International Business Opportunities

Senior trade representatives of India and China today forecast that the bilateral trade volume will surge from the current $25 billion to $40 billion by 2009, a full year ahead of the target set by the two governments.
During the first quarter (Jan-Mar) of this year, bilateral trade has touched USD 8.2 billion, soaring by 58 per cent, Vice President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Wang Jinzhen said. […]

Member of Indian Parliament and Managing Director of Videocon Industries Ltd., Rajkumar Dhoot, heading an ASSOCHAM delegation to China, noted that the growth in Chinese exports to India was among the fastest for the world’s third largest trading power.
However, he noted that Chinese investment in India was very low, only accounting for 30 per cent of all foreign direct investment approved by the country. This must improve, Dhoot said, adding the business communities of the two countries should look into the business opportunities more seriously.
(source)

Australia is to admit more skilled migrant workers to help ease its labour shortage while cracking down on firms which mistreat foreign staff.

An extra 5,000 places for skilled migrants were unveiled by ministers as part of the government’s annual budget.
New powers are also being sought to fine firms which underpay workers or place them in unskilled jobs.
[…]workers will have to prove they can speak reasonable English as well as take a new citizenship test coming into force later this year.

To help employers recruit staff quickly, companies which comply scrupulously with the migrant visa system will have their applications fast-tracked.

A series of free trade talks between South Korea and the European Union are taking place in Seoul from 7 to 11 May.

[…]EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and South Korean trade minister Kim Hyun-Chong both called for rapid progress in free trade negotiations. Officials hope to conclude negotiations within a year. […]The European Union is South Korea’s biggest investor, injecting nearly $5bn into the country last year, Seoul’s foreign ministry said.
(source: BBC)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plans to sign a free trade pact with Japan in November. Ong Keng Yong, secretary-general of the ASEAN, said the bloc’s economic ministers and their Japanese counterpart would discuss ways to free trade in goods during talks Friday.

The two sides will spell out the percentage of total trade that will be tariff-free by an agreed date, the amount that will be subject to a gradual tariff reduction, and sensitive items that will be excluded altogether because of domestic concerns, he said.

Ong Keng Yong, secretary-general of ASEAN, said the bloc’s economic ministers and their Japanese counterpart would discuss ways to free trade in goods during talks Friday. […]
Ong said Japan has proposed that 1 percent of its trade with ASEAN be excluded from tariff reductions but didn’t specify the items to be excluded. Tariffs on 88 percent to 92 percent of total trade are expected to be fully cut and the rest to beremoved gradually, he said.
(source)

After
EU,
Canada, and Japan also Mexico has asked to join a U.S. challenge of Chinese piracy and counterfeiting practices as a third party in World Trade Organization consultations.

The procedural step, indicates growing international pressure on Beijing to crack down on product piracy.

The U.S. filed a pair of new cases against China at the WTO last month. One of them, challenges Beijing’s rules for copyright and trademark protection.