HANOI, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA), effective since Jan. 2010, has bring about more fierce competition to the Vietnamese automobile industry with its Chinese counterparts, reported the Ministry of Planning and Investment ( MPI) on Monday.

PHNOM PENH, July 11 (Xinhua) -- ASEAN foreign ministers on Wednesday expressed their welcome to the European Union (EU) for its accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), according to a joint statement issued after the ASEAN- EU Post-Ministerial Conference.

The recent G20 summit held in Los Cabos, Mexico, focused on the plight of developing economies. The agenda included several items of interest for developing nations, including financial inclusion and microfinance. Better microfinance mechanisms will contribute to the reduction of global poverty and assist developing nations in sustaining their economies without foreign aid. Amid concerns that the G20 is becoming a talk-fest where poverty reduction is just another topic of discussion, the G20 must now ensure it actively supports this new focus.

BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Commerce announced on Sunday that it will soon start formal consultations with the United States on the latter's 22 countervailing measures against Chinese exports. A consultation request was filed by China to the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on May 25. It is the first stage of a formal dispute settlement.

In October 2007, several leading economies, including the U.S., European Union, and Canada, announced plans to negotiate the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Despite being shrouded in secrecy, ACTA details slowly began to emerge, including revelations that lobby groups had been granted privileged access to the draft text as well as leaks that indicated that individual Internet users could be a prime target of new enforcement measures.

KATHMANDU, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Commerce Secretaries from eight South Asian countries are meeting next week to review current status of all committed regional cooperations and ways to enhance trade integration and cooperation under South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) initiative.

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama took a shot at China and Republican rival Mitt Romney on Thursday, complaining to the World Trade Organization that Beijing is abusing trade laws by imposing more than $3 billion in duties on U.S. automobile exports. "Americans aren't afraid to compete," Obama told an enthusiastic crowd in this northern Ohio city hours after his administration filed the complaint with the WTO.

The Jamaican government has announced the adoption of a raft of new tax measures targetting imported food items in support of the development of the domestic agricultural sector. Explaining the plans, the island's Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Roger Clarke, stated: “What we are doing is putting the duty on imported foodstuff into this country, so that our farmers benefit instead of farmers from abroad."

HONG KONG — The Chinese government issued an uncommonly mild response on Friday to a United States trade complaint challenging China’s imposition last December of steep tariffs on American-made sport utility vehicles and midsize and large cars. The Obama administration told the World Trade Organization on Thursday that China’s antidumping and antisubsidy tariffs, totaling as much as 22 percent, violated free trade rules.

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization has agreed new membership standards for the weakest economies, lowering the bar for countries such as Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Sudan to join the global trading club, according to a document seen by Reuters on Wednesday.