(Reuters) - The Dominican Republic filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization about Australia's tobacco packaging laws on Wednesday, becoming the third country to challenge regulations strongly opposed by big cigarette manufacturers.

HAVANA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The Cuban government announced on Tuesday that it will raise taxes on non-commercial goods brought in by travelers and packages shipped in from abroad beginning Aug. 2, according to the Official Gazette. Passengers bringing in goods with a total value below 50.99 U.S. dollars are exempt from the import tax, but they will have to pay 10 U.S. dollars per kilo if the value exceeds that figure.

GENEVA, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Increased use of non-tariff measures (NTMs) by governments can have a significant impact on trade and transparency needs to be improved in this regard, an annual report of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said Monday. The World Trade Report 2012 examined why and how governments use NTMs, such as technical barriers to trade (TBT) regarding standards for manufactured goods, sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures concerning food safety and animal or plant health, as well as domestic regulation in services.

International expectations of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s administration have increased greatly since his recent success in the battle to raise the consumption tax. Commentators are increasingly calling for Noda to make Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations one of his main goals going forward.

 The United States has proposed a new trade deal with the East African Community (EAC) common market, underscoring the growing interest of American businesses in investing in Africa, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama said on Wednesday.  The five-nation African bloc of 130 million people has doubled intra-regional trade in the five years after it introduced a customs union in 2005.

 The European Union's trade chief called on Europe on Wednesday to start talks on an ambitious trade deal with Japan despite opposition from carmakers, saying that overlooking one of the world's biggest economies would be a "serious mistake".  The European Union is in a race with the United States to sign dozens of free-trade deals across the globe and lock in access to fast-growing economies, especially in Asia, as the 10-year Doha round of global trade talks are deadlocked.

Russia’s Lower House of parliament has approved the country’s entry into the World Trade Organization. Russia was denied membership due to human rights concerns and business disputes in the region. It was finally allowed to join under a deal reached with the WTO in December last year after 18 years of negotiations.

San Diego, California - The United States and its eight TPP partners made important progress at the 13th Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiating round that concluded today.

A number of bills introduced over the last few months as part of a process to formulate the next miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB) may interfere with the interests of the United States as it pursues negotiations toward a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and therefore may fail to be included in final MTB legislation.

(Reuters) - China will launch its first spot trading platform for rare earths on August 8, state media reported, in the country's latest effort to improve price discovery and regulate the market better. The platform, led by China's largest producer Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi Tech, will only allow physical trading, the Shanghai Securities News said, without citing sources. China accounts for more than 95 percent of the global output of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals used in the electronics, defence and renewable energy industries.