The head of the World Trade Organisation has delivered a hard-hitting critique of France, saying the country has lost its bearings and needs profound reform to increase its competitiveness.Pascal Lamy, a Frenchman, said his country needed to stop thinking it was "an island of temporary happiness in a world of catastrophes"."This is not a good approach. We cannot deduce from it that if France has problems it's the world that must change."

A proposed US-Europe free-trade pact is unlikely to affect Washington's efforts to negotiate a similar agreement with Asia-Pacific nations, a senior US trade official said Thursday.Jose Fernandez, the US assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, said the administration of President Barack Obama can negotiate with both regions simultaneously.

KUALA LUMPUR: Thailand and the Philippines are among countries that have recently expressed an interest in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) bandwagon with the other 11 stakeholders.US Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Jose Fernandez said the matter had been the subject of further discussion on his recent visit to both countries.

(Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears poised to raise the curtain on Act Three of his "Abenomics" drama with a decision to join talks on a U.S.-led free trade pact, seen by some as a test of his appetite for vital economic reform.Abe's first two acts - big spending and a push for hyper-easy monetary policy aimed at reviving the economy - have met little political opposition, since few vested interests are harmed.

BEIJING, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) -- China will make a serious assessment and reserve the right to appeal the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling on its anti-dumping duties on X-ray scanners imported from the European Union, the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday.The WTO's dispute settlement body on Tuesday issued a panel report largely in favor of the EU, which had filed a legal challenge to the body on China's anti-dumping duties on X-ray security equipment in July 2011.

The Japanese government plans to come to a final decision by mid-March on whether to join the talks for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement, or TPP.The government says it needs time to win over opposing lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, while the US administration makes the necessary preparations.

Feb 26 (Reuters) - A World Trade Organization dispute panel has largely backed the European Union's legal challenge to Chinese anti-dumping duties on shipments of X-ray security scanning equipment, according to the panel's report published on Tuesday.

BERLIN — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pushed Tuesday for a free-trade agreement between the United States and Europe, saying it is a priority for President Barack Obama’s second term that would help create jobs and growth on both sides of the Atlantic.The proposal has been garnering support on both continents, with Obama saying earlier this month that the U.S. believes “trade that is free and fair across the Atlantic supports millions of good-paying American jobs.”

HANOI, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's export to the European Union (EU) is likely to slow its pace of growth to around 10 percent this year, according to Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade on Tuesday.As the EU market's economy is still hampered by numerous challenges, Vietnamese key exporters have found it hard to seek new orders this year.

BERLIN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle reaffirmed on Tuesday the two sides' mutual commitment to an EU-U.S. free trade zone agreement with negotiations set to begin in the summer.