SEOUL  (VNS) — Viet Nam's Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son signed a cooperative agreement with South Korea during his recent visit to the country, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong and US Trade Representative Michael Froman expressed a desire to accelerate an early conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations at a July 6 meeting as part of Trong's ongoing trip to the US at the invitation of the US administration. Trong congratulated the US administration on being granted the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) by the US Congress, describing this a very positive signal for the process of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations towards an early conclusion of the trade deal.

Tra fish output in the Mekong Delta increased in the first six months of 2015 but export value of tra fish products experienced a downfall, according to Deputy Chairman and General Secretary of the Vietnam Pangasius Association Vo Hung Dung.  Speaking at a press conference in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on July 7, the deputy chairman said as of June 30, total tra fish output stood at 516,140 tonnes, up 1.22 percent compared to the same period last year.

Pacific Rim countries pursuing a free trade initiative are set to hold ministerial talks on July 28 and 29 in Hawaii to wind up their marathon negotiations, a source said Monday. The United States, Japan and 10 other countries came up with the plan as hopes for an early signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership have been growing since U.S. President Barack Obama signed a bill into law last week that grants him power to put to a vote trade deals with limited interference by lawmakers.

Having recently driven through the ‘fast track’ legislation needed for President Obama to get through the US Pacific Rim free trade deal known as TTP, the US trade representative has vowed to speed up the negotiation between the US and EU to secure the TTIP trade deal before Obama’s term of office ends.

HA NOI  (VNS) — Viet Nam expects to increase fresh fruit exports to the US and Australia next year following the US government's approval of irradiation as an effective quarantine system. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said on Sunday the ministry would work with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) to fund upgrades to an irradiation centre in Ha Noi, aiming to meet the north's demand for exporting agricultural products.

The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member states – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland – and the Philippines held a second round of negotiations towards a free trade agreement from June 29 to July 3, 2015.

BRICS plans to promote new active cooperation with non-members of the organization to include countries from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the G20 group, Russian Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said Tuesday. MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia, which is currently chairing the BRICS organization, plans to create a roadmap for trade, economy and investment cooperation through 2020, Ulyukayev said.

In its assessment of the European Union’s trade policy, the WTO Secretariat pays tribute to the critical role played by the EU in the Organization. It highlights the EU’s remarkable openness at a time of timid economic recovery. WTO Member countries and the WTO Secretariat will discuss the report on Monday 6 July and Wednesday 8 July in Geneva in the framework of the EU’s 12th Trade Policy Review. The main points highlighted by the report and expected to be discussed include:

Vietnamese businesses operating in Russia were updated on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at a recent conference in Moscow. At the July 4 event, which was co-hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnam Business Association in Russia (VBA), Trade Counsellor at the Embassy Pham Quang Niem introduced the FTA’s main contents, pointing out that the FTA will open up large markets for Vietnamese exports, such as garments, footwear, wooden and agro-fishery products.