On November 4, 2010, the European Commission proposed to ban the use of phosphates and to limit the content of other phosphorous containing compounds in laundry detergents.

Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce reports that for the first time since January 2010, Brazil's exports increased more than its imports. For the month of October 2010, exports increased by 37.1%, and imports increased by 35.9%.

The World Trade Organization reports that a joint report by the WTO, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released on November 4, 2010 for the Group of 20 biggest economies says that by and large, G20 governments have continued to resist protectionist pressures. But it also warns of potential dangers in the months ahead because of persistent high levels of unemployment and tensions over foreign exchange rates.

Xinhuanet.com reports that China's ambassador to the World Trade Organization urged Chinese exporters to boost product upgrade as the U.S. shifts its focus from labor-intensive goods to investigate imports of high-end products from China. Sun Zhenyu, China's top envoy to the WTO, stated that since the US Commerce Department announced a probe last month into China's clean energy sector over so-called government subsidies, it is clear that the US is increasingly looking critically at China's high-end products as part of its trade weaponry.

China's Ministry of Commerce spokesman Yao Jian has stated that China will reduce its rare earth export quotas next year, but not by a very large margin .Yao said that "to protect the environment and natural resources, China will stick to the quota system to manage rare earth exports next year, and quotas will also decline." Though giving no clear extent of the decline, Yao's remarks echoed the comments of Wang Jian, a vice minister of commerce.

This is a reminder that the European Union deadlines to register certain chemical substances under the EU REACH¹ regulation and to notify the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) of the classification and labeling of chemical substances placed on the EU market pursuant to the Classification, Labeling and Packaging (CLP) regulation are approaching.

Mexico's Diario Oficial of November 3, 2010 lists notices from the Secretary of the Economy as follows:

The World Trade Organization reports that at the request of the parties in the dispute "U.S. Certain Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) Requirements" (DS384/DS386), the Panel has agreed to open its second substantive meeting with the parties on December 1-2, 2010 with a session open to public viewing at the WTO Headquarters in Geneva.

The World Trade Organization reports that at a workshop on “recent analyses of the Doha Round,” economists stated that a Doha Round package on market access in all goods, and on agricultural subsidies, could add $121 billion to $202 billion to the world economy, and a “trade facilitation” deal could cut trade costs by more than the “impact of geographical distance” between countries, among other things.

China's GOV.cn reports that China's innovation capacity remains weak despite the 15 billion yuan in central government funds and 58 billion yuan in non-governmental funds spent in 2009 on science and technology research and development.