The Consul General of India in Ho Chi Minh City has recommended that Indian enterprises, apart from expanding trade with Vietnam, should seriously invest in the Southeast Asian country to make use of future trade agreements.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday asked for progress in the joint feasibility study of a China-Fiji Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Li told visiting Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama that the study of the FTA would facilitate closer two-way trade cooperation. In their talks at the Great Hall of the People, Li vowed to boost cooperation with the Pacific island country in such areas as agriculture, fishery, forestry, infrastructure and tourism.

The Obama administration isn’t happy with Canada’s reluctance to sacrifice its poultry market on the altar of membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). On July 16, the Globe and Mail reported:

HA NOI (VNS) — South Korean companies will now invest in more areas in Viet Nam, ASEAN-Korea Centre General Secretary Kim Young-sun has told an investment forum in Ha Noi. The South Korean firms are eyeing sectors with high added value, including electronics and information technology, and officials from 20 large South Korean firms began a five-day trip to Viet Nam on Monday to study opportunities in these fields.

HA NOI  (VNS) — Vietnamese businesses should be well prepared emotionally and physically to tap opportunities from the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), experts said at a dialogue yesterday. Chairman of the Viet Nam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Cao Sy Kiem, said the 10 ASEAN countries created a production area with a market of more than 600 million consumers. ASEAN was the world's most dynamic development region and one of the top four business partners of Viet Nam, he said.

World Trade Organisation director general Roberto Azevêdo called on development partners to continue working together to close major trade finance gaps in Africa and Asia.  Speaking yesterday at the UN’s third Financing for Development conference in Addis Ababa, he warned that financing gaps ran into trillions of dollars posed potentially catastrophic risks to growth and development.

TPP negotiations to be concluded soon In an interview with the press on the achievements attained during Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s recent official visit to the U.S., Mr. Hoang revealed that issues and contents related to the TPP negotiations were referred to at the talks between the Party chief and U.S. President Obama as well as leaders of some U.S. agencies, organizations and the business community.

While the notion of global trade may conjure thoughts of air and sea freight crossing oceans and hemispheres, the simple fact is that for U.S. manufacturers, two of the surest international export/import partners can be found only a drive away from some of our very own border cities. Today, U.S.-Canada and U.S.-Mexico trade relationships rank among the strongest in the world. Just consider the numbers: Combined exports to both countries were nearly $600 billion annually at last official count in 2012.

A trade ministerial meeting held on July 13 in Kuala Lumpur discussed the state of current negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade treaty, which has faced difficulties, particularly with regards to tariff cut proposals. The eighth round of RCEP negotiations, held on June 8-13 this year, finished with little apparent progress towards an agreement on market access.

Unlike many countries in Asia, and indeed in the world, Vietnam is for the moment blessed with a raft of positive economic news. But beneath the surface, structural problems and a lack of industrial deepening persist.  Exports have been growing at 18 per cent year-on-year and 10 per cent year-to-date. Disbursements in foreign direct investment rose by some 9.6 per cent year-on-year with Samsung, in particular, manufacturing not only its smartphones but also TV and computer screens in Vietnam.