragrant and white rice and Indian basmati, parboiled and broken rice. 

Vietnamese seafood exporters, especially pangasius processors and exporters, may face new challenges in exporting their products to the US next year if a new law takes effect, said a senior trade official at a recent seminar in Ho Chi Minh City.