HCM CITY (VNS) — Experts discussed domestic businesses' preparations for the free trade agreement (FTA) between Viet Nam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) during a workshop held on Thursday in HCM City. At the event, co-organised by the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, the Centre of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the HCM City Enterprises Association, participants highlighted the huge potential domestic businesses would have entering the new market, which has 175 million people and a GDP of nearly US$2.5 trillion.

HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam and Latin American countries have supplementary business structures, which could help boost economic development. Pham Thi Thu Hang, general secretary of Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), made the remark at a workshop on business opportunities in the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) organised by VCCI and the Mercosur-ASEAN Chamber of Commerce.

TOKYO -- Members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact will hold cabinet-level talks as early as the last week of July to discuss four areas where participants remain at odds, including intellectual property and investment.

Financial services company India Nivesh has warned that when the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) comes into effect, India would be negatively impacted to a major extent; though India would not be the only country at disadvantage. China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other non-members of TPP would also be adversely affected. The US is in advanced stages of closing the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement – one of the largest free trade agreements signed involving 12 countries.

President Obama on Tuesday will meet with the general secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party, the first such visit at the White House since the two countries normalized relations two decades ago. Obama and Nguyen Phu Trong are expected to discuss a range of issues, including the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade accord, bilateral defense cooperation and human rights, the White House said in a statement.

The free trade agreement between Mexico and Panama became effective on July 1, 2015, Panama's Ministry of Trade and Industry said. The FTA was signed in Panama on April 3, 2014. It was ratified by Mexico on April 20, 2015. Under the FTA, Mexico will immediately receive preferential tariff treatment on 72 percent of agreed products, including copper, aluminum, steel, automobiles, auto parts, paints, cosmetics, and perfumes. Tariffs on the remaining products will be lowered gradually, after five years.

The much-awaited Free Trade Agreement between India and Thailand has hit a slight bump as the two sides still disagree on key details, according to a senior Thai official. Director-General of the Trade Negotiations Department Thawatchai Sophastienphong said the points of contention included a Thai proposal to extend the talks to cover textiles and petrochemicals and India’s request to withdraw sugar and rubber gaskets from planned tariff cuts. High-ranking officials of the two countries held talks on FTA from June 15-17 last month here.

HCM CITY (VNS) — Viet Nam's cashew exports were worth US$1.1 billion in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 28.2 per cent, according to the Viet Nam Cashew Association (Vinacas). Speaking at a meeting in HCM City yesterday, Vinacas chairman Nguyen Duc Thanh said the average export price in the period was higher than a year earlier as prolonged drought in many countries pushed up the prices of many kinds of nuts, including cashew. Vietnamese exports rose by only 14 per cent in volume terms in the period.

HCM CITY  (VNS) — Fruit export turnover is expected to reach US$2 billion by the end of this year when businesses increase their exports, the Viet Nam Fruit and Vegetable Association has said. For export markets with strict guidelines, businesses are improving quality, including the use of irradiation technology or sulphur dioxide fumigation. They are also trying to overcome technical barriers of import markets.

WELLINGTON, July 2 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Trade Minister Tim Groser on Thursday welcomed the World Trade Organization's commendation of the country's open and transparent trade policy. The WTO Trade Policy Review, released Monday, praised New Zealand as "among the most open economies in the world," although it also raised concerns about high levels of private debt.