With the weak domestic economy and his re-election hopes as the backdrop, President Obama made job creation the theme of an annual trade summit meeting on Sunday as the United States, for the first time in nearly two decades, hosted leaders of Pacific Rim nations.

The rate of imports has overwhelmed that of exports for the past three months from July when the Korea-EU FTA kicked into effect. The Ministry of Knowledge Economy and Korea International Trade Association said Sunday that the country’s exports from this July to September rose for point-8 percent year on year, while imports surged up 26 and a half percent. The ministry went on to say that the trade volume between Korea and EU for the three months reached over 25 billion US dollars, rising nearly 12 percent compared to the same period last year.

New Delhi: Admitting that some issues are blocking the finalisation of the Free Trade Agreement with India, the European Union on Monday voiced hope that negotiations would be completed by the next India-EU Summit scheduled to be held in February. A top EU official, who is leading a high-level delegation to India, said negotiations on the trade agreement are on track and that all efforts would be made to iron out differences and conclude the pact soon.

The leading US politicians with responsibility for international trade matters, in a letter to the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk, have advised that the Administration should “consult closely with Congress and other stakeholders well in advance of any decisions” related to a possible request from Japan to participate in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.

Russia may struggle to implement its World Trade Organization pledges after an 18-year slog to win entry as economists say some local industries will seek to shield themselves from competitors. A working party on Russian membership yesterday approved a package of documents that include obligations on goods and services and an accession protocol. Membership for the largest nation outside the 153-member WTO will now be put to a vote at a Dec. 15-17 meeting of trade ministers in Geneva.

President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao presented dueling trade agendas at a Pacific summit on Saturday that underscored growing tensions between the world's two biggest economies. Hu and Obama laid out competing visions of world trade in back-to-back speeches in Honolulu, and Obama then warned Hu in private that Americans were growing increasingly frustrated over what they see as unfair Chinese trade and currency practices.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiro Noda has finally announced that his country will seek to participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. His government was poised to enter the talks earlier in the year, but the decision was postponed in the wake of Japan’s earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster — and even Noda’s announcement this week was delayed multiple times as he tried to shore up support within his own party. Despite the controversy, the choice is the right one for both Japan and the TPP.

HONOLULU — Prime Minister Stephen Harper signalled a shift in his government’s economic and trade policies Sunday, announcing Canada will apply to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership and will further look to sell its oil and gas to Asian countries following American delays in approving the Keystone XL pipeline. The prime minister held key bilateral talks with U.S. President Barack Obama on Sunday over lunch, on the fringes of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Honolulu.

(Reuters) - Ten years after joining the World Trade Organization, China has clearly gained -- it is now the world's second-biggest economy -- but foreign multinationals and Chinese reformers alike worry that the drive to open its markets has stalled. Rather than building on its WTO commitments to open new sectors, the focus has shifted to regulations designed to protect domestic state-owned champions, the critics argue.

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama said Saturday the broad outlines of a deal had been reached on the TranspAcific Partnership trade initiative and he predicted success for the agreement. "I am confident we can get this done," Obama said as the annual leaders' meeting of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit was getting underway. Obama, hosting the APEC summit in his birthplace of Honolulu, said he was confident the TPP agreement could be finalized in the coming year.