The World Trade Organization is pushing anew for free trade as it sounded the alarm over the rise in economic restrictions or trade protectionism imposed by the Group of 20 (G-20) despite the recent adoption of the Bali package of trade facilitation measures, a WTO report sent to select entities said.G-20 is the forum for international economic cooperation and decision-making, with members from 19 countries plus the European Union. Its members account for 85 percent of the world economy, 76 percent of global trade and two-thirds of the world’s population.

Jan 4 (Reuters) - China pledged further support support for its ailing solar power industry on Saturday as the government seeks to revive a sector struggling with with overcapacity and falling prices. The State Council, China's cabinet, said in July that the country aimed to more than quadruple solar power generating capacity to 35 gigawatts by 2015 in an apparent bid to ease a glut in the domestic solar power industry.

Speaking at the conference on TPP negotiations in HCMC last Friday, Tran Quoc Khanh, head of the Vietnamese TPP negotiation delegation and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, said that the team is trying to conclude the agreement as soon as possible. However, negotiators from participating countries agreed that no agreement is still better than a bad agreement. They will not sacrifice quality of the TPP agreement due to time pressure, Khanh said.

YANGON, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar has exempted from custom duties goods meeting origin criteria that are exported to member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), state media reported Friday. "If the goods, included in the product specific rule list, meet the origin criteria of receptive items while exporting to ASEAN member countries, the goods will be given exemption from custom duties as the products of origin countries," said the New Light of Myanmar.

The TPP Ministerial Meeting was held in Singapore from 7th-10th December 2013.

TOKYO —The Japanese government is hoping that Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade negotiations will conclude with an agreement in February. The 12-nation talks, led by the U.S., had set an ambitious timetable of December 2013 for the conclusion of a pact but negotiators were unable to reach agreement on abolishing tariffs on sensitive items such as automobiles and agricultural products.

Malaysia has ruled out any American “pressure” in the negotiating process in the much controversial Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement as all economies are pressuring each other to agree on certain clauses according to respective law and norms. “Definitely, there is no such thing such as US pressure,” said Datuk Dr Rebecca Fatima Sta Maria, secretary general of the International Trade and Industry Ministry.

FOR the first time since it came into existence in 1995, the World Trade Organisation last month achieved a breakthrough, reaching a series of agreements to streamline trade that are expected to boost the world economy by up to a US$1 trillion (RM3.28 trillion) a year. Even so, progress in the Doha round of talks has been frustratingly slow and countries will continue to move on their own to reach regional free trade agreements, such as ongoing talks spearheaded by the United States to set up a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

As the year draws to a close, EFF is looking back at the major trends influencing digital rights in 2013 and discussing where we are in the fight for free expression, innovation, fair use, and privacy. Click here to read other blog posts in this series.

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Looking around a Mexico dotted by Starbucks, Wal-Mart and Krispy Kreme outlets, it's hard to remember the country before the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has dramatically expanded consumer choice and trade since it took effect 20 years ago Jan. 1.