With Tuesday’s vote in the U.S. Senate to give President Obama fast track negotiating authority on trade deals, the president is likely to be able to help complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), with the United States in the deal, by the end of the year. With fast track authority completed, the United States will be positioned to resolve remaining bilateral hurdles with Japan, the key to moving forward with the TPP.

The Vietnam Industry and Trade Information Center (VITIC) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) announced that seafood production in Vietnam stood at 6.8 million tons for 2014, an increase of nearly 40 per cent since 2009, while the industry employs 4.5 million people. Vietnam's export markets have also expanded, with seafood products now sent to 164 countries. The seafood industry made nearly $8 billion last year, putting the country in the Top 5 seafood producers and exporters in the world.

Recently signed free trade agreements (FTA) between Vietnam and South Korea and the Eurasian Economic Union are expected to be good opportunity for export promotion. However there is a long distance from expectation to reality, requiring both authorized agencies and businesses to quickly solve related issues to prevent WTO scenario from reoccurring.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the TPP will open up opportunities for Vietnam to increase production and expand foreign markets for agricultural products. Once signed, the TPP will become a free trade area with 800 million people, accounting for 30 percent of global trade and nearly 40 percent of global economic output. Joining the TPP will help Vietnam to access investment sources, modernise production, improve product quality, and penetrate further into global production chains.

The European Parliament Committee on Development has produced an Opinion for the Committee on International Trade on the subject of the conclusion of the Protocol Amending the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organisation.

The free trade agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) comprising Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan was officially signed on May 29 after many years of negotiations, opening a big opportunity to the country’s exports. Vietnam has become the first nation outside the Commonwealth of Independent States that signs free trade agreement with the union. The agreement will abolish 90 percent of tax lines, equivalent to 90 percent of bilateral trade turnover.

It has become an annoying habit for American politicians to air their “concern” about human rights in Vietnam. The latest episode has many Congressmen grappling with a vexing question: Should Vietnam be part of the US-led 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP] – touted as the “most progressive free trade agreement in our nation’s history” by President Barack Obama, given Vietnam’s human rights record?

HA NOI (VNS)— Viet Nam is the second largest textile and garment exporter to South Korea, making up one-fourth of South Korea's garment market, after China. South Korea imported US$627.4 million in textiles and garments from Viet Nam in the first four months of this year, according to the Viet Nam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas). The turnover marks an increase of 8.25 per cent over the same period last year.

The fate of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade and investment pact may be known as early as next Wednesday, United States time, after a vote in Congress endorsed the elusive "fast-track authority" President Barack Obama needs if the 12-nation negotiation is to be concluded successfully.

HA NOI (VNS) — Tra fish export turnover this year would be US$1.7 billion, posting a four per cent year-on-year drop due to difficulties in imported markets and tighter regul-ations. The Viet Nam Association of Seafoods Exporters and Producers (VASEP), quoting statistics from the General Department of Customs, said that for the four months to May 15, the total export revenue of tra fish fell 9.3 per cent from the same period last year to $544.8 million.