HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam saw a 2.8 per cent year-on-year reduction in the export value of agricultural, fish-eries, and forestry products to record US$14.42 billion during the first half of 2015. This includes $2.6 billion recorded in June, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The value of agricultural exports in the first six months declined by 5.7 per cent to $6.93 billion and that of fisheries products fell by 16 per cent to $2.97 billion, particularly on the US market, compared with the same period last year.

U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said he hopes to wrap up a trade deal with 11 other Pacific Rim nations soon and send it to the U.S. Congress for approval before the end of the year. Lawmakers last week granted the White House authority to close the Trans-Pacific Partnership and other trade deals and speed them through Congress, opening the door to a phase of intense negotiations to finalize the pact.

After a bruising political battle, Congress has passed Trade Promotion Authority legislation, which sets out a framework for President Obama to negotiate trade agreements and have Congress vote yes or no on them, without any amendments.

The China–Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), signed and made public on 17 June 2015, included investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions, which allow foreign investors to claim against host states that violate substantive commitments if the treaty’s inter-state arbitration mechanism is unavailable due to political or diplomatic reasons. ISDS is especially useful when the host state’s laws and procedures do not meet commonly accepted minimum international standards.

After the Obama administration’s victories in Congress the past two weeks, it appears far more likely that the United States will become part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Bilateral negotiations are still taking place between some of the countries negotiating the TPP—the United States and Japan still have major issues to resolve—but the chances of these bilateral hurdles being resolved, and the final agreement being negotiated, have risen substantially now that President Obama has gained fast track authority.

The US is also Vietnam's largest trade partner lagging just behind China, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. However a large number of trade barriers remain between the two countries and many believe these barriers could be eliminated under the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, which would group Vietnam, the US and ten other nations in a free trade bloc.

Thanks to achievements in exports, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), overseas remittances and the business environment, foreign organizations released positive evaluations of the Government’s efforts in improving the business environment. Maintaining the macro-economy, controlling inflation, stabilizing exchange rates and increasing belief in Vietnamese Dong have created a firm foundation for development and gained benefits from trading.

Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang has said negotiations between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) over a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) are on right track. Hoang was quoted by Vietnam News Agency as saying during his Europe trip this week that the two sides are close to concluding the FTA talks in accordance with an agreement signed by leaders of Vietnam and the European Commission during Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to Europe in October 2014.

Commerce secretary says this is the best time to conclude the deal to give a boost to textile and leather exports New Delhi: Despite the ongoing turmoil in the euro zone over Greece’s debt crisis, India and the European Union (EU) have set a tentative August date for the resumption of stalled negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA), with both sides keen to break the deadlock, outgoing commerce secretary Rajeev Kher said on Monday. Kher will retire on 30 June. The government has appointed Rita Teaotia as the new commerce secretary.

THE Canadian government wants to hold exploratory talks with the Philippines for a potential Free Trade Agreement (FTA) within the year, to cover as much ground as possible before an upcoming change in administration. “We want to advance them as much as we can. We’re also conscious the clock is ticking for the Aquino administration,” Canadian Ambassador Neil Reeder told a media briefing at his official residence yesterday.Source: Business World