South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will hold the second round of official negotiations to upgrade their free trade agreement (FTA) in Singapore from the 28th through Oct. 1. The talks follow a first round in June this year and will seek stronger rules across 13 working groups, including digital trade, intellectual property rights, critical minerals, supply chains and rules-of-origin verification. The aim is to establish standards above those in existing frameworks such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a major Asia-Pacific trade pact. South Korea is also deepening economic ties with Mexico after the Korea-Mexico summit on the 24th. Trade Minister Kim Jung-kwan and Mexican Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard signed an Economic, Industrial and Resources Cooperation Initiative and agreed to study the potential benefits and effects of a bilateral trade agreement. The countries also held a business forum, signed four memorandums of understanding and organized a Korean Products Exhibition that generated 730 meetings between 123 buyers and Korean companies.