New Zealand will host the next round of Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade talks in December. Hundreds of negotiators from around the Asia Pacific region will attend the nine-day meeting in Auckland from December 3. Trade Minister Tim Groser said he was pleased New Zealand would play a central role in welcoming Canada and Mexico to the talks, which would create New Zealand's largest free trade area.

Taipei, Sept. 16 (CNA) A study on a potential trade agreement between the European Union and Taiwan will be released on Sept. 20 in Taipei, according to the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei (ECCT). Following the groundbreaking study in 2008 on the implications of a potential trade deal between the EU and Taiwan, this year the ECCT once again conducted a follow-up study on the potential impact of an agreement for both the EU and Taiwan.

(Reuters) - Talks on a free trade pact between the United States and soon-to-be 10 other countries in the Asia-Pacific region made good progress this week, but have no deadline for resolving the many difficult issues that lie ahead, negotiators said. "We are continuing to focus on concluding this agreement as quickly as we can," chief U.S. negotiator for the talks Barbara Weisel said at the end of the 14th round of negotiations on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership pact

WASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - U.S. athletic footwear manufacturer New Balance said on Thursday that it pressed the top U.S. trade official during a visit to its Norridgewock, Maine, factory to maintain tariffs on shoes from Vietnam in a proposed free-trade deal. Only 3,000 workers still make footwear in the United States, with about 1,350 of them employed by New Balance, headquartered in Boston, company spokesman Matt LeBretton told Reuters by phone after the meeting with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

On Tuesday, September 11, the World Trade Organization (WTO) SPS Enquiry Point and National Notification Authority Training Conference officially opened at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel.  The workshop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is designed to expose Bahamian decision makers to the issues associated with WTO accession.  The goal of the WTO is to improve the welfare of the peoples of its member countries, specifically by lowering trade barriers and providing a platform for trade negotiation.

The Trade Ministers of the countries negotiating the extension to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have reported that, since the Leaders’ meeting in Honolulu in November 2011, they have made encouraging headway toward completion of the agreement. The proposed extension to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) now involves 11 countries - Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the United States - that are attempting to negotiate a comprehensive free trade agreement across the Asia-Pacific region.

From Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) to Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) intellectual property issues have been a hot topic for discussion this year in American politics. But, the multi-national Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations underway right now could have an even bigger impact on intellectual property rights held here in the United States.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak lauds the achievements of his government in delivering economic growth while other countries struggle to avoid recession. That ability to deliver consistent economic development is threatened by the proposed US-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership, shaped in secret by private companies

As signatories of the North American Free Trade Agreement, it comes as no surprise that Canada and Mexico have been allowed to enter talks on negotiating the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This leaves Japan as the only prospective member which has not yet been formally inducted into the negotiations, the next round of which is taking place this week.

(Reuters) - Free trade talks between the United States and soon-to-be 10 other Asia-Pacific nations have entered their most delicate phase, requiring tough decisions on issues ranging from sugar to patents, a senior U.S. negotiator said on Wednesday. "There's a certain rhythm to negotiations and we have moved through the 29 chapters (of the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement) in a very aggressive way," the official said, looking back on the first 30 months of talks.