Minister of Trade, Industry & Energy Yoon Sang-jik and Vietnamese Industry & Trade Minister Vu Huy Hoang signed the Korea-Vietnam FTA in Hanoi on May 5 in the presence of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng. According to the agreement, Korea and Vietnam will eliminate 94.7 percent and 92.4 percent of their tariffs based on the amounts of imports, respectively.

May 5 (Reuters) - Vietnam signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with South Korea on Tuesday which is expected to boost its exports to the Korean market and more than double bilateral trade over the next five years, the Vietnamese government said. The agreement with Seoul is among a series of trade deals Vietnam has been chasing as part of its ambitions to become a regional manufacturing dynamo and lure investment to strengthen its $184 billion economy.

Negotiations on the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement have reached their final discussions, with talks expected to be wrapped up by June. EU-MUTRAP technical assistant team leader Claudio Dordi analyses the hallmark agreement’s potential impacts on Vietnam’s economy.

Hoang Thanh Van, head of the Animal Breeding Department, tells Kinh Te and Do Thi (Economy and City) newspaper about opportunities and problems the sector will face when Viet Nam joins the TPP. Viet Nam will most likely participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) this year. Could you tell us about the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for Viet Nam's animal-breeding sector?

Berton B.C. Chiu, a counselor for Regional Economic Integration Projects at Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Foreign Trade, told VIR that a bigger wave of Taiwanese investors would come to Vietnam to invest in, as they saw enormous investment and trade benefits from the country’s multilateral and bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs).

In 2014, Vietnam gained US$ 3.99 billion from export to Australia, up 13.7% year on year. Seafood exports from Vietnam to Australia reached at US$ 239 million, revealing an increase of 16%. Imports of Australia in 2014 valued US$ 228.7 billion, seafood imports alone were estimated at US$ 1.6 billion, up 5% year on year.  Vietnam is known as the third largest seafood supplier to Australia, with 13.7% of the market share, followed by Thailand and China, which accounted for 22.9% and 18.1%, respectively.

Korea and Vietnam signed a free trade agreement (FTA) in Hanoi, the trade ministry said Tuesday. The pact, when ratified by the respective parliaments of the two nations, will make the Southeast Asian country Korea's 15th tariff-free trading partner and boost Seoul's exports of automobiles, electronics and beauty products. The two nations aim to have the pack go into effect this year.

HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam expects to reach a total export value of US$2 billion for fruits and vegetables this year, an official of the Viet Nam Vegetable and Fruit Association (Vinafruit) said. Huynh Quang Dau, Vinafruit deputy chairman, said Viet Nam's export value of fruits and vegetables had seen strong growth in recent times, reported kinhtenongthon.com.vn. The export value reached $1.47 billion in 2014, much higher than the $500 million earned in 2013, due to the expansion of the export market.

The trouble with our trade debates is that people assume they're only about economics. Since World War II, U.S. trade policy has also been a pillar of U.S. foreign policy. In the early postwar decades, America encouraged trade with Europe and Japan - allowing more of their exports into the United States - as a way of achieving our political goals. Trade would build their prosperity, and their prosperity would promote democracy over communism.

India and the European Union will likely resume free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations in June, with New Delhi expressing willingness to accommodate the EU’s demands for lower duties on wines, spirits and automobiles, provided Brussels relents to grant India ‘data secure nation’ status besides facilitating easier movement of skilled Indian professionals in Europe.