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Added on the 15/11/2020 11:24:44 - Copyright : Euronews EN
President Joe Biden announces in Tokyo the launch of a new Asia-Pacific trading network with an initial 13 countries signing up, including India and Japan, although questions remain over the pact's effectiveness. "The United States and Japan together with 11 other nations will be launching the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. This framework is a commitment to working with our close friends and partners in the region, on challenges that matter most to ensuring economic competitiveness in the 21st century," he said. SOUNDBITE
Trade ministers from 12 countries announced the largest free trade deal in a generation on Monday in Atlanta. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal started with an agreement signed in 2006 between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore.It then expanded to 12 countries, including the US and Japan, which have a population of about 800 million and are responsible for 40% of world trade, BBC reported. The agreement will impact a vast array of business sectors including agriculture, automotive, pharmaceuticals and environmental.According to the Guardian, besides eliminating or reducing over 98 percent of tariffs across a range of sectors, it will also allow foreign companies to sue governments if they feel their profits are affected.For instance, a tobacco company such as the Philips Morris would be able to sue a country for unappealing or image-damaging packaging.Critics of the trade deal say that negotiations have been dealt mostly in secret and that it gives corporations too much power.Agriculture also proved to be another sticking point with countries like New Zealand wanting more access to markets in Canada, Mexico, Japan and the United States.
Papua New Guinea signs a new defence pact with the United States, giving American forces access to the Pacific nation's airfields and ports as Washington tries to counter China's regional influence. IMAGES
Jiaxing (China), Jun 18 (EFE / EPA) .- (Camera: Víctor Escribano / Alex Plavevski). The Communist Party of China (CCP) is the second political group with the most members in the world, but its foundation, one hundred years ago, was marked by the secrecy of a first Congress that ended up being held in a small pleasure boat, now elevated to foundational myth.FOOTAGE OF THE PAVILLION COMMEMORATIVE OF THE REVOLUTION (MUSEUM ON THE FOUNDATION OF THE CCP) NEAR LAKE NANHU, IN THE CITY OF JIAXING (PROVINCE OF ZHEJIANG); HUXIN ISLAND IN LAKE NANHU (JIAXING), WHERE THE REPLICA OF THE RED SHIP IS DOCKED; EXTERIOR OF THE 'SHIKUMEN' IN SHANGHÁI WHERE THE I CONGRESS OF THE CCP BEGAN IN 1921, AND THE MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF THE CCP IN XINTIANDI, SHANGHÁI (NEXT TO THE ABOVE 'SHIKUMEN').
Beijing, July 17 (EFE) (Camera: Wu Hong).- American tech giant Apple on Friday opened its second flagship store in Beijing - touted as its largest in the Asia-Pacific region - amid raging trade tensions between the United States and China. The new Apple store is twice the size of the now-closed previous one located in the same area, inside the Taikoo Li shopping center in the wealthy neighborhood of Sanlitun. FOOTAGE OF APPLE'S SECOND FLAGSHIP STORE IN BEIJING
Beijing, May 8 (EFE/EPA).- China and the United States pledged in a Friday telephone call l to continue implementing the first phase of their trade agreement - signed on Jan. 15 - despite the recent tensions between the two countries over the origin of the coronavirus, the Chinese ministry of commerce said.China's Vice Premier Liu He, who is the head of the country's negotiating team, spoke with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, according to a statement from the ministry. (Camera: ROMAN PILIPEY). SHOT LIST: PEOPLE BUY VEGETABLES AND MEAT AT A MARKET AND A SUPERMARKET WHICH SELLS FOREIGN PRODUCTS IN BEIJING, CHINA.