Taipei, Feb. 1 (CNA) The issue of Taiwan joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) -- a proposed free trade group made up of Pacific-Rim countries -- is a "less urgent question" than other trade issues that will figure in the upcoming U.S.-Taiwan trade talks, the chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said Friday while on a visit to Taipei.

Feb 1 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday strongly objected to Russia's decision to ban all imports of U.S. beef and pork because it could have traces of the feed additive ractopamine, a growth stimulant to make meat leaner.

(Reuters) - Japan may not make a decision ahead of a national election in July on whether or not to join talks on a U.S.-led free trade pact that businesses say would enable them to compete better, the agriculture minister said on Friday.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington in the third week of February, and feels pressure to clarify Tokyo's stance on the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade pact.

TOKYO, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Japanese government eased the restriction on importing beef from the United States and other countries on Friday, local media reported.According to an agreement reached by Japan and the United States on Jan. 28, Japan will raise the cattle age limit for beef imports from the United States to 30 months, up from 20 months.

The TPP has the potential to usher in a new peak for Pacific trade, but it could be a flop if negotiators don't get their act together.A deputy of the United States Trade Representative was in Santiago this week to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership deliberations with Chilean trade officials, marking one of the first meetings in what promises to be the final year of a long and controversy-ridden negotiation.

The negotiation of Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement has entered its fourth year, but there still seems nowhere to go. Several reasons have lead to the stagnation of the negotiation.

A minor business news item that came out last week just  as President Benigno Aquino 3rd and his 63-man traveling circus were arriving in Davos for the World Economic Forum might have given the Philippine leader a little extra incentive to try to fit in among the world’s economic movers and shakers.

When Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper telephoned Park Geun-hye to congratulate her on her victory in the South Korean presidential election, both agreed that negotiations on the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between their two countries should be concluded quickly.

The World Trade Organization decided to implement two dispute resolution panels, one to probe accusations of unfair trade practices against Argentina by the US, the EU and Japan and another regarding Argentina’s claim that US-sanctioned measures affect their meat exports.

TOKYO/CHICAGO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Japan on Monday agreed to allow U.S., Canadian and French beef imports from cattle up to 30 months old beginning on Feb. 1, relaxing a safeguard against mad cow disease that has frustrated North American producers for a decade."This is great news for American ranchers and beef companies," U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in a statement which estimated the move could boost U.S. beef exports to Japan by "hundreds of millions of dollars" in coming years.