Support for Taiwan joining negotiations on the regional trade bloc Trans-Pacific Partnership is strengthening in Washington, according to Taipei City-based American Chamber of Commerce Sept. 17. “We found a much more positive atmosphere toward Taiwan this time compared to the past few years,” AmCham Chairman Alan Eusden said. “The fact that the dispute over U.S. beef imports has been largely resolved, and the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement process rejuvenated, has made a big difference in attitudes toward Taiwan.”

Japan has made a bilateral proposal to scratch tariffs on nearly 90 percent of U.S. imports under the 12-member Trans-Pacific Partnership talks, an informed source said Wednesday. The percentage of tariff-free items would thus top the 88.4 percent that Japan agreed to eliminate within 10 years for the Philippines — the highest so far among the 13 free trade agreements Japan has concluded. If Japan eliminates all tariffs except for the sensitive categories of rice, beef, pork, dairy products and sugar, the tariff-free percentage would rise to 93.5 percent.

The fourth Japan New Zealand Partnership Forum will be held in Tokyo on 26 September 2013, the NZ International Business Forum (NZIBF) announced today.  NZIBF Executive Director Stephen Jacobi said the Forum would enable senior business representatives from both countries to continue their discussion about ways to build a stronger partnership between the two countries.

Taipei, Sept. 17 (CNA) The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Taipei said Tuesday that its annual "doorknock" mission to Washington D.C. last week found improved prospects for Taiwan to join the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade bloc. "In general, we found a much more positive atmosphere toward Taiwan this time compared to the past few years," said AmCham Chairman Alan Eusden, who led a 20-member delegation on "doorknock" visits to government offices and think tanks in Washington from Sept. 9-13.

TOKYO, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Monday sent a senior official to South Korea to protest its ban on fisheries products from eight prefectures in Japan, imposed over safety fears concerning radioactive water leaking from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

A burgeoning global trade agreement with nations such as Japan, Vietnam and Australia is leaving GMO-labeling advocates concerned that it could result in a ban on GMO labeling not only in the U.S., but in all countries taking part in negotiations for the Trans Pacific Partnership  (TPP) agreement.

The United States and Vietnam have reached a basic accord on market access and reforms of state-owned enterprises in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations, clearing a major hurdle toward an overall agreement, negotiation sources said Saturday. Seeking to conclude a comprehensive free trade agreement by year-end, the 12 TPP member countries are negotiating on 21 fields, ranging from government procurement rules for public works projects to fishing subsidies.

In Malaysia, Prime Minister Najib’s campaign to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will require him to reconcile the tension between facilitating long-term economic progress and responding to present-day domestic realities. Vanquishing this obstacle will not be easy. The TPP offers Malaysia an opportunity to be part of a larger global process, and to truly liberalise its economy. The latter cannot be achieved without enduring the resistance that will emanate from domestic groups. But this is precisely where Najib faces his dilemma.

(Reuters) - Ukraine and Honduras are reviving a dispute at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) challenging Australian laws that impose uniform drab green packaging and large graphic health warnings for cigarettes, diplomats said on Friday. The move sets the wheels in motion on a legal dispute widely seen as a test case for tobacco control around the world, with health ministries pitted against cigarette firms such as British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco, Philip Morris and Japan Tobacco.

Japans participation in the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP) negotiations will not impact ongoing talks on a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with China and Korea, said chief of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS), a Seoul-based body that oversees cooperation between the three Northeast Asian nations. TPP and a China-Japan-Korea (CJK) FTA are not something that countries should choose either-or.