HA NOI — The Ministry of Finance will reduce import taxes on some electric, information and technology products to 5 per cent from January, according to its commitment under the Free Trade Agreement. The products, which are imported from ASEAN countries and have ASEAN content of more than 40 per cent with Certificate of Origin, will be eligible to enjoy ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) preferential taxes. White list of reliable email addresses to be released

Highlighting its determination to enhance trade ties with foreign partners, the Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday announced that Taiwan and Israel had reached a consensus over the establishment of a working group to study the feasibility of signing a free-trade agreement (FTA) by 2013.

The Nigerian government has raised the tariff for imported wheat as part of its efforts to promote the substitution of wheat flour with 40 percent high quality cassava flour in bread. The gesture is to encourage the substitution of wheat flour with high quality cassava flour. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Akinwunmi Adesina said this on Saturday in Abuja when he met with the owners of the four largest bakeries in the country. The four bakeries are Butterfield, UTC, Leventis and Wilson Foods.

Vietnam will continue to implement the agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) in lines with its commitments to the World Trade Organization (WTO), according to a statement on Friday. The statement was made by Tran Viet Thanh, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology (MST) at the conference held here on Friday to review implementation of the TBT during 2005-2010, and plans for the 2011-2016 period.

The Philippines will review taxes on foreign alcohol products following a World Trade Organisation decision that the current system was discriminatory and the trade minister said the government will look at how to assist affected local distillers. The Philippine taxes foreign alcoholic beverages at rates 10 to 40 times higher than brands made from locally-produced materials such as cane and palm sugar -- which the WTO found did not conform with global trade rules.

After more than a decade of negotiations, the World Trade Organization today clinched an agreement that opens up government-procurement contracts to more foreign competition. The revised accord, approved in Geneva as the WTO prepares to begin its eighth ministerial meeting, covers 42 members of the trade arbiter. China, which submitted a revised offer in late November, won’t join the agreement this year.

The World Trade Organization wrapped up its ministerial meeting yesterday without deciding how to revive global commerce talks, focusing instead on welcoming Russia to the fold and securing a government-procurement accord.

The State Council has confirmed that, from January 1, 2012, China’s average tariffs will remain at a low rate, to expand imports and meet consumer demand, promote more balanced foreign trading relationships, and, thereby, encourage a restructuring of the economy. A Ministry of Finance statement said that, in fact, the Council noted that, in 2012, China’s average tariffs on the imports of over 730 goods will be 4.4%, less than half of the rate for a most favoured nation under World Trade Organization rules.

(Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said on Saturday the United States is not in a trade war with China, but he is troubled by China's tendency to retaliate when other members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) launch trade cases against it. "I am troubled by what I see as a trend of China to retaliate when members - not just the U.S., other members of the WTO - bring China to dispute settlement over legitimate matters," Kirk said in an interview. "That's not only disruptive to global trade, it's not only not in the interest of the members of the WTO.

GENEVA — Global trade ministers on Friday approved Russia’s bid to join the World Trade Organization, giving Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin a victory on the international stage at a time of rising domestic opposition to his hold on power. The Nigerian trade minister, Olusegun Olutoyin Aganga, struck a gavel to announce that the W.T.O. trade ministers’ meeting here had accepted the bid. Because the organization operates by consensus, Russia had to first reach bilateral agreements with 57 of its current 153 members to secure their support.