Premier Wen Jiabao chaired a Chinese State Council meeting on the March 28, at which it was decided that, in order to achieve a sustainable balance of foreign trade between exports and imports, and to optimize its mix of imports, China should selectively reduce its import tariffs.

NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan will soon begin discussions on a preferential trading arrangement to lower import duties on an array of goods. The talks will be held under ambit of South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) signed eight years ago between member states of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), a senior Indian official said on Saturday.

PHNOM PENH, April 1 (Bernama) — The future direction of the proposed Malaysia-European Union Free Trade Agreement is likely to be made by June, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said today. "We would probably have made decision by June whether we should proceed or review the proposed FTA," he said after meeting the EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht on the sideline of the Asean-EU Business Summit, here.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Cuong underscored Vietnam’s determination to speed up the negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement at a dialogue between ambassadors of the TPP member countries and the US New Democrat Coalition, in the US on March 28. This is one of the first official meetings between US congressmen and representatives of TPP member countries in the context of efforts to accelerate the negotiation to basically complete legal documents within 2012.

KUALA LUMPUR: The issue of the Lynas rare earth plant will not disrupt the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between Malaysia and Australia, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. The trade pact between Kuala Lumpur and Canberra is expected to be signed in May this year. “Not only the FTA, but the inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI), is also unaffected. It’s separate from the Lynas issue and the Malaysia-Australia FTA is on track. “I will be meeting my Australian counterpart in few days time.

HA NOI — Agricultural exports are forecast to reach nearly US$5.9 billion in the first quarter of this year. This figure is on par with the same period last year, according to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat. The minister said the export values of major traditional Vietnamese agro items posted $3.2 billion, a decline of 14 per cent. Fishery products stood at $1.2 billion, up 9 per cent, and forestry products reached nearly $922 million, a year-on-year increase of 6 per cent.

GENEVA - Shaikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of Foreign Trade, held talks today with Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the second review of the trade policies and practices of the United Arab Emirates. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of the United Arab Emirates. All WTO members are reviewed, the frequency of each country’s review varying according to its share of world trade.

WASHINGTON, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC) announced Wednesday U.S. exports to China reached 103.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2011, the first time it had passed the 100-billion-dollar mark. China remained America's third-largest export market. As a buyer of U.S. goods, China ranks behind only Canada and Mexico, the two immediate neighbors with whom the United States has a regional free-trade agreement, the USCBC said in releasing its annual report on U.S. State Exports to China.

TOKYO, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his Italian counterpart Mario Monti on Wednesday reached consensus on the early start of talks on a free trade pact between Japan and the European Union. The leaders of the two nations told a press conference in Tokyo that fiscal rehabilitation and stimulation of economic growth are essential for both countries, which are confronted with similar economic challenges.

In his remarks to the Kiwi Chamber of Commerce while in Seoul, New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key pushed for a completion of his country’s free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea.