The government has decided to continue anti-dumping duty of up to USD 4.82 per kg on Viscose Filament Yarn till February, 2012 to protect the domestic industry. The anti-dumping duty on viscose filament yarn, used for home furnishing items, originating from China, was initially imposed in 2006. "This notification shall remain in force up to and inclusive of the February 24, 2012, unless the notification is revoked earlier," the Department of Revenue said in a notification.

MOSCOW, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced on Saturday Russia will lift from July 1 its grain export ban which was imposed last year in the wake of a severe drought, according to a government release. "From July 1, we will lift the ban on grain exports," said Putin at a meeting with his first deputy, Viktor Zubkov. Putin's decision was made after Zubkov's work report. Zubkov told Putin that spring planting this year was 10 percent higher than the previous year and the winter wheat harvest was "quite good."

Kazakhstan and the United States have reached an agreement in principle about the access of U.S. suppliers of services to the Kazakh market, a key condition for Kazakhstan’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). “We reached an agreement in principle regarding access to the services market,” Kazakh Minister for Economic Integration Zhanar Aitzhanova told Russian news agency Itar-Tass on Thursday.

BRUSSELS — Leaders of the European Union and Japan on Saturday agreed to start talks towards a multi-billion-euro free trade deal linking the world’s third biggest economy to the globe’s largest market. Long demanded by Tokyo, the decision to launch preliminary talks on a trade deal, as well as on a binding political accord, was announced at the close of a summit between EU leaders and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan.

The import of new and used cars will face new tax rates as of June 1 in accordance with a recent product management list issued by the General Department of Customs aimed at curbing trade fraud. Most famous imported brands like Acura, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Aston Martin Bentley and Cadillac were included on the price adjustment list. This is the second time since earlier this year that the General Customs Department has supplemented and modified tax rates related to imported cars that, dependent on make, will face taxes from US$500 to several thousand US dollars.

Vietnam-Saudi Arabia cooperative relationship has been promoted but it is not on par with each country’s potential. Therefore, both countries need to make greater efforts to realize their opportunities for cooperation. This was stated at the first session of the Vietnam – Saudi Arabia joint committee on economic, scientific and technological cooperation, co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Duong Quang and Saudi Arabian Deputy Minister of Economics and Planning Ahmed Bin Ibrahim Al Hakami.

Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk attended the third meeting of the Vietnam-US trade and investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) Council in Washington DC on May 23. They were pleased to review the fine results of Vietnam-US cooperation in trade, investment, intellectual property, information technology, services, and agriculture. They affirmed that although TIFA is an effective channel for bilateral cooperation, it should be strengthened to deal with snags in the implementation of announcement mechanism.

SEOUL (Yonhap) — South Korea needs to sign additional free trade agreements (FTAs) quickly with as many countries as possible to keep its trade growing, a report said Tuesday. The call comes as the trade volume of South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy, is expected to surpass US$1 trillion this year, becoming the world’s ninth nation to reach the milestone.

GENEVA (Reuters) - China appealed a ruling by the World Trade Organization on Tuesday, insisting the United States flouted international trade rules when it imposed trade barriers on car tires imported from China, a WTO spokesman said. A legal panel at the WTO last year ruled that U.S. tariffs of up to 35 percent on Chinese car tires were legal under world trade rules.

A second round of free trade negotiations between Canada and Ukraine has been successfully concluded, as the two countries aim at strengthening their economic ties. The talks, which took place in Kiev on May 16, are the latest step on the path towards the settlement of a free trade agreement (FTA). According to the Canadian government, a deal of this type would further open markets for Canadian exports, ranging from seafood products to machinery, vehicles, iron and steel products, and plastics.