PTI, NEW DELHI: The European Union has sought substantial reduction or even elimination of duties in export of its automobiles, wines and spirits to India as a "must have" in the free trade agreement being negotiated between the two sides. While India’s negotiators in the Commerce Ministry have received the necessary mandate from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-headed Trade and Economic Relations Committee (TERC), they would like to have a trade-off between yielding on automobile sector and gaining extra EU market for Indian agriculture, sources said.

Ha Noi — Trade turnover between the US and Viet Nam in the first five months of this year reached nearly US$8.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 21 per cent, according to the July report from the US Census Bureau. Viet Nam's total exports to the US increased by 21.7 per cent over the same period last year to almost $6.5 billion and US exports to Viet Nam increased by 22 per cent to $1.78 billion.

This is what the State-owned think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) is urging the government to forge in order to help boost the local automotive industry. Besides addressing smuggling, it is crucial for the Philippines to create policies that encourage and promote investments to revive the local auto industry, the PIDS Policy Note, authored by Rafaelita Aldaba, PIDS senior research fellow, said.

BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Saturday welcomed the World Trade Organization ruling that the European Union (EU) is illegally taxing Chinese steel fasteners. It is of great significance and will help Chinese enterprises enjoy better competitive conditions in the international market including the EU, said an unidentified official of the MOC Treaty and Law Department in a statement on its website. "This is not only a victory for Chinese industry but for the WTO rules as well," the official said.

(Reuters) - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia will not give up its new rules for vehicle assembly for major global manufacturers in order to win entry into the World Trade Organisation. "We are continuing an difficult dialogue with the European Commission and the United States in the process of WTO accession," Putin told workers at steelmaker Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works (MAGN.MM). Putin said the EU and the United States are insisting that Russia drop assembly requirements aimed at boosting local production.

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama will soon send a free trade pact with South Korea to Congress for approval despite Republican threats to vote against it because of a retraining program for workers displaced by trade, White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley said on Thursday.

(Reuters) - China eased export curbs for rare earth elements on Thursday, restoring them to near-2010 levels in a bid to appease trading partners, but the European Union said the move did not ensure stable supplies and the United States said the Chinese were heading the wrong way.

MELBOURNE: Australia and India are all set to hold the first preliminary round of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations in India by the end of this month, according to Australian High Commissioner to India Peter Varghese. "Negotiators are currently doing consultations with the industry, stakeholders and then they will meet at the end of this month in India," Varghese told PTI here during his mid-term consular visit.

SALALAH — Officials at the GCC and ASEAN countries stressed the importance of enhancing co-operation in the fields of trade and investment and exploring the possibility of negotiation regarding the Free Trade Agreement between the two groups. This came at a press statement held here yesterday upon the conclusion of the first meeting of the working team for trade and economic co-operation at the level of experts and specialists. The Sultanate hosted the two-day meeting here.

VANCOUVER, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Canada's new International Trade Minister Ed Fast on Wednesday called for improved Canada-China trade ties at a roundtable meeting with Chinese-Canadian business leaders. Addressing the meeting on bilateral trade, held in the Chinese Cultural Centre in Vancouver's Chinatown, Fast said Canada-China merchandise trade topped 57.7 billion Canadian dollars (about 60 billion U.S. dollars) last year, triple that of a decade ago.