South Korea’s top trade negotiator said Tuesday that Seoul will not discuss renegotiation of the free trade agreement with the U.S. without first looking into what is really causing the U.S. trade imbalance. Speaking after a video conference with U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer, South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyung-chong …

Oil is the main revenue source in Alaska. This year, the trans-Alaska pipeline celebrated 40 years of service. From Alaska, VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya looks at the history of North America’s largest oil field. …

Congressional Republicans, seeking to address the complaints of small businesses, are floating changes to their controversial proposal to eliminate business tax deductions for debt interest payments, business lobbyists said Tuesday. A top U.S. Republican on tax policy acknowledged that modifications are in the works but did not provide details. The …

Indigenous people living on Peru’s largest oil field concession have seized some facilities operated by Frontera Energy demanding that the government apply an indigenous rights law before signing a new contract with the Canadian company, a tribal chieftain said on Tuesday. The so-called prior consultation law, passed in 2011, requires …

Jordan has opened its first job center inside a refugee camp, unlocking work opportunities across the country for thousands living in the world’s largest Syrian refugee camp, the U.N. labor agency said Tuesday. So far, more than 800 refugees in the Zaatari camp in Jordan, which borders Syria and is …

Argentina’s main labor unions took to the streets of the capital on Tuesday demanding more jobs and protesting center-right President Mauricio Macri’s economic policies. Tens of thousands of workers gathered in the historic Plaza de Mayo criticizing Macri, who is trying to lower labor costs to attract investment and jump-start …

For Nel Jayaraman, the realization that hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides were making farmers more vulnerable to extreme weather came slowly. In fields near the town of Thiruthuraipoondi in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Jayaraman saw yields falling and farmers’ debt rising as their reliance on modern seeds …

Brazilian prosecutors on Tuesday charged Aldemir Bendine, the former chief executive of state-controlled oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA, with corruption, alleging he used his position to take bribes from construction firm Odebrecht. Bendine served as CEO of Petrobras, as the company is formally known, between 2015 and 2016, and was …

Violence surged in rural central Kenya earlier this year as armed northern herders brought thousands of cattle, sheep and goats onto private property, prompting clashes that took the lives of humans and wildlife.   As drought raged on, it did not help that some politicians encouraged constituents to graze their …

McDonald’s India has announced it will close 169 McDonald’s outlets in northern and eastern India after the American fast food giant decided to terminate a franchise agreement with its Indian partner. McDonald’s said its partner Connaught Plaza Restaurants violated the terms of the franchise agreement, including reneging on payment of …

Hyundai Motor plans to launch a pickup truck in the United States as part of a broader plan to catch up with a shift away from sedans in one of the Korean automaker’s most important markets, a senior company executive told Reuters. Michael J. O’Brien, vice president of corporate and …

The Trump administration has rejected a coal industry push to win a rarely used emergency order protecting coal-fired power plants, a decision contrary to what one coal executive said the president personally promised him. The Energy Department says it considered issuing the order sought by companies seeking relief for plants …

Ford Motor Co. and a Chinese automaker said Tuesday they are looking into setting up a joint venture to develop and manufacture electric cars in China.   Ford’s potential venture with Anhui Zotye Automobile Co. adds to the global auto industry’s rising activity in electric vehicles for China, which passed …

Ford Tuesday became the latest carmaker to launch a car scrappage scheme in Britain, joining the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz, after months of procrastination from the government over whether to begin a national program. The U.S. automaker is offering customers a 2,000 pound ($2,580) discount off a range of …

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing and Northrop Grumman separate contracts to continue work on the replacement of the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile system, the Pentagon said on Friday. Though the award for the new Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) comes amid rising tensions with North Korea, the …

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says there is “zero chance” Congress will allow the country to default on its debts by voting to not increase the borrowing limit.   McConnell’s comments came Monday during a joint appearance in his home state of Kentucky with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. It …

Wisconsin Assembly Democratic Leader Peter Barca was branded as failing “on all accounts” by a fellow Democrat who was “incredibly frustrated and concerned” with his actions after Barca joined Republicans in voting for a $3 billion tax incentive package for Foxconn Technology Group.   Emails obtained by The Associated Press …

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro says new measures will be rolled out this week to combat economic speculation in the crisis-ridden country.   In an interview distributed via state-run media Sunday, Maduro said he was working with a “special commission” of the new, pro-government Constituent Assembly to clamp down on price …

An increasing number of Native American tribes are looking to the marijuana business to break the poverty on reservations, but they are treading quietly over uncertainties in federal policy, which could shift under President Donald Trump. Cannabis is big business in states that have legalized its medical or recreational use. …

China expressed “strong dissatisfaction” on Monday with the U.S. launch of an investigation into China’s alleged theft of U.S. intellectual property, calling it “irresponsible.” The U.S. Trade Representative formally announced the investigation on Friday, a widely expected move following a call from President Donald Trump earlier last week to determine …

China’s Great Wall Motor Co Ltd is interested in bidding for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), a company official said on Monday, confirming earlier reports that it is pursuing all or part of the owner of brands including Jeep and truckmaker Ram. There has been speculation over Chinese interest in FCA …

The founder of a Chinese luxury online retailer has been extradited from Indonesia to face charges his company smuggled goods into China by having travelers pretend they were personal belongings, news reports said Monday. Ji Wenhong of Xiu.com joins a growing number of Chinese fugitives who are being returned from …

The port of Tripoli in northern Lebanon wants the world to know it’s ready for business.   British safety managers are training local hires to operate heavy machinery and Chinese technicians are running diagnostics on two new container cranes that tower over the harbor, just 28 kilometers (18 miles) from …

The United States, Canada and Mexico wrapped up their first round of talks on Sunday to revamp the NAFTA trade pact, vowing to keep up a blistering pace of negotiations that some involved in the process said may be too fast to bridge deep differences. In a joint statement issued …

Add next week’s total eclipse of the sun to the list of worker distractions that cost U.S. companies hundreds of millions of dollars in lost productivity. American employers will see at least $694 million in missing output for the roughly 20 minutes that outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas estimates …