BOGOTA, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) — China and Colombia have taken significant steps toward strengthening their bilateral trade and are expected to soon start negotiations on a free trade agreement, a Colombian economist and diplomat said Thursday. Enrique Posada, director of the think tank Asia-Pacific Virtual Observatory and vice president of the Colombia-China Friendship Association, told Xinhua in an interview that "the intense dynamics" between the two countries have made it possible for trade talks to start at any time.

Brazil has officially started inspecting synthetic fibers imported from Vietnam for possible dumping after receiving complaints from three Brazilian companies, the Competition Management Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade said on Wednesday. The department said all fibers imported between April 2010 and Match 2011 would be inspected after Vicunha Têxtil S/A, Jofegê Fiação e Tecelagem Ltda and Fiação Alpina Ltda accused Vietnamese producers of dumping. At present, Brazil imposes an 18 per cent tariff on Vietnamese fiber imports.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The United States has yet to outline ideas for protecting workers' rights or reining in state-owned enterprises in a proposed Transpacific trade pact, despite a mid-November deadline to reach "broad outlines" of a deal, a senior U.S. trade negotiator said on Wednesday.The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said President Barack Obama's administration had also not made proposals in the Transpacific Partnership talks for other sensitive topics, such as footwear and dairy, whose U.S. producers are concerned about a crush of imports.

Kolkata, Sept 14 (IBNS): The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Indian and Israel, which has been on the cards for quite some time now, would change the composition of business between the two countries, Ambassador of Israel in India Alon Ushpiz said in Kolkata on Tuesday. New sectors like information and technology (IT), agriculture and biotechnology would be broght into focus, diversifying away from the diamond-centric bilateral trade that Israel and India share at present, Ushpiz said at a programme organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce.

NEW DELHI – India will keep signing free trade pacts with regional blocs and countries to boost merchandise exports, top officials said, as the World Trade Organization’s Doha round of talks remains deadlocked and economies in traditional western markets struggle to recover. "We are doing that, we have done it and we are negotiating with many countries," Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said recently, referring to India’s efforts to seal trade pacts.

BEIJING — If China is going to help ease Europe’s financial crisis, silken strings could be attached.

(Reuters) - Russia has not given up hope of securing membership of the World Trade Organization in December and says accession will help it win a higher credit rating and reform its economy, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Tuesday. Russia is the largest economy still outside the WTO and could become the 154th member at the group's next ministerial meeting in December if it overcomes differences with the European Union and Georgia does not block its entry.

BEIJING— Chinese manufacturers have been hit hard. The US is now entitled to impose additional duties on imports of Chinese tires, the World Trade Organization said on Sept 12, upholding a 35 percent tariff ruling made in 2009.

HCM CITY — Viet Nam expects to export no more than 150,000 tonnes of cashew nuts this year, down 48,000 tonnes against last year, according to the Viet Nam Cashew Association (Vinacas). Speaking at a conference in HCM City yesterday, Vinacas chairman Nguyen Thai Hoc said raw cashew production this year had been about 300,000 tonnes, equal to last year. As of August 31, enterprises imported 200,000 tonnes of raw cashew from Nigeria, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Indonesia, and Cambodia, Hoc said, adding that about 30,000-40,000 tonnes would be imported from Africa this month.

(Reuters) - Trade Representative Ron Kirk said Monday he was hopeful Congress would pass long-delayed trade deals with South Korea, Panama and Colombia before the United States hosts an annual summit meeting for Asia-Pacific leaders in November. "Our goal has always been to get them done as soon as possible and that hasn't changed," Kirk told reporters after remarks to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.