HA NOI (VNS)— President Truong Tan Sang and the Acting Trade Representative of the US, Ambassador Demetrios James Marantis said they believe Viet Nam and the US will soon reach an agreement on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). At a meeting with the US acting trade representative in Ha Noi yesterday, Sang affirmed that the Vietnamese Party and Government would create conditions for the TPP negotiations to take place smoothly and achieve the desired outcomes.

Most G-20 members have implemented new measures which restrict or potentially restrict trade in the last six months, according to a report published by the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 18, 2013. The report identified 116 new trade restrictive measures in the period between mid-May and mid-November, 2013, up from the 109 measures recorded in the previous WTO report on G-20 trade measures, which covered the period from mid-October, 2012 to mid-May, 2013.

The European Commission has initiated an anti-subsidy investigation into polyester staple fibre imported from Vietnam, according to the Vietnam Competition Authority.  On November 18 the European Man-made Fibres Association petitioned the EC to investigate the fibre imports, which currently attract a 4 percent tax in the EU.  The Vietnamese Government has assisted the EC in the investigation since the announcement was made on December 19. 

NEW DELHI, DEC. 23:  The European Union has questioned import restrictions by India on rough marbles and marble products at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and sought the rationale behind such curbs. India has in place a quota of six lakh tonne for import of rough marble and travertine blocks and a minimum import price of $325 a tonne for 2013-14, the same as last year.

(VOV) - Many Vietnamese products will enjoy zero import tariffs in the Chilean market as soon as the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries takes effect as of January 1, 2014. In an interview recently granted to Vietnam News Agency, Tran Dinh Van, Vietnamese trade counsellor to Chile, said the enforcement of the trade pact will enable Vietnamese commodities to penetrate this market and the larger Latin America.

HCM CITY  (VNS) — Of all the industries in Viet Nam, the garment and textile sector will benefit the most when the country becomes a signatory of the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership agreement, a top economist has said. Vo Tri Thanh, vice director of the Central Institute for Economic Management, said the TPP would bring many opportunities to the sector. Thanh spoke during a seminar held yesterday in HCM City and organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Despite mounting opposition in Congress and in the country, on December 16, President Obama made it clear that he intends to continue pushing for prompt passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). On that day, the president hosted an Oval Office gathering  of high-level trade officials, inviting press photographers to chronicle the meeting. The confab took place just days after the latest round of negotiations on the Pacific Rim trade pact wrapped up in Singapore.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- The United States and European Union (EU) on Friday closed the third round of the Atlantic free trade talks in Washington D.C., paving way for a political stocktaking meeting early next year to outline the future stage of the negotiations.

Dec 20 (Reuters) - The United States said on Friday it still has concerns about a recycling fee Russia imposes on cars even though the country recently extended the levy to cover domestic as well as imported vehicles. Russia joined the World Trade Organization only last year and a vehicle recycling fee, originally imposed only on foreign cars, was the subject of the first complaint filed against it under international trade rules.

HANOI, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's export revenue to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is expected to hit 35 billion U.S. dollars in 2013, an official said here Thursday. During a conference on seeking business opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises in ASEAN market, Le Hoang Oanh, deputy head of Trade Promotion Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that the country's import revenue from ASEAN is expected to be reach 40 billion U.S. dollars in 2013.