New Delhi, May 10 (PTI) The EU has convened a meeting tomorrow in Geneva of key WTO members to "sell" its proposal seeking a multilateral commitment for elimination of duties on certain industrial goods, a move vehemently opposed by India. "In fact, the European Union has convened the discussions tomorrow of the G-7 members and it wants to sell its proposal on the sectorals," Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry Rajeev Kher said at a Ficci function here. The G-7 grouping comprises the US, EU, India, Brazil, Japan, Australia and China.

HANOI, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) should perfect its legal framework, policies and mechanism to meet the country's demands for development, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said during the 60th anniversary of the MIT here on Monday. Dung said the sector should continue to exert their best to achieve the goal of turning the country into a basically industrialized nation by 2020, with industry and service making up around 85 percent of the country's GDP.

BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua)-- The Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC) announced on Monday that it will continue to impose anti-dumping measures on chloroprene rubber imported from Japan, the United States and the European Union for another five years. The extended anti-dumping measures will take effect beginning Tuesday with a term of five years, according to a statement on the MOC's web. The decision came after a 12-month investigation by the MOC to review measures it had imposed in 2005.

VNEconomyNews.com - The Vietnam-US two-way trade is expected to double in the next 5 years, suggested the US Under-Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, Mr. Francisco Sanchez. Based on the bilateral trade growth in recent years, the US official made the prediction when he led a US delegation to pay a recent visit to Vietnam to promote education exchanges between the two nations. According to statistics, the two-way trade between Vietnam and the US reached US$ 19 billion in 2010, up by 20 per cent year on year.

Tea exports declined by nearly half in March this year to 11.90 million kg due to low overseas demand and payment problems from importing countries. The country had shipped 23.49 million kg of the brew in March, 2010, Tea Board data showed. During the first quarter of calendar year 2011, exports fell by almost 27 per cent to 39.62 million kg from 53.99 million kg in the year-ago period.

Karel De Gucht, the European Commissioner for Trade, in his closing remarks to the first ever Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - European Union (EU) Business Summit, has said that the European Commission’s ultimate goal is a free trade agreement (FTA) with the region.

VNEconomyNews.com - Fruit exports to markets like the US, Japan and South Korea are set to increase this year because of improved quality, according to the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. In the first four months of this year, dragon fruits exported to the US reached 600 tonnes, equal to 70 per cent of last year's total. During the same period, Japan imported 200 tonnes of dragon fruit, compared to 420 tonnes for the whole of last year.

VNEconomyNews.com - A Vietnamese tra fish product made by VinhHoan Corp, the country’s leading tra fish exporter, won a grand prize for best retail product at the Seafood Prix d’Elite new product competition held in Belgium on May 3. The product, namely Provocake, beat 37 other entries from 14 countries, to secure one of the most outstanding international awards and enter the final round of the contest, said the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers.

SEOUL, May 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea and Japan are scheduled to hold next week working-level talks aimed at restarting negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), the trade ministry here said Friday. The talks, to be held next Monday in Seoul, will center on issues including conditions for resuming the stalled negotiations and non-tariff barriers, according to the ministry.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea and Malaysia are exploring a possible bilateral Free Trade Agreement, or FTA, to expand trade and investment ties. The Malaysian International Trade and Industry ministry issued a statement, saying both countries have agreed to conduct separate studies on the 'feasibility of commencing FTA negotiations' after leaders from both sides decided to 'explore means to strengthen bilateral relations.'