BRUSSELS — President Obama and the top trade official for the European Union sought to rally support Tuesday for a landmark trans-Atlantic free trade deal, saying it would benefit a wide variety of exporters and offer a boost to growth.Karel De Gucht, the EU trade commissioner, said one of the biggest beneficiaries of a trade deal with the United States would be automobile manufacturers like BMW that have long rankled at tariffs.

WELLINGTON, March 13 (Xinhua) -- The agriculture ministers of New Zealand and Brazil have agreed to look at lowering trade costs and barriers, including tariffs between the two nations, New Zealand Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy said Wednesday.

THE 16th round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations ended here yesterday with chief negotiators of the 11 participating countries noting the progress made in the working groups on regulatory coherence, telecommunications, customs and development.

HA NOI (VNS)— Viet Nam earned US$119 million from fruit and vegetable exports in the first two months of this year, up 16 per cent on the same period in 2012.The result continues the sector's target of a 10-year growth in exports.This year's fruit and vegetable export turnover is expected to hit $1 billion.

PULLMAN, WASHINGTON – The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations are a major topic in Japan, but few Americans even know about it or understand it. Those who do know about it, mainly in the business world, are quite leery of it. The TPP is not a priority for the Obama administration or Congress, both of which, like Japan, are absorbed with jobs and security.

TOKYO, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Japan's largest farm group rallied Tuesday in Tokyo to protest against the government's entry into the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade talks.About 4,000 people took part in the rally, according to the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (the JA-Zenchu), which is part of the Japan Agriculture group (JA).

The Government of Zambia has called on the three African regional economic communities (RECs) - the East African Community (EAC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) - to speed up their free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations.

Prime Minister John Key is confident America will sign one of the world’s largest free trade deals, because its economic hands are tied.Speaking to a business breakfast in Chile’s capital Santiago overnight, Mr Key says there’s a very real chance the Trans Pacific Partnership, which includes Chile, will be signed later this year.

Since the first merchant ship of the new American republic set sail from New York for Canton in 1784, trade has been at the heart of U.S. strategy in the Asia-Pacific. Deepening economic exchange with the world’s most dynamic region has not only promoted American prosperity; it has also been an essential underpinning of the U.S. military and diplomatic presence in the region.

In Brussels, on March 6, 2013, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and the Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra formally launched negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and Thailand.The ambition is to conclude a comprehensive agreement covering tariffs, non-tariff barriers and other trade related issues, such as services, investment, procurement, regulatory issues, competition, and sustainable development.