VNEconomyNews.com - Viet Nam earned over US$6.15 billion from exporting goods to the US in the first five months of the year, an increase of 22.5 per cent from the same period last year. In a recent report, the General Department of Viet Nam Customs said that the US continued to be the largest consumer of Vietnamese exports, accounting for 17.7 per cent of Viet Nam's total export turnover. The report's findings indicate that Viet Nam has now surpassed the Philippines and Indonesia on the list of ASEAN exporters to the US and has caught up with the current leader, Malaysia.

WASHINGTON, June 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) on Friday cleared the way for the U.S. government to continue anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations against imports of high-pressure steel cylinders from China. The USITC determined that there was "reasonable" indication that a U.S. industry had been materially hurt by high-pressure steel cylinders from China, which were allegedly subsidized by the Chinese government and sold in the United States at less than fair value.

Following a recent gathering of European Free Trade Association (EFTA) ministers in Schaan, the Liechtenstein administration announced details of the signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) with Hong Kong. In its release, the Principality’s administration noted that the ministerial meeting of EFTA member states (comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), and presided over by Liechtenstein’s Foreign Minister Aurelia Frick, focused on the current situation as well as on future prospects for the group’s free trade policy.

India and the United States on Wednesday agreed to fast-track technical negotiations for early conclusion of a Bilateral Investment Agreement during a meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk. “We agreed to re-invigorate the Trade Policy Forum (TPF) and make it more robust and effective in resolving bilateral commercial issues, while maintaining the political leadership of the process,” Mr. Sharma told Indian reporters after the meeting.

Two key economic indicators, inflation and trade deficit, have plagued Viet Nam’s economic recovery for the last two years, and caused the Government to walk a policy tightrope. In February, the Government proposed a five-prong approach to address the dual problems of inflation and trade deficit. The approach sought to foster domestic production, encourage exports, and limit imports.

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama wants Congress to approve "permanent normal trade relations" with Russia this year, before the former Cold War enemy finishes its negotiations to join the World Trade Organization, a U.S. trade official said on Wednesday. "It's clear that Russia's ambition is to complete the accession process and become a WTO member by the end of the year," said Chris Wilson, assistant U.S. trade representative for the WTO and multilateral affairs.

NZPA/Tariffs imposed by China on imported dairy products are part of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which New Zealand has benefitted greatly from, Trade Minister Tim Groser says. Lincoln University Professor of Farm Management and Agribusiness Keith Woodford told Radio New Zealand this morning that about half New Zealand’s dairy exports to China had faced penalty tariffs. National Distribution Union national secretary Robert Reid said the Government could do more to support industry here to make up for any imbalance.

Vietnam and Chile have planned to ink a free trade agreement (FTA) in November on the sidelines of the 19 th annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ meeting to be held in Honolulu city, Hawaii. Earlier, the two countries completed the eighth round of negotiations, also the final one, on the FTA in Hanoi on June 18, according to the American Market Department (AMD) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

SEOUL, June 21 (Xinhua) -- South Korea will extend tax reduction on 35 imports such as pork and garlic in an effort to ease potential price hikes, the finance ministry said Tuesday. A six-month extension will be imposed on 35 import items out of 46 goods whose temporary tariff reduction will expire at the end of June, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in a statement. Those imports include pork, garlic, mackerel, wheat, soybean oil, sugar, coffee and tire.

Canada is to move quickly to reintroduce implementing legislation for its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Panama, a government minister has said. Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, made the announcement during a recent speech to the Panama-Canada Chamber of Commerce in Toronto. Fast stressed the government's commitment to the ratification of the FTA, and stated his intention to reintroduce legislation during the autumn, thus pushing forward with the agreement's implementation.