The World Trade Organization has posted questions posed by China on the U.S.’ semi-annual report on preliminary and final countervailing actions regarding its CV duty measures against oil country tubular goods from China. (May have to click on source document twice for proper viewing.)
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has posted an announcement, background information, and a Q&A on its proposal to enhance import controls on food and food ingredients in the Non Federally Registered Sector (NFRS) that are regulated solely under Canada’s Food and Drugs Act.1
In the August 18, 2010 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union, the following trade-related notice was posted:
The European Commission reports that exports of animals and animal products from the European Union to Russia are expected to receive a boost after five new certificates for exports between the EU and the Russian Federation entered into force on August 15. These certificates concern beef with bones, canned and dry pet food and breeding sheep and goats.
India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry has announced that India’s exports registered a growth of 13.2% in July, 2010, totaling U.S. $16.24 billion.
The World Trade Organization has posted a notification from Brazil, which expresses its readiness to hold prior consultations regarding extension of the safeguard measure in the form of quantitative restriction on imports of desiccated coconut, and proposes that such consultations take place until August 20, 2010. (May have to click on source document twice for proper viewing.)
The World Trade Organization has posted a notification by the U.S. to the WTO Committee on Agriculture of a summary of safeguard actions taken in 2009, which includes the tariff item number, a description of the product, whether volume-based action was taken (none), and whether price-based action was taken and affected quantities. (May have to click on source document twice for proper viewing.)
On August 16, 2010, China's Ministry of Commerce launched the China-Africa Research Center, a think-tank focused on the economies of the two regions, to further bolster trade relations with Africa. The new unit will utilize ministry resources and discuss and deliberate on key economic issues about African nations. It will also provide the government with theoretical clues on future policies for Sino-Africa economic and trade ties and help Chinese companies planning ventures in Africa with consultancy services.
China's Ministry of Commerce reports that Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, during her first visit as Commissioner, said on August 13, 2010 that China is improving its oversight of exporters in a bid to root out problems ranging from the contamination of its dairy products to the safety of pharmaceutical exports. She said that U.S.-China teamwork on food safety was part of a broader move to create a global community of regulators, adding that FDA has set up offices in three Chinese cities and is cooperating in many areas, including training and joint inspections. The article adds that the Chinese government introduced a new Food Safety Law in June 2009 with tougher punishments.
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry commented on the World Trade Organization's release of a panel report on the European Union's customs duties on products covered by the WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA). METI states that the report presents a decision that fully approves Japan’s claim that the EU’s customs duties in question are inconsistent with Article II of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The EU may file an appeal against this report with the WTO Appellate Body within 60 days. If no such appeal is filed, the panel report will be adopted by the WTO as its final decision.