Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said that his Government wants to move as quickly as it can on a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU). Abbott met with French President François Hollande on November 19 and told a press conference afterwards that discussions had focused on trade. "It is my hope that Australia can swiftly begin negotiations for a free trade agreement with the EU, and I've had a great deal of support from European leaders, including François, for this objective," he said.

The steel industry has enjoyed rather a good last 18 months; prices on the whole have held up relatively well, capacity utilization in the US is good, helped by mill discipline and a growing economy, and raw material costs have been coming down aiding mills’ margins. In Europe, mill orders are quite well-booked out to the end of Q4, although demand is heavily reliant on the automotive sector, which is showing signs it may be peaking.

Shrimp exports to the US skyrocket Vietnamese shrimp exporters seek to expand markets VASEP files claim against US’ anti-dumping duties on shrimp Twenty-two hectares of the company's shrimp ponds have met ASC's environmental and social standards.  One of Vietnam's biggest shrimp exporters, the company has made major efforts in recent years to meet ASC's standards. 

Overall, the economies of Asia are a bull element in global recovery and long term development. The advanced countries, although less so now the United States, remain a drag on the world economy with no sign that Europe is likely to emerge from stagnation any time soon.

New Zealand and South Korea have concluded a free-trade agreement that’s expected to cut into export tariffs in the nation’s sixth-largest export market that currently run to about $230 million a year. The deal, which was announced on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brisbane, will initially eliminate tariffs on 48 percent of current New Zealand exports, with duties largely eliminated within 15 years. South Korea has said it also aims to conclude FTAs with China and Vietnam before the end of the year, after agreeing recent deals with Australia and Canada.

The UK prime minister said EU and US leaders had met and all agreed the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) "is a deal we want". Speaking at the G20 summit, he said arguments against TTIP were "weak" and fears over the NHS were "nonsense". Many opponents are concerned about TTIP giving firms power to sue governments if they are hit by policy changes. Len McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite union, has called for the NHS to be excluded from the deal.

HA NOI  (VNS)  — The reduction of tariffs under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) next year won't lead to a surge in ASEAN goods to Viet Nam, an official of the Ministry of Finance said. Beginning January 1, 2015, Viet Nam will further cut 1,720 tariff lines from 5 per cent to zero under the ATIGA. About 7 per cent of tariff lines, or 600 items, are considered too sensitive to be cut to zero next year.

As President Barack Obama commended the personal leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in finding the way forward on the WTO trade facilitation agreement (TFA), top Indian officials here said that it was at the meeting of the two leaders in Nay Pyi Taw this week that the deal was finally sealed. Meeting on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit on Wednesday, Modi and Obama took forward their discussion in Washington in September, including on the ways to resolve the WTO deadlock. “I know you are a man of action,” Obama told Modi in Nay Pyi Taw.

The APEC summit has only just ended, but like the return of hazy skies over Beijing, clouds of uncertainty surrounding the regional forum have again drifted overhead. This is familiar weather for APEC, a grouping that has faced questions about its future for well over a decade. On the face of it, China’s year of hosting APEC has given a level of attention to the regional grouping that should stand it in good stead for the foreseeable future. But if in years to come we look back to identify the year that APEC peaked, perhaps 2014 is that year.

Nov 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Commerce confirmed steep duties on imports of carbon and alloy steel wire rod from China after ruling the products were being sold below cost in the U.S. market and received unfair levels of government subsidies.