The Philippines will appeal before the World Trade Organization (WTO) a recent ruling by the body saying that the unreasonably high taxes slapped on foreign brands of alcoholic beverages is discriminatory. Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and Trade and Industry head Gregory Domingo said the clamor from the industry sector prompted government's appeal. “We will respect what the industry wants," Domingo said.

July 06, Islamabad: At the conclusion of the 10th session of Pakistan-Sri Lanka Joint Economic Commission on Tuesday the two countries have agreed hold Free Trade Agreement (FTA) review meeting and Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations in August 2011 in Colombo. The two sides also have agreed to discuss in detail the matters relating to trade at the FTA review in Colombo.

Taipei—In an effort to help domestic exporters counter the impact of the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOFA) has proposed to offer tax rebates for imported industrial raw materials and components/parts with average tariffs topping 4.3%. The measure will affect some 1,000 import items and is included in a package of strategies being mapped out by the MOEA to alleviate the impact of the South Korea-U.S. FTA on Taiwan-made products, notably textile, plastics, machinery, metal products, and large-sized flat panel displays.

BRUSSELS—The World Trade Organization is set Tuesday to condemn China for limiting its exports of major raw materials, rebuffing Beijing's arguments that curbs are necessary to protect the environment, according to trade diplomats and lawyers. The decision will help steelmakers and other industrial producers, but, more importantly, will set a precedent for the U.S. and the European Union to file another complaint against China over its quotas on the export of rare-earth materials, 17 minerals used in the high-tech industry.

(Reuters) - Trade judges on Tuesday ruled that China violated trade law by restricting exports of certain raw materials crucial for industrial production, dealing a victory to the United States, the European Union and Mexico. "The panel found that China's export duties were inconsistent with the commitments that China had agreed to in its protocol of accession," the World Trade Organization said in a statement, referring to its legal panel. "The panel also found that export quotas imposed by China on some of the raw materials were inconsistent with WTO rules."

HANOI, July 5 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's leather and footwear exports in the first six months of the year reached nearly 3 billion U.S. dollars, up 31 percent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO) on Tuesday. The Vietnam Leather and Footwear Association (LFA) said that many domestic producers already received export orders for the second half of the year, making the volume of export orders in 2011 increase by roughly 20 percent compared to last year, and the orders' prices surge by roughly 7-10 percent.

HA NOI — The US Department of Commerce has completed its seventh period of review and reached a final decision on reducing anti-dumping duties on Vietnamese tra fish filets, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). For the period under review between August 1, 2009, and February 15, 2010, the tax rate was reduced from 2.11 per cent to zero per cent for two companies, Thien Ma Import Export Ltd Co (Thimaco) and the Multinational Investment and Development Joint Stock Co (IDI).

New Polish Ambassador to Korea Krzysztof Ignacy Majka had been a renowned scientist in his home country and didn’t know much about Asia until he went to India in 1979 as a research student. Since then, the ambassador said he has been unable to stop learning about Asia. After finishing his research in India in 1982, he served as Polish consul there from 1993 to 1997 and later as ambassador from 2001 to 2008, concurrently representing his country in the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka. From 1997 to 2001, Majka served in the Polish Senate.

Japanese carmakers such as Toyota and Honda struggled to secure a firm market share here in the first half of 2011 while other imported auto brands boasted record sales. The Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association (KAIDA) said Tuesday that 51,664 imported vehicles were sold during the Jan.-June period, up 23.2 percent from a year ago. In contrast, vehicle sales for Japanese firms Toyota, Honda and Nissan plummeted amid a flurry of bad luck such as massive recalls, a strong Japanese currency and the Fukushima earthquake.

A free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the European Union took effect on July 1. A close look at South Korea’s strategy for securing FTAs with EU and the United States — although the U.S. Congress has not approved the deal — could give us a fresh perspective for reviewing Taiwan’s economic strategy.