MOSCOW (AP) — The lower house of the Russian parliament on Friday overwhelmingly passed a bill that would ban adoption of Russian children by Americans, sending the controversial legislation a step closer to President Vladimir Putin's desk.Putin hasn't said whether he will sign the measure into law if it passes its next stage of being approved by the upper house.

Japan and Colombia have held a first round of negotiations following an agreement in September between outgoing Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda and Colombian President, Juan Manuel Santos, to start talks towards the signing of a free trade agreement.During the nations' first meeting towards the pact, negotiators touched on the potential content of the agreement, and agreed a framework for future discussions.

BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- China will "properly handle" a consultation request from Japan over duties levied on its steel tube imports, the Ministry of Commerce said Friday."China has received the consultation request filed by Japan, and will properly handle it according to dispute settlement procedures under the World Trade Organization (WTO)," the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Since the WTO Doha Round started to stall, the EU has developed an interest in ‘deep-integration’ FTAs.

GENEVA, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- The World Trade Organization's (WTO) 11th trade policy review (TPR) of the United States concluded here Thursday, with some of the country's trade policies causing concern among its trade partners.

The fifteenth round of talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact "continued to advance" efforts to develop a tariff package on textiles, according to negotiators.They also made progress on rules of origin promoting the development of supply chains that include companies based in the US and other TPP countries, a statement said.

(Reuters) - Japan has launched a complaint againstChina at the World Trade Organization to challenge anti-dumping duties levied by China on Japanese exports of high performance stainless steel seamless tubes, the WTO said on Thursday.

NEW DELHI, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Thursday concluded negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in services and investments, announced Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Dec 19 (Reuters) - A World Trade Organization adjudication panel has largely backed complaints byJapan and the European Union against a renewable energy programme in the Canadian province of Ontario, the WTO said on Wednesday.The panel ruled that Ontario's renewable energy scheme had breached some WTO rules but they could not agree whether it constituted an illegal subsidy. Either side can appeal.

(Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday set final anti-dumping duties on about $1 billion worth of residential washing machines from Mexico and South Korea in a case brought by American manufacturer Whirlpool.The department said Mexican manufacturers were "dumping" the washers in the United States at prices 36.52 to 72.41 percent below fair market value and set duties accordingly.