According to this latest free trade deal, the RoK will eliminate import tariffs on a total of 409 goods while Vietnam will lift tariffs on 272 goods, all phased in over the next 15 years. Seoul currently imposes a 5% import duty on all foreign rice imports collectively up to 409,000 tonnes a year effective as of the beginning of 2015 and the FTA has no immediate effect on this quota.

May 26 (Reuters) - China's drive to create a Beijing-led Asian development bank seen as a threat to U.S. and Japanese regional clout is adding to a sense of urgency among Japanese officials keen to get a 12-nation pan-Pacific trade pact off the ground. Japan hopes the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will help anchor ally Washington in Asia and create a rule-based regime that would eventually draw in China. Beijing, for its part, is seeking to reshape Asia's economic architecture with institutions such as the new Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

As regional free trade agreements proliferate in the Asia-Pacific, a new APEC Policy Support Unit report confirms that these agreements do make a difference in boosting exports. These preliminary findings were submitted to APEC Trade Ministers in Boracay over the weekend.

In early May, the renowned Brussels think tank CEPS (Centre for European Policy Studies), with the bank BBVA, organised a between high-level representatives from the EU and Mexico aiming to provide an overall review of the EU-Mexico trade relationship. The conference highlighted and discussed new opportunities for enhancing the EU-Mexico Free Trade Agreement during upcoming negotiations.

GENEVA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- WTO's Director-General Roberto Azevedo Sunday welcomed the strong statement of support issued by APEC trade ministers at their meeting in Boracay, the Philippines, and underscored that continued backing from APEC will be "critical" to reaching agreement on a work program for concluding the Doha Round. The meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade, held on Saturday and Sunday, included a detailed discussion of APEC's ongoing support for the multilateral trading system across a range of areas.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is one of the largest trade agreements ever attempted. The treaty will bring about significant economic benefits, but it may also lead to the further economic isolation of Russia unless Moscow begins to embrace greater trade liberalization in Asia-Pacific.

Vietnam is on track to becoming the first Southeast Asian nation to ratify the landmark Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In December 2013, WTO member countries unanimously endorsed the TFA at the conclusion of the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia. To date, only four WTO members — Hong Kong (China), Singapore, the US and Mauritius — have secured domestic acceptance of the TFA.

SINGAPORE — The chief of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said today (May 25) the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal, if reached, would have a positive impact on the WTO’s global trade talks. “Some suggest that such agreements may undermine our efforts to build a stronger multilateral trading system. I fundamentally disagree with that assessment,” WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo said at a seminar organised by the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies and the Temasek Foundation in Singapore.

The Vietnam – Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement (VKFTA) signed on May 5 reflects a high level of commitment from both sides and is set to both challenge and benefit the Vietnamese economy in the future. 

China and Colombia have expressed an interest in signing a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA). Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Bogotá, Colombia, on May 21, 2015, to explore opportunities to deepen trade ties with the South American nation. Following a meeting with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, the Chinese Premier told reporters that the two countries have agreed to conduct a feasibility study on an FTA.