The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a list of pine shoot beetle infested areas of Canada and the U.S. as of September 16, 2010 to help with compliance with Directive D-94-22. This directive states the phytosanitary requirements for the importation into Canada from the continental U.S., the movement within, and exportation from Canada of pine plants and plant products that are infested with the pine shoot beetle.
European Parliament International Trade Committee Members have approved legislation that would harmonize country of origin labeling requirements and penalties for noncompliance at the European Union level. The legislation aims to ensure that customers are properly informed about a product's origin and protect them against possible health risks, counterfeiting and unfair competition.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued a table indicating the U.S. states from which it restricts imports of material with soil due to the presence or possible presence of specific soil pests in all or part of the state.
The World Trade Organization has issued the tenth U.S. Trade Policy Review which says that U.S. trade and investment regimes are among the most open in the world, and have remained so throughout the period under review. However, the U.S. should continue to reduce its support for agriculture, eliminate remaining barriers to services trade and investment, and pursue trade liberalization on most-favored nation basis to avoid risks of protectionism.
In the September 29, 2010 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union, the following trade-related notices were posted:
The European Chemicals Agency will shut down the REACH-IT system for routine reconfiguration and maintenance on October 1, 2010. REACH-IT will be shut down at 2:00 am Helsinki time and should re-open during the afternoon. Industry's interface with REACH-IT will not change. The upgrade will simply modify the Agency's side of REACH-IT to enable it to handle a higher number of dossiers and with a higher level of automation.
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada has posted a list of its 2009 "Import for Re-Export Program" participants.
Xinhua News reports that a senior official of China's top economic planning body said that conditions for China to launch a carbon emission rights trading system remain premature. However, he said the measures taken by the government to combat climate change would become increasingly strict and emission reduction goals would become increasingly quantified.
On September 28, 2010, the European Commission proposed an energy label for TVs and updated energy labels for refrigerators, dishwashers and washing machines. If the European Parliament and Council do not object to the EC's proposal, the Regulations would enter into force around December 2010 or February 2011. The label would at first be voluntary and only be required one year after the entry into force of the regulations. A Q&A is available here.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) has posted information from the September 23, 2010 meeting of CITES and Summit of the Americas (OAS) members. Discussion topics included targeted legislative support to streamline wildlife trade that is sustainable and traceable.