A third round of talks towards a free trade agreement (FTA) between Canada and India have taken place, with a view to tripling bilateral trade within the next four years. Four days of negotiations began in Delhi on December 13. Talks commenced in November last year, during the G20 Summit in Seoul, when the Canadian government stressed the importance of cooperation and creativity in reaching a broad and ambitious free trade agreement. Both sides aim at increasing bilateral trade to CAD15bn (USD14.5bn) annually by 2015.

Russia’s accession into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) next summer will bring Finnish export companies annual savings worth up to hundreds of millions of euros. However, Finland has its sights already set on the next target: the establishment of a free trade zone between Russia and the European Union. Even according to the most pessimistic of estimates, Russia’s WTO membership will reduce customs duties by EUR 300 million right away, reckons Minister of European Affairs and Foreign Trade Alexander Stubb (National Coalition Party).

The European Commission has welcomed the decision of the European Union (EU) Foreign Affairs Council to authorise the opening of trade negotiations with Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia. The decision provides the European Commission with a mandate to start negotiations to establish deep and comprehensive free trade areas (DCFTAs). Compared to the current trade relationship between the EU and these countries, the DCFTAs will go beyond removing only tariffs to cover all regulatory issues relevant to trade, such as investment protection and public procurement.

Delegates from China, South Korea and Japan concluded a joint study on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) among the three countries (CJKFTA) in Pyeongchang, South Korea, on Friday. A statement, relating to general trade and economic relations, trade in goods, trade in services, investment and other issues, was issued after the conclusion of the meeting.

Geneva: WTO members are expected to discuss ways to bridge differences to liberalise global trade through the Doha pact during the Ministerial Conference starting here on Thursday, an official said.       India's Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, who arrived for the meet, today met trade ministers of Brazil, China, Russia and South Africa. He said that international trade would play a critical role in stimulating economic growth.

Vietnam plans to increase export of parboiled rice by a third next year to 400,000 tons, over this year's estimated 300,000 tons, reported Vietnam News Agency on Thursday, quoting the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) president Truong Thanh Phong as saying. Phong said production of parboiled rice would not only increase the diversity and quality of Vietnamese rice but also help farmers make the most of the summer-autumn wet rice crop. According to VFA, Vietnam's parboiled rice export this year would meet 10 percent of annual global demand.

Dec 15 (Reuters) - The World Trade Organization is expected to agree a landmark reform of its Government Procurement Agreement on Thursday after the European Union, Japan and the United States agreed terms for opening up government contracts to foreign competition. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk, asked if the WTO was about to reach a deal, told Reuters: "I think we are. I think we're in good shape."

The European Commission welcomes today’s decision of the EU Foreign Affairs Council to authorise the opening of trade negotiations with Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia as soon as the necessary preparatory process is completed. This decision provides the European Commission with a mandate to start negotiations to establish deep and comprehensive free trade areas (DCFTAs).

The rainy, gray weather over Geneva matches the mood of the first ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization since 2009, with ministers turning their attention to other areas amid little hope of resurrecting the stagnant Doha round of trade talks. "This ministerial is like a Russian doll—the deeper you go, the less and less you get," says Simon Evenett, a professor at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. "In fact, the only part of the doll that looks like anything is Russia's accession."

The Vietnam-Russia trade is expected to increase greatly after Russia joined the world trade organization WTO in mid December and the free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhtan is signed in 2012. Russia enjoys WTO in mid December. What changes in the Vietnam-Russia trade relation do you expect to see after the event?