The Philippines may start fresh talks with the European Union in the third quarter to iron out a proposed bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), according to the country’s chief trade negotiator. Adrian S. Cristobal Jr., a Department of Trade and Industry undersecretary who steers the agency’s industry development and trade policy, said the Philippine government would soon wrap up a study on the potential benefits and impact of such a deal.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement was created to enhance trade and investment among the TPP partner countries. These countries include the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Brunei Darussalam, Chile and Peru. Both Mexico and Canada have also been invited to join the TPP but will not be participating in this week’s negotiations.

Afghanistan Ministry of Commerce and Industries is hoping to achieve membership to WTO by 2014. The Ministry had to meet some of the WTO requirements such as improving tax payments and providing opportunities for international investment in order to be able to join WTO.

HA NOI — The first-ever Vietnamese-Latin American forum on trade and investment will be held in the capital on July 5-6, the Foreign Ministry has announced. The event, with the theme of "Viet Nam-Latin America: Trade and Investment Partners for Development", aimed to enhance friendship and understanding among locals from either side, the ministry said.

(Reuters) - The World Trade Organization on Friday ruled a U.S. meat labeling program unfairly discriminated against Mexico and Canada, putting pressure on the United States to bring the scheme in line with global trade rules. The WTO Appellate Body said the U.S. country-of-origin labeling rules, commonly known as COOL, were wrong because they gave less favorable treatment to beef and pork imported from Mexico and Canada, the countries that brought the case, than to U.S. meat.

KATHMANDU, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Nepali government is preparing to lift up the ban on exports of rice imposed since 2008 owing to low production, local media reported on Friday. The Ministry of Agriculture Development (MoAD) has said it will allow export of up to 100,000 tons of rice from the next fiscal year which begins from mid-July. The Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) has said it will open up two customs points for rice exports. But it has yet to fix the exact quantity that would be allowed to be shipped out of the country.

(RTTNews) — The European Union and six Central American countries — Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama —on Friday signed a comprehensive Association Agreement which also includes an ambitious trade component. The signing ceremony took place on the occasion of the Meeting of Presidents of SICA (Central American Integration System) in Honduras.

In the face of intense criticism from business groups and members of Congress, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will once again hold off on tabling its proposal to provide a "safe harbor" for tobacco regulations at the thirteenth round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, which are slated to begin on July 2 in San Diego.

At the thirteenth round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, which kicks off next week in San Diego, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will once again refrain from tabling the most important missing pieces from its controversial access to medicines proposal. When it comes to intellectual property rights, USTR is expected to focus the group discussions on less controversial areas, including copyrights and general IPR provisions, sources said.

An official from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative this week confirmed that the U.S. is facing opposition from other countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks (TPP) on its proposal to make environmental commitments fully enforceable under the same dispute settlement mechanism as commercial obligations.