During a hearing Tuesday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was questioned at what point does the U.S. decide to conclude the Trans Pacific Partnership talks without Japan because of its insistence on maintaining its desire to exclude sacred commodities. Vilsack replied he still believes there is a “pathway to a solid, quality high standards agreement that includes Japan.”

Negotiators from the 12 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) member countries are in Washington this week to move this landmark agreement closer to completion. We are almost there – you could say we are in the “red-zone” of the negotiations. Let’s hope the negotiators can do what the Redskins couldn’t – and put some points on the board.  

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled against the U.S. imposing high duty on imports of certain Indian steel products, an order hailed by India as a ‘significant victory’ that will help domestic manufacturers and exporters.The Appellate Body of the WTO has ruled that the high duty imposed by the U.S. on the certain Indian steel imports was ‘inconsistent’ with various provisions of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM).

The Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Roberto Azevêdo, has said that "the stock of trade restrictions introduced by WTO members since 2008 continues to rise." Presenting his annual report "Developments in the International Trading Environment" to the Trade Policy Review Body on December 8, Azevêdo said that "in a climate of economic uncertainty the continued accumulation of trade-restrictive measures poses a clear risk."

HA NOI (VNS)  — Vietnamese officials, representatives from the European Union (EU) delegation and experts from Singapore, Thailand and the US attended a seminar in Ha Noi yesterday to discuss challenges in the implementation of the Viet Nam-EU Free Trade Agreement (VEFTA). During recent meetings, Vietnamese and EU leaders emphasised their political resolve to sign the deal in early 2015, according to chairman of the Party Central Committee's Commission for External Relations Hoang Binh Quan.

While President Barack Obama has indicated that he would press for congressional approval for Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) renewal as an aid in current United States trade agreement negotiations, House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D – Michigan) has stressed the need to continue to focus wholly on those negotiations.

DONG NAI (VNS)  — The southern Dong Nai province exported wood products to 80 markets worldwide, earning US$884 million, during the first 11 months of this year, up 9.1 per cent year-on-year. According to Le Van Danh, director of the provincial Industry and Trade Department, the figure for November alone was $103 million, an increase of 17 per cent compared to the same month last year. Wood products have become one of the four largest foreign currency earners of the provinces, besides footwear, garments and textiles, and fibre.

Dec 9 (Reuters) - The United States confirmed steep import duties on Chinese chemicals used in sanitizing water on Tuesday after a complaint the products were unfairly subsidized and sold too cheaply in U.S. markets. In its final decision, the Department of Commerce set anti-dumping duties of 210.52 percent on imports from China of calcium hypochlorite, used in chlorinating and sanitizing water, and anti-subsidy duties of 65.85 percent.

Negotiations will resume in the next round to be held in Thailand from 9-13 February New Delhi: Members of the regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP) grouping were unable to agree a template for negotiations on a proposed mega regional trade agreement at the sixth round of talks held in Greater Noida near New Delhi last week.

(Reuters) - An appeals board of the World Trade Organization reversed much of an earlier ruling against the United States on Monday, but it said U.S. duties on Indian steel broke WTO rules and asked the United States to bring them into line with its regulation. In one of the most complicated appeals decisions ever handled by the 19-year-old trade watchdog, the WTO's Appellate Body reversed much of a ruling by a three-person panel in July, which said the U.S. duties had wrongly penalised India for subsidising steel exports by Tata Steel [TATAI.UL].