South American trade bloc Mercosur expects to sign a framework accord this year for a trade deal with the European Union as the U.S. shift to isolationism under President Donald Trump encourages it to look outside the hemisphere for opportunities, Brazil's top diplomat said on Tuesday.

Economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ended their meeting on Friday, vowing to deepen and expand trade integration through regional trade partnership.

Australia is pinning its hopes on sugar to revitalize exports to Indonesia, as it seeks momentum for a free trade agreement that has been mooted for nearly a decade.

China said on Monday that a meeting in Chile to discuss a possible regional Pacific trade deal is not strictly about the languishing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), as China tries to distance itself from one-time U.S.-led trade pact.

With the U.S. signaling a turn toward protectionism, nations that have benefited from global commerce, from Australia to Japan to Peru, are trying to pick up the free-trade mantle.

South Korea and a group of Central American countries have tentatively signed a free trade agreement.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will be "pushing hard" to advance U.S. interests in his debut meeting with Group of 20 counterparts this week, including reaffirming commitments to avoid competitive currency devaluations, a senior Treasury official said on Monday.Mnuchin, who will attend a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the G20 major economies on Friday and Saturday in Baden-Baden, Germany, also will press countries to help strengthen global growth, the official told reporters.

The trade talks on steel imports were dragging on, and Robert Lighthizer didn’t care for the Japanese offer. So he folded it into a paper airplane and launched it across his desk at Japan’s lead negotiator.

In terms of customs and trade facilitation, commitments on customs procedures and cooperation and legal provisions will be a bridge for customs authorities to access new standards and use modern methods for more efficient and proactive customs management

In terms of customs and trade facilitation, commitments on customs procedures and cooperation and legal provisions will be a bridge for customs authorities to access new standards and use modern methods for more efficient and proactive customs management.