Vietnam is actively engaging in bilateral negotiations with the US and several other countries to ensure its key interests before entering a ministerial meeting aimed at finalising the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh, who is also head of the Vietnamese delegation at the TPP negotiations, said at an interview on August 14 that after the recent ministerial talks in Hawaii ended without a final agreement, the nations are on intensive discussions in preparation for the final meeting.

Experts claim Waikato's dairy sector will be guaranteed a fair deal before New Zealand's negotiators lock in a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), though industry leaders continue to voice reservations. Failed negotiations in Hawaii earlier this month prompted concerns from some dairy industry leaders that our exports would be no better off. Thousands around the country will take to the streets on Saturday to protest against the agreement, although economists and industry leaders have assured naysayers "we're not selling New Zealand up the creek".

ASEAN foreign ministers accepted Norway as a Sectoral Dialogue Partner at their recent meeting in Kuala Lumpa, following Norway’s application early this year to establish a formal partnership with the Asian bloc. The ASEAN free trade area includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Taken together, the ASEAN bloc was Norway’s fourth-largest trading partner and home to the highest concentration of Norwegian companies operating abroad in 2014, according to the Norwegian Foreign Ministry.

New Zealand’s Trade Minister Tim Groser has stated that he is expecting bilateral negotiations on the Trans Pacific Partnership to take place in Kuala Lumpur soon for following up on the ministerial level talks that started in Maui, Hawaii.

HA NOI (VNS) — The signing of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union and Viet Nam will bring significant long-term macro-economic benefits for Viet Nam, Fitch Ratings said. "The deal would help to boost foreign investment, productivity and exports, strengthening potential growth and external accounts," Fitch said in a report released this week. The agreement will eliminate almost all tariffs over a 10-year transition period, with most tariffs being removed once the agreement comes into effect.

HA NOI  (VNS) — Viet Nam and Japan would promote trade activities for farming, forestry and fisheries products between the two countries in the near future. Viet Nam's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said this at the second high-ranking dialogue yesterday in Ha Noi with Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Hayashi Yoshimasa on development cooperation in agricultural sector between the two countries. Phat said Viet Nam has opened its market for beef, pork and poultry meat imported from Japan.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a free trade agreement involving ASEAN and six partners: China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India. Negotiations for the deal between the 16 participating nations began in 2012 and will wrap up by the end of this year. Vo Tri Thanh, deputy director of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), spoke to the media about the RCEP's likely impacts. What will be the impact of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership on Viet Nam's economy?

HA NOI (VNS) — Experts yesterday expressed doubts about Viet Nam's ability to ease its business environment to the average level of doing business in ASEAN-6 by the end of the year. They were discussing targets set by Government Resolution No 19/NQ-CP on improving the business environment and national competitiveness in 2015 and 2016 by reducing costs, time and risks involved . By the end of this year, the Department of Customs plans to reduce time spent on export customs procedures to 13 working days and to 14 working days for imports.

Trade Negotiations Minister Tim Groser expects to resume bilateral negotiations towards the Trans Pacific Partnership in two weeks in Kuala Lumpur, and talks have continued since the last ministerial meeting in Maui, Hawaii. "Already there are numerous conversations going on. I'm having meetings all the time...constant conversations, telephone conversations, emails." There is no date set yet for the next collective ministerial meeting but he said the Maui meeting created a sense of purpose.

After the European Union and its fifth-largest trading partner Vietnam announced last week that they had agreed in principle to lift most tariffs on goods in the coming years, China and the EU should seriously think about removing their customs barriers to boost the combined economies of roughly 2 billion consumers. On Aug 4, the EU said it would eliminate its duties over a seven-year period and Vietnam agreed to liberalize trade in financial services, telecommunications, transport, and postal and courier services over 10 years.