Irish firms experienced record levels of exports in 2011 and are now using a renewed confidence to aggressively target opportunities in international markets, according to the latest figures from Enterprise Ireland.

(Reuters) - The 153 members of the World Trade Organization agree on two things: We're in a hole. And we must keep digging. The hole is the Doha Development Round, a decade-old negotiation that was billed as the next stage of trade liberalization after the creation of the WTO itself. After repeated failures to clinch a deal, Doha is on life-support. But nobody is prepared to kill it off.

The Fijian government has welcomed the extension of a trade agreement with Australia, saying it will boost its textile, clothing and footwear industry.

Sri Lanka and Portugal are keen to explore trade opportunities and the latter has pledged to send a delegation in March 2012 for further discussions, a statement said here on Wednesday. With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as having approved a disbursement of 3.8 billion U.S. dollars to Portugal after completing its second review of the country Sri Lanka is keen to increase trade, said a statement issued by the Industry and Commerce Ministry.

LIMA -(Dow Jones)- Peru is looking to begin talks for a free trade agreement with Russia next year, following the World Trade Organization’s approval of Russia’s membership in the trade body earlier this month, newspaper Gestion reported on Tuesday. "Russia is a country with a lot of potential for Peruvian exports," said Carlos Posada, Peru’s deputy trade minister. In 2010, bilateral trade between Peru and Russia was worth $214 million, according to figures from Peru’s government.

BEIJING—China announced a cut Tuesday in its rare earths export quota as it tries to shore up sagging prices for the exotic metals used in mobile phones and other high-tech goods. China accounts for 97 percent of rare earth output and its 2009 decision to curb exports while it builds up an industry to create products made with them alarmed foreign companies that depend on Chinese supplies.

VNEconomyNews.com - The export turnover of Vietnamese bag products would surge strongly by 40-50% next year thanks to the processing orders transferred from China, said Chairman Nguyen Duc Thuan of Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (Lefaso). Thuan recently indicated the big opportunity for local bag producers, saying the world’s famous bag brands used to focus their production in China, but they realized a must to reduce the dependence on China by 50%. These brands are shifting sub-contract production to Vietnam, India and Indonesia.

South Korean lawmakers on Tuesday adopted a resolution urging the country’s government to renegotiate portions of the recently ratified free trade agreement with the United States. The resolution by the National Assembly’s foreign affairs committee took issue with a clause in the treaty that would allow foreign investors to take trade disputes to an international arbitration panel. Critics say the provision infringes on South Korean sovereignty.

South Korea's imports of rare earth materials contracted for three straight months in November due to smaller inflow of commodities imported from China, the customs office said Tuesday. Imports of rare earth materials, including scandium and yttrium, reached a total of 139 tons in November, down 47.5 percent from the previous month, according to a report by the Korea Customs Service. The inbound shipments shrank 62.2 percent from a year earlier.

Japan decided Tuesday to relax its ban on exporting weapons to benefit its ailing defense companies, according to local media. It is the first such change to the country's virtual arms export ban, a move that would revive a proposal made under a previous prime minister last year. According to Kyodo news, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura is expected to release a statement regarding the review of the ban at a news conference after the decision on easing the restrictions on arms exports is made at a meeting of the Security Council of Japan.