Hanoi, August 31, 2012Ambassador Ron Kirk600 17th Street, N.WWashington, DC 20508

SEOUL — The Republic of Korea (RoK) and Viet Nam will discuss methods to start the first negotiations on the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in Seoul on September 3-4. This is seen as the two sides' efforts to enhance bilateral economic ties, said the RoK Trade Ministry yesterday. Last August, both countries agreed to start FTA negotiations after completing a joint research on the feasibility of the agreement in November 2011.

TOKYO —Japan will not make any announcement on joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade talks at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum to be held in Vladivostok on Sept 8-9. Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told reporters that Prime minister Yoshihiko Noda would not address the issue in talks with other leaders, TV Asahi reported. He said that there are still several points of contention that have to be addressed.

SIEM REAP, Cambodia, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- The first dialogues between the ASEAN economic ministers and their counterparts from ASEAN's Free Trade Agreement partners were wrapped up here on Thursday, agreeing to start negotiations on a new regional free trade area in November, said a joint media statement after the meeting.

(Reuters) - Asia-Pacific finance officials agreed that any protectionist measures, especially in the agricultural sector, are not helping global economic growth, Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday. Siluanov also said that any protectionist measures in the agriculture sphere would be "short-sighted".

A report released by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and entitled ‘Ensuring the Trans-Pacific Partnership Becomes a Gold-Standard Trade Agreement’ warns United States negotiators that entering into a sub-standard treaty would be far worse than not joining the agreement at all.

The third round of free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between South Korea and China took place in Wei Hai, China, on August 22-24, 2012, and made some progress. The Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming and South Korea’s Trade Minister Park Tae-ho announced the official launch of negotiations for a bilateral goods and services FTA after a meeting in Beijing on May 2 this year, and following the completion of joint feasibility studies. It was then hoped that the talks could be concluded quickly, possibly within two years.

A new Latin American trade bloc has caught the eye of Canada, one that analysts say has the potential to become a "centre of gravity" in the Pacific Rim, and that could eventually hold the country's sustained attention alongside its pursuit of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the South American bloc Mercosur.

Despite assurances that he would not diminish the right of fair use in American copyright law, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk appears to be doing just that during secret negotiations being conducted on the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership (also known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP). According to language leaked to the Internet late last week, the legal definition of “fair use” is now fair game for the international cabal of TPP negotiators hammering out that trade scheme in secret.

(Reuters) - Russia wants to increase business in the Asia-Pacific region through regional group APEC, a senior member of the government said on Tuesday, and sees no place for itself in a new U.S.-led free-trade body. Russia, which has just joined the World Trade Organization, sees no need for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade initiative backed by Washington, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said.