During a free trade forum at the Wilson Centre in 2014, United States (US) Trade Representative, Michael Froman addressed a crowd on America’s commitment to free trade.“By leading on trade, we can carry forward the torch that President Wilson held up a century ago, when he said, ‘The time for provincial thinkers has gone by.

United States (US) President Donald Trump’s planned historic meeting with North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Un has raised more questions than answers. By the look of things, it seems like we are finally reaching rapprochement between both sides – a feud which stretches back to the Cold War era. However, the conditions under which these talks are taking place does raise an ire of suspicion.

The mercantilist school of economic thought – which promoted tariffs and other protectionist elements – seems poised for a comeback under the administration of Donald Trump. The United States (US), once saw leaders like Ronald Reagan champion the values of free market economics as the world watched the Berlin Wall crumble to dust, marking the end of Soviet era communism.

North Korean authoritarian leader, Kim Jong-Un, in a New Year address, warned that he had a “nuclear button” on his desk. In response, United States (US) President Donald Trump tweeted that he has his own nuclear button on his table that is “bigger and more powerful.”Does it really matter?Yes and no. Yes, it does matter that North Korea has nuclear weapons and if it will deploy those weapons against its enemies like the US or Japan.

As US President Donald Trump decamped to his mansion-cum-private club in Palm Beach, Florida, for the holidays, he left Washington, DC, on edge.

Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd., the world’s biggest builder of oil rigs, agreed to pay $422 million to end a U.S. bribery probe into illegal payments to officials at Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state-owned oil company, and to the then-governing political party.Keppel units paid about $55 million to win 13 contracts with Petrobras and another company, U.S. prosecutors said in a press release after an American subsidiary pleaded guilty in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.

From mobile phones to furniture, Vietnam’s export boom shows no signs of losing steam, defying a gloomy outlook at the beginning of the year when U.S. President Donald Trump persisted with his trade threats.Furniture maker Xuan Hoa Viet Nam Co. is planning for a 20 percent increase in export orders next year by investing $3 million on equipment to expand production, General Director Le Duy Anh said in an interview.

Pyongyang’s recent flurry of missile tests have sent shockwaves throughout the world. The recent intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test is said to be able to reach the continental United States.The response of the international community has been a mix of shock and disdain towards the hermit kingdom.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) encompasses 25 percent global GDP, 45 percent of the total population, 30 percent of global income and 30 percent global trade. Led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), it is one of the most useful strategic opportunities for the 16 countries – ASEAN-10, India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand – to realise an economically open and liberal Asia Pacific.The potential that RCEP has is immense.

South Korean President Moon Jae-In will hold talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday, seeking to repair a relationship strained over Seoul hosting a US missile system.Moon's office has said he hopes to "normalise" ties during the visit, after Beijing was angered by the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), installed earlier this year to protect South Korea against threats from the nuclear-armed North.Beijing, which sees the system as