Economic relations between Canada and Brazil continue to improve, with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper declaring Brazil a "tremendously important part" of his government's plans for trade development in the Latin American region.

BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- China, the world's largest producer of ceramics, exports 2.2 billion ceramic works of art each year at a total value of 1.5 billion U.S. dollars, a national trade association said Saturday. More than 5 billion of the 27 billion ceramic products that the country produces each year are considered to be works of art, valued at nearly 50 billion yuan (about 7.82 billion U.S. dollars), according to the China Ceramics Industrial Association (CCIA).

SEOUL, Aug 12 (Bernama) — Turkey hopes to strike a free trade deal on goods with South Korea by year-end in an effort to boost bilateral trade, the visiting Turkish economy minister said Friday. The two countries held their latest round of talks on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) in the Turkish capital of Ankara in early March, making headway in the goods sector. But both sides remained split over services, investment and other issues, Yonhap news agency reported.

KINGSTON — The Government has signaled its intention to sign off on the full implementation of the CARICOM/Costa Rica Free Trade Agreement soon. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. Dr. Kenneth Baugh, said on August 9 that Jamaica has been applying the agreement on a provisional basis and has taken the decision to bring it into force. He was addressing a delegation from Costa Rica led by Minister of Foreign Trade, Anabel González, at the Spanish Court Hotel in New Kingston.

The European Council is ready to meet Russia halfway on the issues still hindering its World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership bid, the Kremlin has said.

ANKARA/APP: Turkey and Pakistan on Thursday took a leap forward in their bilateral relations and agreed to transform existing historical brotherly relations into tangible economic partnership. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and her Turkish counterpart Prof. Dr. Ahmet Davutoglu in their exclusive and delegation level meetings here on Thursday decided to discuss modalities of entering into Preferential Trade Agreement.

(Reuters) - The European Union has launched a legal challenge against Canada at the World Trade Organization to protest against provincial backing for solar and wind energy projects, the bloc's executive said on Thursday. Following on the heels of a similar challenge by Japan, the row highlights a global battle for a slice of the lucrative and growing renewables market with countries including Canada, the United States and China moving to reserve public works projects worth billions of dollars for local firms.

MANADO, Indonesia, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM) on Thursday signed several action plans as part of the implementation of ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) during a meeting of the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) Council. These action plans include the schedule for tariff reduction in the context of ATIGA, development of the ASEAN Import Licensing Procedure (ILP) Guidelines, and extension of waiver for rice and sugar from Indonesia.

BOGOTA, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The free trade agreement (FTA) between Colombia and Canada will take effect Monday, visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Joseph Harper announced here Wednesday. During his talks with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos in the Colombian capital Bogota, Harper expressed optimism about the opportunities the FTA could bring. "Colombia is a key partner, especially in making our people more prosperous and opening new markets," he said.

As Prime Minister Stephen Harper continues his Latin America tour amid global market chaos, he is making stops in countries he hopes will expand Canada’s trade and make it less dependent on the turbulent U.S. economy. On Friday he lands in Honduras, bringing a free trade agreement closer to completion. But critics say it is an unlikely choice for partnership with Canada.