The Japanese government plans to come to a final decision by mid-March on whether to join the talks for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement, or TPP.The government says it needs time to win over opposing lawmakers in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, while the US administration makes the necessary preparations.

Feb 26 (Reuters) - A World Trade Organization dispute panel has largely backed the European Union's legal challenge to Chinese anti-dumping duties on shipments of X-ray security scanning equipment, according to the panel's report published on Tuesday.

BERLIN — U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pushed Tuesday for a free-trade agreement between the United States and Europe, saying it is a priority for President Barack Obama’s second term that would help create jobs and growth on both sides of the Atlantic.The proposal has been garnering support on both continents, with Obama saying earlier this month that the U.S. believes “trade that is free and fair across the Atlantic supports millions of good-paying American jobs.”

HANOI, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's export to the European Union (EU) is likely to slow its pace of growth to around 10 percent this year, according to Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade on Tuesday.As the EU market's economy is still hampered by numerous challenges, Vietnamese key exporters have found it hard to seek new orders this year.

BERLIN, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle reaffirmed on Tuesday the two sides' mutual commitment to an EU-U.S. free trade zone agreement with negotiations set to begin in the summer.

SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Yonhap) — The absence of a free trade deal between South Korea and Canada is the weakest link in their bilateral relations, and the two countries need to conclude one this year to deepen their partnership in a wider range of areas, Canada’s visiting governor general said Tuesday.

The New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is to lead a trade delegation to Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Brazil, in an effort to capitalize on trade opportunities and strengthen bilateral relations.Key's trip will begin on March 4, and he will be accompanied by the Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy. Taken together, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Brazil have a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of around USD4 trillion.

Will NATO become a key factor in the US pivot to the Asia-Pacific? Some leading circles in the US and in Europe see it as part of a system to contain a rising China.

China's Foreign Ministry has stressed that the integration of the Asia-Pacific economies should be carried out on the principle of openness and transparency.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday sought the support of New Komeito, the Liberal Democratic Party's coalition partner, regarding Japan's participation in Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade talks.During a meeting with Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi, Abe explained that he and U.S. President Barack Obama had confirmed that eliminating all tariffs would not be a precondition for joining the TPP talks at their meeting in Washington on Friday.