As the US Department of Commerce will decide on preliminary anti-dumping tariffs on PV products imported from China and Taiwan on July 24, Taiwan-based PV module makers using in-house-produced solar cells can tolerate rates of 15-20% to maintain price competitiveness in the US market, according to industry sources. But for PV module makers using outside-supplied solar cells, tolerable rates will be lower at 5-8% due to higher production costs, the sources said.

Despite the effort made earlier this month by South Korean President Park Geun-hye and her Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in agreeing that their two countries should conclude free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations by the end of 2014, the latest 12th round of talks were said to have produced little, or no, progress on tariffs.

Vietnamese seafood exporters are facing innumerable difficulties as overseas markets are imposing a variety of trade barriers and challenges, including levying anti-dumping tariffs on imports from Vietnam. Among the most significant challenges are the European Union (EU)’s anti-dumping measures from the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), and the US’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS) and Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) - Sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union against Russia contradict the principles of the World Trade Organization, First Deputy Chairman of State Duma Committee on Industry Vladimir Gutenev said Monday. “The anti-Russian sanctions imposed today directly contradict the WTO principles, which allows us to say that the opportunities granted by the membership in this organization are unlikely to provide the expected economic benefits,” Gutenev said.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a step backwards to the days before the World Trade Organisation when the US and Europe controlled the global trading system to the detriment of developing economies, says a former director-general of the WTO, Supachai Panitchpakdi of Thailand.

NEW DELHI—India's prime minister and his cabinet are expected to decide on Wednesday whether to effectively block a global trade deal, a senior Indian trade official said. India has said it would not ratify a World Trade Organization trade facilitation agreement reached last year in Bali, Indonesia, if it isn't given more freedom to help its poor citizens.

BEIJING—China’s Ministry of Commerce opposes the U.S. government’s recent decision to investigate possible antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese passenger and light truck tires, saying the move “breaches the rules” of the World Trade Organization and U.S. laws. The ministry issued its position statement July 18 but did not attribute it to any individual. The U.S. investigation was initiated “despite serious flaws in the application for the investigation and opposition from the U.S. tire industry and related sectors,” according to the statement.

SYDNEY, July 19 (Xinhua) -- The G20 trade ministers gathered in Sydney on Saturday to discuss the contribution of trade and investment to growth and how to strengthen the global trading system. Andrew Robb, Australian minister for Trade and Investment, said in the opening remarks to the G20 Trade Ministers Meeting that trade and investment have become of great interest to replace growth driven by debt-financed government spending.

On July 19, Trade Ministers from the G20 group of countries -- including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union (EU) -- will convene for their annual meeting in Sydney, Australia.

(Reuters) - Eleventh hour negotiations to win Indian approval for a breakthrough global trade pact may not have succeeded in the end despite initial signs of progress, sources involved in the discussions said on Saturday. India is the most prevalent among a group of developing nations angry at rich countries for failing to address their concerns about a deal on trade facilitation - struck by WTO member states in Bali last year - that must be detailed by a July 31 deadline. Proponents believe the deal could add $1 trillion to global GDP and 21 million jobs.