Date: August 2020 By: World Trade Organization (WTO)

Date: August 2020 By: World Trade Organization (WTO)

Top U.S. and Chinese trade officials reaffirmed their commitment to a Phase 1 trade deal, which has seen China lagging on its obligations to buy American goods, giving a boost to financial markets on Tuesday.

Ministers from Asia-Pacific countries negotiating a sprawling free trade agreement will virtually meet this week with the aim of reaching a deal by year-end, while maintaining hope that India will return to the talks, the Japanese government said Tuesday.

Instead of following a general recipe to attract foreign capital, enterprises and localities are advised to address more essential demands for social and industrial infrastructure and diversify their labour force to live up to the expectations of large-scale groups.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has approved a list of 268 trustworthy Vietnamese export companies across 25 sectors in 2019.

70% of raw materials for domestic leather and footwear production are imported from China, according to Phan Thi Thanh Xuan, general secretary of the Vietnam Leather, Footwear and Handbag Association (Lefaso).

Vietnam is aiming to build a transparent and legal wood industry to support exports of timber products and bolster the domestic timber manufacturing industry.

Next year the world’s largest free trade zone in terms of participating countries since the establishment of the WTO will come into being. But many details of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement still need to be ironed out – and Covid-19 delays have not helped. The ATAF/AUC High-level Tax Policy Dialogue on Wednesday will hopefully get the process back on track.

China has launched an anti-dumping investigation into imported wines from Australia, adding to an already tense trading relationship between the two nations as disputes roll on over a dairy deal, tariffs on barley and territory claims.