Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s statement of his country’s willingness to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations is good for the U.S., Japan and the TPP. It follows former Japanese Prime Minister Noda’s announcement at the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) in 2011 of Japan’s interest in the TPP negotiations and almost two years of discussions between the Japanese government and the other TPP parties on their expectations should Japan join the trade agreement.

HCM CITY (VNS)— The Viet Nam-EU Free Trade Agreement is expected to increase the volume of Vietnamese seafood exports to the EU, according to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).Speaking at a conference in HCM City last week, Vasep General Secretary Truong Dinh Hoe said the EU, with its 27 members, is an important market for the Vietnamese seafood industry.

While Vietnamese businesses protested, the United States industry welcomed the anti-dumping duties (ADs) imposed by the final results in the 8th Administrative Review of the Department of Commerce (DOC) on imports of frozen catfish fillets from Vietnam.

Japan’s bid to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations may make it easier for it to import liquefied natural gas from the United States, a prospect that is raising the hackles of environmental groups.

Japan's government will soon name a chief negotiator to represent the country in talks on a proposed free-trade pact. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the Trans-Pacific Partnership is vital for Japan's economic future.Abe spoke on Sunday at a convention of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, which he heads.

(Reuters) - China will hold three rounds of trade negotiations with Japan and South Korea this year and step up talks with other trading partners, the Ministry of Commerce said on Tuesday, as U.S. efforts to seal a trans-Pacific free trade deal gather pace.

It’s well known that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who announced Japan will join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations on Friday, will face an uphill battle in bringing Japan’s economy in line with the TPP’s strict trade requirements, given the expected opposition from powerful industy groups, many of which are strong backers of Abe’s political party.Now it appears Abe will have a sympathetic ally in President Barack Obama.   

Sixty percent of Japanese support Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's decision to participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey.However, 62 percent of respondents said rice and some agricultural products should be excluded from tariff elimination if the nation joins the TPP talks, it said.

Joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) multilateral free trade agreement would have mixed results for Japan.For one thing, domestic regulations may have to be changed to conform to international rules.But how would our livelihoods be changed by membership in the TPP?Japan imposes tariffs on imports from overseas, mainly on agricultural products.

Vietnam believes the participation of Japan, one of the big economies and having an important role in the Asia-Pacific region and the world, will contribute to increasing cooperation potential and the attractiveness of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), as well as intensifying multi-level and mutually beneficial cooperation among countries in the region.