HONG KONG, Dec. 7 (Yonhap) — South Korea will prioritize the conclusion of a free trade agreement (FTA) with China over a possible trilateral free trade deal that further encompasses Japan, Seoul’s top envoy to Beijing has said.

(Reuters) - U.S. pork and beef exports to Russiacould come to a halt on Saturday following Moscow's requirement that the meat be tested and certified free of the feed additive ractopamine, a move analysts said smacked of political retaliation.

BANGKOK: Laos has ratified its membership of the World Trade Organisation, state media said on Friday, the latest step in the small Southeast Asian nation's 15-year effort to join the global body. 

The NZUS Council has laid out the claim that the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is vital to New Zealand economic success. The argument was made today during the organisation’s presentation to the stakeholder forum, in Auckland, during the 15th Round of TPP Negotiations. “New Zealand has always been a nation of traders, but we need a level playing field to compete in competitive world markets,” said NZUS Council Associate Director, Suse Reynolds.

Whether or not Japan should participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations is one of the most contested issues among political parties in the lower house election, which will take place on 16 December.

BEIJING, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- The prospect of founding an Asian free trade zone is optimistic and it would have a positive impact on the region, according to an Asian Development Bank expert here on Thursday. Free trade agreement (FTA) talks among China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) are under way, and Masahiro Kawai, dean of Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI), said a regional FTA would help eliminate trade barriers.

Business representatives from four economies have met in Auckland to press for more urgency in concluding the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations currently underway.6 December 2012  Businesses in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and United States call for urgent action to conclude TPP in 2013

HANOI, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam is expected to export 7.7 million tons of rice in 2012, setting a 20-year record high due to increased export orders in the last months in 2012, state-run Vietnam News reported on Wednesday, citing the sources from the Vietnam Food Association (VFA).

BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The European Union and the United States stepped up their fight against Argentine trade practices on Thursday, formally requesting the World Trade Organization rule on whether the South American country's import restrictions are illegal.

BRUSSELS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Time is running out for Russia to settle trade disputes with the European Union on everything from pigs to cars, the EU trade chief said on Wednesday, threatening to take Moscow to the World Trade Organization now it is a member of the body. The European Union says Russia, one of its biggest trade partners, unfairly levies fees on imported vehicles, unreasonably bans EU exports of live animals and makes it costly for the bloc to export hundreds of products, especially wood.