China is facing an even more severe export situation featuring withered demand and harsher competition this year, Deputy Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan said Monday. Zhong said other major exporters will continue providing strong competition for China, and some developing countries are capturing market share in labor-intensive industries as domestic labor costs rise in China.

The Canadian government has appointed six business leaders to take part in the new Canada-Brazil CEO Forum, which is designed to foster bilateral trade and investment. According to the Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, Ed Fast, the Chief Executive Officers (CEO) will will help grow trade and investment ties with Brazil that will benefit Canadian businesses and workers.

As Europe continues its desperate struggle to salvage the euro and monetary union, the spotlight of regional cooperation is shifting to Asia.

Author: Wendy Dobson, University of Toronto The euro crisis hijacked the G20 Summit in Cannes — even by late December Europe’s leaders still had not fully diagnosed the problem, but without an accurate diagnosis how can there be an effective prescription?

At the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington to launch a speaker series entitled the "Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): Recovery through Growth in Asia and the Next Generation of Regional Trade Agreements", the Deputy National Security Adviser Michael Froman explored issues of trade, as well as the overall role and influence of the United States, in the Asia-Pacific region.

The World Trade Organization gave the U.S., Canada and Mexico an extra two months to decide whether to appeal a November ruling that found American country-of-origin labeling provisions unfairly hurt agricultural commerce. The three governments now have until March 23 to challenge judges’ finding that U.S. requirements for food processors to identify the nations from which cattle, hogs and some fresh produce originate break global trade rules, the WTO said in a statement in Geneva today.

Under the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA), Korean civil servants would be excluded from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA)’s process of price determination. Instead independent review procedures could be used to set prices for medicines and medical supplies. This has caused concern among health care groups who worry that multinational pharmaceutical companies could use the independent review procedure to change the Korean government’s medicine prices.

Following the diplomatic exchange of notes, the double taxation agreement (DTA) between Switzerland and Uruguay has entered into force and will apply from January 1, 2012, the Swiss federal government has announced. The DTA contains provisions on the exchange of information in accordance with the international standard applicable at present and is expected to boost bilateral trade and investment between the two countries.

PESHAWAR — The economic and trade ties between Pakistan and Indonesia have entered into a new phase of development as both the countries have finalized Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in September 2011 and this development is expected to raise bilateral trade between corporate sectors of two brotherly countries.

Author: Boris Kheyfets, Russian Academy of SciencesRussia’s bid to join the WTO was approved on 16 December at long last.