DEVELOPMENT: Emerging Powers Eager to Get Down to Business

Behind every initiative to form an association of nations, there are "strong economic and commercial interests," said Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.

MEXICO-CHINA: Trade Winds from the East

China has replaced Mexico as the top supplier of goods to the United States, and experts say that a specific trade strategy is needed for this Latin American country to compete successfully with Beijing in the U.S. market, the world's largest.

TRADE-MEXICO: Steely Protectionism Duel with U.S.

In spite of all the talk about free market policies, the U.S. and Mexican governments have imposed anti-dumping penalties on each other in attempts to protect their metal working and steel industries.

LATIN AMERICA-EU: Labour Pains

Trade with the European Union has not significantly improved the situation of workers in Latin America, in spite of its volume having doubled between 1990 and 2007, according to a study by two Chilean academics.

TRADE-BRAZIL: Commodities Rule in Exports to China

China took over from the United States as Brazil's top market in 2009, indicating a qualitative change for exports from the South American giant, which is increasingly dependent on sales of commodities and food.

TRADE: EU Pushes to Prise Open India

Secret discussions aimed at pressuring India into dropping all measures that shield its industry from foreign competition have been held between European Union officials and some of the world's top corporations.

COTE D’IVOIRE: Banana Producers Turn To Regional Markets

Twelve thousand people working on Côte d'Ivoire's banana plantations face uncertainty as the European Union begins implementing a new agreement governing tariffs on bananas.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Latin American Women Want Modified Trade Rules

"We don't need to change the climate, we need to change trade," said Brazilian activist Marta Lago at Klimaforum, the civil society meeting held in parallel with the climate change summit in the Danish capital.

TRADE: U.S. Wants Its Way, But So Do Others

Three minutes to speak about the world trade situation was a little more than U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk needed to sum up his country's position on trade; after eight years of talks to thrash out a single trade deal, he needed less time than that.

TRADE: Trilateral Treaty of the South

Negotiations to form a trade alliance between countries of Africa, Asia and South America stepped up to a political level when ministers discussed the issue this week, giving the initiative a further boost.

HEALTH: EU Blocking Medicines for the Poor

The European Union is intercepting big shipments of medicines on their way to poorer countries, according to a new report published Tuesday.

EUROPEAN UNION: ‘Giving With One Hand, Taking With the Other’

"EU policies continue to undermine the economic, social and human development of developing countries" despite repeated commitments in treaties and declarations, a group of European NGOs said in a report published Wednesday.

EASTERN EUROPE: Fair Trade Takes Off

Fair trade is becoming popular in Central and Eastern Europe, as activist groups raise awareness of the region's responsibility towards the rest of the world, and open an increasing number of fair trade shops and cafes.

SOUTH AMERICA-AFRICA: Summit for South-South Cooperation

South American and African leaders are meeting over the weekend on the Caribbean island of Margarita in their second summit in three years, to forge stronger cooperation between the two regions and discuss their positions with regard to a number of pressing international concerns.

TRADE: "Tyre War" Strains U.S.-China Relations

U.S. President Barack Obama's decision last week to impose tariffs on Chinese tyre imports has sparked a war of words with Beijing, which could lead to retaliatory tariffs and a possible World Trade Organisation (WTO) investigation into U.S. use of emergency tariffs against one of its biggest trading partner.

MIDEAST: Business Seeks Ways Past Political Impasse

Business between the Palestinian Authority and Israel is growing despite the political impasse over Israel's refusal to cease illegal settlement building in East Jerusalem and the Palestinian West Bank.

G20: Moving Up BRIC by BRIC

Every one of these 'G' meetings becomes now an occasion for the developing countries - say the emerging economies - to turn that extra energy into a louder voice in the business of global decision-taking.

G20: More May Be Needed, to Do More

The tests are coming thick and fast. After the G20 summit in Washington last year, the G20 in London in April, and the G8 in L'Aquila that was substantially a G20, the G20 finance ministers are meeting in London this Friday and Saturday ahead of the G20 gathering in Pittsburgh later this month.

Q&A: "Regional Cooperation Is the Challenge" for the Economy of Latin America

Exports by Latin America and the Caribbean will fall 11 percent this year – the worst performance since 1937, according to a new United Nations report.

BRAZIL-MEXICO: Free Trade to Reduce Dependence

Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Felipe Calderón of Mexico agreed Monday to explore the possibility of a free trade agreement as part of a strategy to reduce their dependence on the industrialised world.

TRADE: China In Violation of WTO Protocols

Since 2001 China has become an increasingly active member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and proponent of open and competitive markets, but yesterday the WTO released a report saying that China has violated WTO protocols by restricting imports of DVDs, software and books and limiting the ability of foreign suppliers to distribute their own products in China.