Search Results for: Argentina

Fraud in the global halal food sector is emerging as a widespread problem. A series of scandals have rocked the industry worldwide, and shone a spotlight on the difficulty of eliminating non-halal practices from increasingly large and complicated food supply chains. …

The relationship between the USA textile industry and its counterparts in Latin America has never been straightforward, given the US exports fabrics and fibre to its neighbours as well as importing apparel, but the Covid-19 pandemic has increased complexity in this relationship.…

Argentina has potential to develop a lucrative business for exporting guanaco fibre, one of the finest in the world, but it will take investment, government support and marketing to make it happen, experts say.
“The medium and long-term market is very promising since these products go to a sector that values social, environmental and cultural sustainability, something that is increasingly rooted in middle- and high-income sectors,” Luciano Galfione, CEO of Textil de los Andes (TexAndes), a maker of guanaco and other natural fibres and yarns in San Fernando del Valle de Catamarca in north-western Argentina, told Twist International.…

WHILE the imposition of age limits on the consumption of tobacco and other nicotine products remains very much a national, and in some cases sub-national jurisdiction decision, there is no doubt that the general trend worldwide is for tighter restrictions on younger consumers, even if they are often tough to enforce.…

An anticipated surge in supply and demand for renewable diesel, fuel that is chemically identical to its fossil fuel predecessor, is likely to cause major disruption to the American vegetable oil market and industry, notably soy.

With the US government and certain states regarding renewable diesel as a swift way to further reduce carbon emissions and meet Paris agreement climate change targets, the prospects for major additional purchases of soybeans within the American domestic market are very real.…

FOOD and drinks companies from across the European Union (EU) are now able to apply for research funding from the European Union’s (EU) Horizon Europe programme, which has a budget of around EUR95.5 billion. This spending will last until 2027, with companies generally needing to form international consortia focused on food, ingredients and packaging projects to secure funding.…

The narcotics trade was a prime motivator to enact global anti-money laundering regulations to curb dirty money flows. Over 30 years later, drug trafficking is still considered the largest transnational crime by international law enforcement agencies. It is worth an estimated USD344 billion-a-year, according to Interpol, followed by counterfeiting crimes (USD288 billion) and human trafficking (USD157 billion).…

INNOVATIVE confectionery and sweet bakery companies will be able from next month (July) to explore applying for research funding from the European Union’s (EU) Horizon Europe programme, which has a budget of around EUR95.5 billion. This spending will last until 2027, with companies needing to form international consortia focused on food, ingredients and packaging projects to have the best chance of securing funding.…

THE COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to Peru’s important camelid fibre sectors. Its large alpaca fibre and fabric industry has suffered, but there is maybe more concern about the impact on the smaller and more vulnerable vicuña industry.

Peru is the leading producer worldwide of vicuña.…

PEACE appears to be breaking out between the European Union (EU) and the UK on one side the USA over an aircraft subsidy-prompted trade war that had led to billions of dollars of duties being levied on food and drink exported between these countries.…

With global markets and daily consumer habits being disrupted for almost a year due to the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic, some oils and fats sales have grown – and a key example is soybean oil. This is true worldwide, from North and South America, to Africa, Asia, and Europe.…

Anti-money laundering specialists may be focusing on how crypto-currencies and online transactions pose an increasing ML/TF risk, especially with Covid-19 encouraging ecommerce, but the reality is that cash remains the money launderers’ best instrument for moving dirty money.

That is the conclusion of Gabriel Hidalgo, a managing director at risk specialists K2 Integrity, in New York: “Cash is king for ML; it continues to be king; and on the majority of levels, illicit actors will continue to use cash,” he said.…

IT goes without saying that can manufacturers and fillers have to comply with regulatory controls specifying how they make and fill cans, but maybe the biggest compliance challenge for the industry is following the world’s multifarious rules on food labelling. 

Canners and fillers with contracts to supply labelled cans have to take special care given these labelling rules do not just vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, (or even within jurisdictions), these regulations are a very dynamic topic – they change, often. …

LATIN America has been hit particularly hard by the Covid-19 pandemic – with Chile, Peru, Brazil and Colombia in the top-20 of countries regarding cases per million people – and its paint and coatings market and industry has faced a similarly rough ride.…

A WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel will assess whether import restrictions created by the European Union (EU) to reduce the use of carbon-intensive biofuels comply with global trading rules.

The Indonesian government is challenging portions of the EU’s renewable energy directive (RED) linked to EU guidance limiting the indirect land use change (ILUC) of biofuel feedstock cultivation.…

While Argentina’s textile industry is poised for growth over the next few years, the expansion of its use of digital printing will probably lag as companies recover from a deep recession in 2020 caused by Covid-19 and underlying economic weakness, executives said. …

THE COVID-19 crisis has severely depressed sales of personal care products within Latin America and it is unclear when the market will pick up.

In Argentina, for example, a coronavirus-induced lockdown has pushed the economy deeper into recession, slashing sales of most unessential beauty and personal care products.…

INTERNATIONAL export centres for the wool industry have been considering how they will help fill gaps in supplies to the knitwear sector because of the damage caused to Australia’s wool sector by January’s devastating bush and outback fires. Extensive rain has now at last extinguished most of Australia’s bushfires, but wool growers are still assessing the damage.…

INTRODUCTION – SERIES

A series of reports from WTiN is exploring the need for the textile and clothing sector to protect itself against attacks from cybercriminals as it invests in new transformative Industry 4.0 technologies – extended reality, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.…

THE ROLE of whistleblowers in the Americas has been given special attention in since last August, when an intelligence officer lodged a complaint with the Intelligence Community Inspector General about a phone call by President Donald Trump to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky pressuring him to open an investigation into alleged corruption by former vice-president Joe Biden.…

GLOBAL and regional public policies promoting environmental good practice and fighting climate change have long encouraged the growth of renewable energy production. And with concern about global warming sharpening, these goals – pushed by international and regional organisations and development banks – are here to stay.…

As national, regional and international legislation nudges the world away from its reliance on fossil fuels, corporations are increasingly sourcing renewable energy through the mechanism of green power purchase agreements (PPAs), whereby companies (and also utilities) act as an off-taker, making commitments for future renewable energy payments.…

AFTER 20 years of negotiations the European Union (EU)-Mercosur trade deal, which has boosted hopes for increased textile trades with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay is at risk of being blocked ahead of its ratification.

Furious about ongoing deforestation and wildfires in Amazonia, EU countries, including influential countries France and Ireland, have warned that they are ready to block the deal because of alleged breaches by Brazil of its international environmental commitments.…

RUSSIA’S dairy industry has been trying to develop its size and sales while its government’s restrictions on European Union (EU) dairy imports remain, but there are questions about how well producers would cope with imports once these sanctions are, eventually, lifted.…

AFTER 20 years of negotiations the European Union (EU)-Mercosur trade deal, which has boosted hopes for increased can and associated materials trades with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, is now at risk of being blocked ahead of its ratification.

Furious about ongoing deforestation and wildfires in Amazonia, EU countries, including influential countries France and Ireland, have warned that they are ready to block the deal because of alleged breaches by Brazil of its international environmental commitments.…

THE TRADE in knitwear between the European Union (EU) and the Mercosur bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay is likely to intensify under a new trade deal between the two regional groupings.

The agreement, which now needs ratification, will phase out all EU duties charged on industrial goods (including knitted clothing and inputs) over 10 years.…

THE TRADE in food and drink between the European Union (EU) and the Mercosur bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay is likely to intensify under a new trade deal between the two regional groupings. The agreement, which now needs ratification, will phase out Mercosur duties on 93% of EU exported food and drink product types, including those on wine (27%); spirits (20% to 35%); soft drinks (20-35%); chocolate (20%); biscuits (16 to 18%); canned peaches (55%).…

A EUROPEAN Union (EU) trade deal struck with South America’s Mercosur group of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, will open this emerging market to EU confectionery exporters, but Europe’s sugar sector fears increased Brazilian sugar exports. The agreement, which now needs to be ratified by both sides, will phase out Mercosur duties on EU exports of chocolate and sugar confectionery of 20%; biscuits (taxed at 20% to 35%); liquorice extract – 8%; and confectionery-making equipment – 14%.…

THE EUROPEAN metal packaging sector will be hoping that the newly negotiated European Union (EU)-Mercosur trade deal is ratified quickly, given it scraps import duties imposed by Brazil and Argentina on such exports of between 12% and 35%. These are the key markets in the South American trade bloc, that also includes comparative minnows Uruguay and Paraguay, whose protective duties shadow their larger Mercosur neighbours.…

BRAZIL’S textile industry has welcomed the new trade deal between the Mercosur bloc (of which Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay are fellow members) and the European Union (EU) which was announced on June 28.

With existing tariffs having impeded trade in fabrics, yarn and fibre between the two blocs in the past, Renato Jardim, the superintendent of industrial and economic policy for Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (ABIT – Associação Brasileira da Indústria Têxtil e de Confecção) told WTiN.com:…

THE EUROPEAN automobile manufacturing sector will be hoping that the newly negotiated European Union (EU)-Mercosur trade deal is ratified quickly, given it scraps import duties imposed by Brazil and Argentina on EU automobile exports of 35%.

This agreement has been welcomed by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), which noted that the South American trade bloc, which also includes Uruguay and Paraguay, is home to around 270 million people, where 3.3 million new cars were sold during 2018.…

THE WOOL sector is part of an increasingly complex and global supply chain and, as a result, international technical standards are growing in utility and importance. Where suppliers and buyers follow and require the use of international standards to guide their operations and products, there will be fewer nasty surprises, in orders and purchases.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) importer of liquid fuels should benefit from a trade deal struck between the EU and the Mercosur bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. The agreement will phase out all EU duties charged on industrial goods over 10 years.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) exporters of paints, varnishes and other coatings should gain market share in South America through a trade deal struck between the EU and the Mercosur bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. The agreement, which now needs ratification by both sides, will phase out all EU duties charged on industrial goods (including paints and coatings) over 10 years.…

A EUROPEAN Union (EU) trade deal struck with South America’s Mercosur group of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, should boost trade between the two blocs of industrial minerals. The agreement, which now needs to be ratified by both sides, will phase out all EU duties charged on industrial goods (including minerals and mineral items) over 10 years.…

THE TRADE in textile finishing chemicals and products made with them between the European Union (EU) and the Mercosur bloc of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay is likely to intensify under a new trade deal between the two regional groupings.

The agreement, which now needs ratification by both sides, will phase out all EU duties charged on industrial goods (including dyes and other finishers) over 10 years.…

IT has been another subdued year for the beauty and personal care product market in Latin America, as the region’s economy underperforms yet again after six years of deceleration (and in some countries outright recession), keeping a lid on sales growth. …

WOLLASTONITE has been described by a Canadian producer as “a white mineral for a greener world,” and it seems governments, businesses and industries agree – with wollastonite is set to see increased market growth in its traditional uses plus a new focus on its powerful qualities to help tackle climate change.…

A EUROPEAN Union (EU) trade deal struck with South America’s Mercosur group of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, will boost trade between the two blocs of non-ferrous metals and related articles. The agreement, which now needs to be ratified by both sides, will phase out all EU duties charged on industrial goods (including metals and metal items) over 10 years.…

WOLLASTONITE has been described by a Canadian producer as “a white mineral for a greener world,” and it seems governments, businesses and industries agree – with wollastonite is set to see increased market growth in its traditional uses plus a new focus on its powerful qualities to help tackle climate change.…

A EUROPEAN Union (EU) trade deal struck with South America’s Mercosur group of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, will boost trade between the two blocs of non-ferrous metals and related articles. The agreement, which now needs to be ratified by both sides, will phase out all EU duties charged on industrial goods (including metals and metal items) over 10 years.…

AFRICAN swine fever (ASF) has been squeezing pork supplies in China to a point where the country’s political leadership fears upheaval, as reflected by the country’s government influenced social media restricting ASF-related discussion. Even academic articles, if ASF-themed, now require explicit regulatory approval before publishing, informed sources in China, who requested anonymity, told just-food.  …

A EUROPEAN Union (EU) trade deal struck with South America’s Mercosur group of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, will open this emerging market to EU drinks exporters. The agreement, which now needs to be ratified by both sides, will phase out Mercosur duties on wine of 27%; whiskey and other spirits (taxed at 20% to 35%); and soft drinks (taxed at 20% to 35%).…

THE INTERNATIONAL Organization for Standardization (ISO) has launched a series of standards designed to help the cocoa industry ensure its products are both sustainably harvested and processed, but also traceable across their supply chains. Its ISO 34101 series is designed to promote good environmental and labour practices in a sector that involves sophisticated confectionery companies, global commodity traders and small farmers, often in poor countries, notably in west Africa.…

With a growing population of guanacos, a llama-like animal that runs wild in Patagonia, the Argentine government is analysing how best to produce and export the natural fibre it yields, at prices like those commanded by vicuña wool. But hurdles stand in the way of getting it right and there are concerns that the approach could backfire if sustainable practices are not

 in place. …

Argentine beef exporters have been encouraged by feedback at Japan’s largest food fair that they will receive regular and large orders for the products following the re-opening of this potentially important market last July 2018.

Exhibitors from Argentina said they received a positive reception at the Foodex show in March, where importers, restaurateurs and consumers visited the country’s first beef showcase at Asia’s largest food and drink exhibition, held near Tokyo.…

With more than 5.48 billion (see https://www.worldwidewebsize.com) pages on the internet, fraud investigators have a wealth of material at their fingertips to help trace fraudsters and link target individuals, objects, locations and events. Thankfully, there are also increasingly sophisticated sites and tools available online to make this task more efficient and less time-consuming.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) biofuel producers have welcomed the approval by the EU’s trade defence committee of a European Commission proposal to reimpose definitive anti-subsidy duties against Argentine biodiesel imports. These duties had been up for review, and last September (2018), the Commission had decided not to reimpose the duties on a provisional basis, raising concern among European producers that the EU might let them lapse.…

TRADE-based money laundering (TBML) continues to be a complex typology that is tough for law enforcement to detect and ML regulators to control.

The risk is that with Iran being subject to new USA sanctions, the use of TBML is going to grow in the short term, warn experts.…

TRADING partners with the European Union (EU) are concerned about the EU cutting the size of low duty import quotas once Britain quits the bloc, which it is scheduled to do on March 28.

The EU has released detailed plans to reduce the amount of some goods it allows into the EU, to take account of Britain exiting the single European market.…

THE WOOL industry worldwide needs to bolster its reputation for sustainability, amidst increasing siren attacks on its marketing position from animal rights and environmental activists, the 2018 International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) Wool Round Table, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, heard this month (December 3-4).…

The US and China at the G20 meeting in early December settled for a 90-day suspension of their bilateral trade war including a halt to any additional tariffs, but sourcing patterns are not going to become business-as-usual any time soon for China’s soybean sector.…

It is hard to avoid either a cosmetics store or an advertisement for one in Chinese cities today. A mind-boggling wave of new retailers set up by investment firms to cash in on the cosmetics and personal care boom are eagerly seeking franchisees around the country.…

WITH consumers globally becoming ever-more concerned about whether the woolen products they buy, use or wear were made without cruelty to the animals from which this natural fibre was shorn, the wool industry has been working hard to improve its traceability systems.…

AN INDUSTRIAL chemical used to make paints, primers, varnishes and coatings should be regarded as carcinogenic and regulated accordingly, a European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) committee has concluded. Its committee for risk assessment (RAC) said that exposure butanone oxime carried this risk as well as causing drowsiness or dizziness if swallowed and being harmful in contact with skin, could cause damage to the upper respiratory tract after a single exposure and damage to the blood system through prolonged or repeated exposure.…

THE UNITED States Trade Representative (USTR) today branded the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity a failure, claiming its efforts have not delivered the production cuts that markets need to stabilise prices.

In a strongly worded statement released after a forum ministerial meeting was staged today (Sept 20) at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), in Paris, the USTR argued that the group’s results to date “leaves us questioning whether the Forum is capable of delivering on these objectives”. …

EUROPEAN Union (EU) and Mercosur negotiators went into crucial trade talks in Uruguayan capital Montevideo September 10-14, cheered on by automakers on both sides who want a deal, even though there are tough technical issues to resolve. The round is another bid to smash the deadlock over a future trade pact between the EU and the four founding Mercosur nations – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. …

THE EUROPEAN Commission has attempted to heal a long-standing dispute with the United States by requesting authorisation from European Union (EU) ministers to open negotiations on the redistribution of quotas for hormone-free beef imported in European countries. Speaking to GlobalMeatNews, the secretary general of the European Livestock and Meat Trades Union (UECBV), Jean-Luc Mériaux said he supports the tasks and forging “a consensus aiming at consolidating trade flows”.…

The new director of the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO), Lisa Osofsky, has highlighted strengthening international cooperation in the fight against fraud as a priority in her new job. Dual American-British national Osofsky, who comes with a background as a federal prosecutor in the US, particularly wants to step up cooperation on deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs).…

A new report from Transparency International has found that only 11 major exporting countries in the world significantly punish companies that pay bribes abroad. The report, called ‘Exporting Corruption’, also found that more than half of world exports come from at least 33 jurisdictions, including several European Union (EU) member states, where companies that export corruption along with their goods and services face weak consequences. …

THE CHINESE government has directly targeted the American confectionery and related ingredients sector in its latest tit-for-tat response in the trade wars launched by US President Donald Trump. Beijing has highlighted these goods as products that may become subject to retaliatory tariffs, should the USA impose a threatened third list of duties on Chinese tech, drafted over alleged thefts of American IP.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) has released a new standard on reporting financial instruments – IPSAS 41 – to improve the relevance of financial assets and liabilities data. It replaces financial instruments reporting rules in IPSAS 29, introducing a single classification and measurement model for financial assets, considering an asset’s objective and cash flows.…

China seems to have given the world nuclear industry back its mojo this summer with two big moves: the signing in June of an order for four Gen 3+ VVER-1200 reactors from Russia’s Rosatom. This certainly got the bubbly flowing at the World Nuclear Exhibition, in Paris, in late June, following two years of sluggish investment in this globalised industry.…

AN INNOVATIVE air traffic management switch from land-based ATC services using classic vectoring, to a performance-based navigation (PBN) arrangement using airliner satellite positioning and RNP-AR (required navigation performance – authorisation required) has dramatically increased the traffic capacity of El Dorado International Airport, Bogotá, Colombia.…

THE OUTLOOK for European Union (EU) beef, sheep and goat meat imports looks bleak, with sales tumbling, according to an EU agricultural markets 2018 and 2019 forecast released by the European Commission.

Beef exports started falling by December 2017, and this has continued into this year, with exports almost 15% lower in the first four months of 2018 year-on-year.…

THE ALUMINIUM industry associations of the United States, the European Union (EU), Canada and Japan have this afternoon called for the creation of a Global Multilateral and Governmental Forum on Aluminium Overcapacity to drive the development of an international plan to shrink world production.…

THE LATIN American personal care product market, buffeted in recent years by economic and political instability, looks back on track, with trouble-spots such as Venezuela being very much an exception to overall progress.

Data released by market researcher Euromonitor International has said that the region’s beauty and personal care product sales in 2017 topped USD65 billion in 2017, growing by 42.5% between 2012 and last year.…

Argentina’s auto industry had expected a near record year in 2018, but unexpected financial problems that have hit the country in the past month could push the economy into recession and dampen local demand for cars. 
These problems are a far cry from the optimism expressed on April 4, when the heads of three carmakers spoke bullishly about production and sales growth at a business conference staged in Buenos Aires by economic consultancy Invecq Consulting. …

The Indian government has launched a disputes proceeding at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), protesting at the USA’s imposition of duties of 25% and 10% on imports of India-made steel and aluminium products.

New Delhi argues that the tariffs, imposed on March 23 by the Trump administration to protect and expand American aluminium and steel production, break the WTO’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and its Agreement on Safeguards.…

Unlike the limited range of minerals used in fossil fuel production, many minerals, metallic and nonmetallic, are used in renewable energy technologies. However, production is often low and concentrated in a limited number of countries – creating potential strategic supply problems.…

Diversity – a theme very close to Mohamed Irshad’s heart – could not be embodied by a more appropriate person than the affable, youthful-looking 34-year-old head of global internal audit – the Americas, at French multinational Schneider Electric. Irshad is an Indian national who was born and raised in Dubai, studied in India, has lived in Paris and is now based in Canada.…

HIGH textile industry production costs in Argentina are encouraging manufacturers to look at investments in digital fabric printing to give them the flexibility they need to compete against imports and in export markets.

At a recent textile trade fair this month (April) in Buenos Aires, digital technology was all the buzz. …

TRADE in clothing and textiles between Brazil and Argentina has been growing, as manufacturers in these neighbouring South America countries rein in their comparatively high costs, according to international trade data. Brazilian textile and apparel exports to Argentina rose 4.9% to USD251 million in 2017 from USD239 million in 2016, while Brazil’s imports from its southern neighbour shot up 22.6% to USD86.9 million from USD70.9 million over the same period. …

BRAZIL’S automotive industry is awaiting the final details and presidential sanction of a 14-year incentives program called Rota 2030, that will offer up to Brazilian Reals BRL1.5 billion (USD467.4 million) in annual tax credits sector-wide to auto and auto parts manufacturers selling cars in Brazil.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission wants to delist all companies involved in the latest cases of fraud in Brazil’s meat sector from having access to European Union (EU) markets, the EU executive’s spokesperson for health and food safety Anca Paduraru has told GlobalMeatNews.…

Brazil’s textile industry has reported an overall growth in sales of 3.2% for 2017, and even bigger increases are forecast for the year ahead. Latest data from the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Association (ABIT – Associação Brasileira da Indústria Têxtil e de Confecção) predicts an overall growth in revenues of 3.29% for the year 2018.…

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) financial watchdog, the Court of Auditors, has highlighted concerns about how Chinese knitwear exporters maybe exploiting loopholes in EU customs and VAT controls to evade paying proper amounts of these taxes.

In a report on shortcomings in EU import procedures, the court noted how Chinese traders were abusing EU customs procedure CP42, which allows an importer to bring goods into one EU member state without paying VAT, because they will be sold in another EU country.…

THE RUSSIAN government has said it plans to significantly increase its beef exports from Latin American states (except from Brazil) to compensate for potential domestic supply shortages created by the existing ban on imports of meat from western countries and a recent ban on beef imports from Brazil.…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation’s (WTO) latest ministerial conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in December, failed to agree detailed policy for the global body, other than a commitment to negotiate a deal limiting fishing subsidies by next December (2018). A new agriculture agreement covering all food and drink remained elusive, with the USA calling for “plurilateral” agreements of “like-minded countries” going forward, that can be adopted by WTO member states after being concluded.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) and Brazilian textile industry associations have joined forces to draw up common proposals to put to negotiators drawing up the clothing and textile chapters of a future free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and Mercosur group of countries, consisting of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.…

OECD SAYS 49 JURISDICTIONS WILL AUTOMATICALLY EXCHANGE TAX INFORMATION THIS YEAR

THE IDENTITY of 49 jurisdictions that will automatically exchange tax information in 2017 under a global standard has been revealed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD).…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) appellate body is considering an appeal by Brazil against a WTO disputes panel ruling that a wide range of Brazilian tax systems, designed to promote domestic production and exports, breach global trading agreements. The WTO backed Japan and European Union (EU) complaints that these discriminate unfairly against non-Brazilian competitors.…

THE IDENTITY of 49 jurisdictions that will automatically exchange tax information in 2017 under a global standard has been revealed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). Among the major countries included in this list are Britain, Mexico, Germany, France, South Africa and Argentina.…

THE BRAZILIAN arm of Brussels-based speciality chemical firm Solvay says that it is prospering in Brazil though sales of biodegradable polyamide yarn Amni Soul Eco, reflecting the demand for bio-based materials and products in Latin America’s largest country.

Renato Boaventura, CEO of the Brazil Rhodia Solvay Group’s ‘fibras global business unit’ told WTiN.com…

‘Colourful’,’ young’, ‘big’ and ‘clever’ are words often bandied about to describe the positive qualities of Brazil, and they certainly could be used to define La Estampa, a Brazilian textile company specialising in digital print B2B.

With a global print capacity of 25,000 metres per day, La Estampa is able to punch its weight in global digital textile markets.…

VIETNAM’S textile and clothing and textile sector is looking to sell more product into Asian markets such as South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan, while solidifying its traditional export bases like the US and EU, the latest trade data indicates. 

Last year, Vietnam exported USD2.28 billion’s worth of clothing and textiles to South Korea – a 7.45% gain compared with 2015, according to Vietnam customs data analysed by the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS). …

THE UNITED Arab Emirates (UAE) may hold an enviable portion of the world’s oil and gas reserves, at 4% and 3.5% respectively. But this has not stopped the country diversifying its long-term energy sources through developing nuclear power. With generation imminent, nuclear energy regulators and companies are watching closely how this rare event – a country embarking on a new civilian nuclear programme – rolls out.…

CONFECTIONARY manufacturers in India are having to grapple with their products and ingredients attracting a wide range of tax rates under the country’s new goods and services tax (GST), which started to be levied from July 1.

India’s GST Council, a body representing the central and state governments, has been deciding which goods will be covered by the zero, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% tax rates allowed under India’s GST legislation. …

THE GLOBAL increase in commodity prices for beef and veal has dampened demand in Russia for imports of these meat products. The country’s agriculture ministry has said imports fell 18.6% this January-May compared to the same period in 2016, That was mainly due to a rise in import prices, which since the beginning of the current year have grown by almost 25%, said ministry officials.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) meat industry has expressed disappointment over the decision by Russia to extend by 18 months its ban on EU exports of meat and meat products, but is optimistic that producers will continue finding alternative markets.

Leaders of EU farm industry association Copa-Cogeca and the European Livestock & Meat Trading Union (UECBV) stressed to GlobalMeatNews that the European Commission, food industry companies and EU member states had successfully adapted to Russia’s actions.…

AN ARGENTINE banker pleaded guilty in a US court on June 15 to laundering bribes in a scandal that has rocked football’s world governing body, FIFA. Jorge Luis Arzuaga was employed at two Swiss banks, including Zurich-based Julius Baer where he was managing director.…

The macro-economic slowdown experienced by Latin America in recent years has thrown the brakes on what had been impressive growth in the beauty and personal care sector since the turn of the century.

Much of the region is now looking for ways to stimulate the sector, tempering ambitions by aiming for more gradual growth rather than runaway success.…

EUROPE’S nonwovens producers again served up a solid performance in 2016 against the background of (uneven and) uncertain trading conditions for the industry.

As usual, the just-published returns from EDANA, the representative organisation for the USD30 billion nonwovens industry in Europe, show some important national variations.…

A NEW food trade agreement has been struck between the European Union (EU) and Norway, especially helping EU exporters of meat and dairy products. Norway will open a new 1,600-tonnes quota for EU-made bovine meat and smaller quotas for EU exports of chicken and duck meat, pork, hams and sausages.…

FOUR Brazilian presidents (including the incumbent), dozens of lawmakers, nearly all governors, mayors of major cities, members of the judicial system and of the press, have been tainted with corruption allegations by the sprawling Lava Jato probe. It has had global impact as one of the biggest scandals in history.…

THE PLANNED introduction of mandatory audit firm rotation (MAFR) by the South African Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) has sparked widespread dissention within the country’s business and accounting communities This is despite that the reform’s goal is to strengthen auditor independence and audit quality and that there are some calls for the move to be brought forward from the current introduction date of April 1, 2023.…

REDUCING Brazil’s excessive duty tariffs through renewed European Union (EU)-Brazil trade talks is essential to increase textile exports to the Latin American country, EURATEX (the European Apparel and Textile Federation) director general Francesco Marchi has told WTiN.com.

Decisions on tariffs are central to negotiations between the EU and Mercosur – the trading block of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and Brazil (Venezuela was suspended from the group in December 2016).…

Argentina’s electric car market is poised to take off this year as tax cuts and the installation of charging points spur consumer demand. This month (May), the government slashed import taxes on electric vehicles (EVs), and it’s “working on plans so that the infrastructure for these cars is in place,” Guillermo Dietrich, the national minister of transportation, told wardsauto.…

THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a comprehensive study into the healthiness of consuming sugar, that could guidance telling consumers when to stop eating sugary foods, such as confectionery. An ad-hoc working group with expertise in dietary exposure, epidemiology, human nutrition, diet-related chronic diseases and dentistry will examine the issue, along with Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, which requested the work.…

EU PROPOSES BOOSTING ANTICARTEL POWERS OF NATIONAL EUROPEAN COMPETITION AUTHORITIES

A DIRECTIVE has been proposed by the European Commission that would ensure that national competition authorities across the European Union (EU) have a minimum level of powers enabling them to enforce EU antitrust laws.…

Europe’s nonwovens producers again served up a solid performance in 2016 against the background of (uneven and) uncertain trading conditions for the industry. As usual, the just-published returns from EDANA, the representative organisation for the USD30 billion nonwovens industry in Europe, show some important national variations.…

IS the Brazilian textile sector finally seeing an end to the contraction in sales and production prompted by the country’s recession? According to figures released by industry association ABIT (Association Brasileira de Industria Textil e Confecçao), the tide is turning and better times are ahead. …

Europe’s auto suppliers are pushing the European Union (EU) work harder to secure a free trade deal with the Mercosur bloc to end tariff barriers restricting the current EU exports of vehicles and parts to its South American member countries.

At present this trade with the four founding members of Mercosur – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay – is worth a mere USD8 billion.…

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) and Canada’s strong branded knitwear companies may benefit from additional mutual trade after the European Parliament’s approval and resulting signature of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the two jurisdictions.

This long-negotiated and highly contested deal, which could apply from April as far as its key duty and quota liberalisation elements are concerned, will remove nearly 99% of tariffs on all goods traded between the EU and Canada and eliminate tax discrimination.…

Italy’s premier beauty trade fair celebrated half a century this year in Bologna with a host of special events that ranged from an opening cocktail party on the fair grounds to a special dance performance held in the Bologna city centre.…

THE USE of airless technology in packaging is largely about zero product waste, preserving product integrity and less packaging material – and it obviously gels well with the growing trend towards sustainability. That explains the uptake in this technology led by cosmetics packaging, industry experts argue.…

MEPS CHANGE EU SHAREHOLDER RIGHTS LAW

Reforms to the European Union (EU) shareholders’ rights directive (2007/36/EC) have been approved by the European Parliament. Key changes, that are expected to be formally approved by the EU Council of Ministers, include that institutional investors and asset managers declare how they invest in a company and work with their executives.…

Argentina’s centre-right government has said that it is determined to remove money laundering and dirty money in the country, having assumed office in December 2015, but Argentina’s highly combative politics makes this a complex task. The new administration of President Mauricio Macri has accused its centre-left predecessor, led by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of failing to effectively fight money laundering in Argentina, indeed levelling charges that this former government was itself deeply corrupt.…

KEY MESSAGES

*The nuclear industry has an ageing staff and needs to recruit new professionals as they retire

*Its strong health and retirement benefits packages could help it attract the new staff it needs

*The nuclear industry outside north America has a strong expat component, making it easier for recruit staff from abroad

INTRODUCTION

The nuclear industry sector is facing some significant human resources challenges, but new research carried out by Airswift and Energy Jobline indicates that the nuclear sector can still compete for talent.…

THE OLIVE oil industry has traditionally been dominated by some key major European players, notably Spain, Italy and Greece, but with global consumption rising, production is emerging in countries which have previously relied on imports.

International Oil Council statistics show how new production centres are being created.…

Brazil’s tumbling textile exports to Venezuela may fall further if the country is suspended from the south American trading bloc, Mercosur next month. (December, 2016) 

According to World Bank data, Brazil’s textile and clothing exports to Venezuela peaked in 2011 at USD90.3 million but have been falling steadily ever since.…

THE UNITED States and China have released detailed plans for reducing their governments’ support for fossil fuel, production and use, as they announced their ratification of the COP21 climate change deal struck in Paris last December.

These policy promises from Washington and Beijing have emerged from voluntary peer reviews chaired by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD).…

BRAZIL’S exports of pigmeat are booming, with over January to July, volume sales overseas increasing 42.2% year-on-year compared to the same time period in 2016. The Brazilian Protein Association (Associação Brasileira de Proteína Animal) says that from January to July this year (2016), 413,300 tonnes have been exported, be it frozen or processed meat, including sausages.…

COTTON

Cotton maybe one of the most popular fibres for clothing and accessories because of its universality, timelessness, and availability, but this past year has shown that the fibre is not immune to volatile economic markets. World cotton production fell by 17% to 21.65 million tonnes in 2015-2016, the lowest volume since 2003-2004, according to the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC).…

EUROPEAN COMMISSION LAUNCHES GLOBAL TAX AVOIDANCE BLACKLIST ASSESSMENT

THE EUROPEAN Commission has completed the first phase of an assessment designed to help the European Union (EU) frame its own blacklist of jurisdictions deemed un-cooperative over tax avoidance and evasion. Brussels has released a ‘scoreboard’ of non-EU jurisdictions judging whether they exchange information with foreign tax authorities, have preferential or low tax regimes, have close and important economic and financial links with the EU and are politically stable (and hence more attractive as a tax haven).…

South America’s cosmetics and personal care sector is looking to bounce back from a slowdown caused by the region’s macroeconomic troubles, but political pressures and regional trade alliances are driving individual country markets down divergent paths.

Over the last year, countries across the region have been buffeted by economic turmoil that has had a knock-on impact on the cosmetics sector.…

Brazil will continue to challenge the USA for the position of being the world’s biggest meat producer and exporter over the next 10 years, with chicken leading the way, Brazilian government forecasts indicate. It says that Brazilian meat production in 2025/26 will be 29.8% higher than in 2015/6 – amounting to 7.8 million tonnes in additional production – resulting in 23.6 million tonnes of output.…

The emergence of Brazil as a major economic power and highly promising market of 200 million inhabitants is luring Mauritian textile producers to foray further in Latin America’s largest national market. Indeed, despite Brazil’s ongoing economic recession, Mauritian textile and clothing exports to the country have more than quadrupled since 2012, according to trade promotion body Enterprise Mauritius.…

MEAT suppliers in Lebanon are anticipating significantly increased sales as Ramadan winds up this week. Hovig Kozobiokian, managing partner of Dekerco, a meat and food importer in Beirut. He estimated demand increases by around 50% to 60% for round cuts during Ramadan, with often a spike in demand in the last week for the Eid El-Fitr festival that ends this holy month.…

BRAZIL’S JBS, the giant meatpacker and meat processing company, has been arguing it has not been harmed by raids carried out by Brazilian police earlier this month, dubbed ‘Operation Sepsis’, part of the country’s ongoing ‘Lavo Jato’ corruption investigations.

Brazilian media has reported that on July 1 federal officers searched the São Paulo home of Joesley Batista, CEO of J&F Investimentos, the parent company of JBS.…

COSMETICS and personal care product labelling and decoration continues to play a key role in differentiating brands on the shelf and creating an experience for the consumer. While many companies are moving towards more simple, clean looks, other higher-end brands still prefer eye-catching, metallic designs.…

Specialist health and nutritional foods are set to become more important in the European market in future, according to Nestlé executive vice president and head of EMENA zone (Europe, Middle East and North Africa), Luis Cantarell, who singled out foods for the ageing population as a key priority.…

BRAZIL’S textile sector needs to look to boost exports by producing quality products to survive the current recession, a major industry conference has been told. Brazilian textile and yarns makers must invest, innovate and globalise if they want to ride out the recession, said the majority of speakers addressing the International ABIT Congress, organised by the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association (ABIT – Associação Brasileira da Indústria Têxtil e de Confecção), staged in São Paulo on June 1 and 2.…

THE EUROPEAN nonwovens industry has been pushing ahead, maintaining consistent growth above increases in GDP for the whole economy, increasing its international collaboration, and the successfully exploring new markets. And while it is rarely prudent to make anything more than short-term predictions about cost and tariff problems, such difficulties faced by the European nonwovens sector seem have been pushed into the background. …

Spanish distributors and publishers have been busy meeting with Argentine buyers at the 42nd Buenos Aires International Book Fair, as Argentina’s new centre-right government lifting of import restrictions and a looming economic recovery improves the potential for sales. “Argentina is the new hotspot in Latin America,” Fernando López Daza, manager of Época Distribuciones, a Madrid-based distributor, said at the fair, which is being held from April 21 to May 9.…

Argentina’s automotive industry is poised for a rebound in 2017 after production slumped by 38% over the past four years, say experts encouraged by the performance of the country’s new government.

“We see Argentina’s car market turning the corner now,” said Neil King, the London-based head of automotive research at Euromonitor International, a research firm.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has chiselled a new template for international organic food trade deals with its new agreement with Chile. The deal involves EU regulators recognising Chilean exports as organic when produced and controlled under Chilean controls; and Chilean regulators accepting EU food exports as organic in Chile when produced under EU organic rules.…

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström refused to confirm earlier reports suggesting Commission negotiators had agreed to remove beef from negotiations for Mercosur, the trading bloc that includes Brazil and Argentina.

In response to questions from members of parliament, Commissioner Malmström said, “I will not confirm what is in and what is not in the offer because we are still finalising it.…

In Argentina, investor optimism has swelled since the arrival of a conservative government in December, but sales of cosmetics and personal care products have taken a hit as soaring inflation cuts consumer spending power.

Argentina fell into a recession this year after four years of slow growth, and a spate of economic reforms by the new President Mauricio Macri has sped up the inflation rate to nearly 40% from 26% in 2015.…

In less than a year, Brazil had three different civil aviation ministers, and Brazil’s ambitious airport development plans have been harmed. One of the trio – Mauro Lopes – is a member of the Chamber of Deputies that voted for the motion to impeach President Dilma Rousseff over allegations she warped government accounts.…

BOOMING inflation is driving consumers in Argentina to switch to chicken and pork and away from pricier beef, a mainstay for decades.

Argentines ate an annualised 56 kilogrammes (kg) of beef in the first quarter [OF 2016?], down 5.9% from a year earlier – the sharpest decline in six years, according to data from the Argentina’s meat industry and trade chamber CICCRA (La Cámara de la Industria y el Comercio de Carnes y Derivados de la República Argentina).…

How to remain competitive in the face of falling meat consumption is the main challenge facing the meat and livestock industry today, Pekka Pesonen, secretary general of European Union (EU) farmers’ organisation Copa-Cogeca, has told GlobalMeatNews.

In an exclusive interview held as the EU body launched its #livestockcounts #enjoyagrifood campaign, promoting quality European meat consumption, Pesonen said: “We must ensure the added value of eating high quality meat as part of a balanced diet is communicated effectively to the consumer.”…

With the desire for packaging beauty being an integral part of north-east Asian consumer culture, it is perhaps no surprise that Japanese and South Korean cosmetics companies have led the way with compacts – whose popularity is spreading worldwide.

The ultimate combination of utility and design, when Japanese cosmetics companies start developing a new compact product, its packaging needs to meet two basic requirements: it has to delight the user with the way it looks, and it must be easy and convenient to use.…

THE COMMITTEE of European Sugar Users (CIUS) has called on the European Union (EU) to take urgent action to prevent EU confectionery and sweet bakery manufacturers facing a sugar supply crunch this summer. In a strongly worded message, the industry group has said that duties and levies should not be imposed on supplies of beet and cane sugar and the EU’s cane sugar ‘CXL’ duty should be scrapped immediately.…

THE UNITED Arab Emirates’ (UAE) fragrance retail market (unisex and those targeted at female and male consumers) experienced healthy growth in 2015 compared to 2014, increasing 8% in value terms to reach Emirati Dirham AED2.23 billion (USD607.2 million), according to market researchers Euromonitor International.…

DETAILS have been released about tariffs to be scrapped regarding food and drink products exported and imported between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) under a trade deal struck last August (2015). The full text has now been released and shows how Vietnam’s emerging market of 89 million people will be opened to the EU’s food manufacturers.…

The Chilean chocolate market grow by almost 11% annually over the last four years to hit 2.4 kilogrammes annually per head during 2014, with Chile’s consumption overtaking Argentina for the first time, according to data from market analysts Nielsen. But while overall consumption is growing, Chileans are also becoming increasingly sophisticated in their tastes, which has given rise to a growing market for gourmet chocolates, both locally produced and imported.…

Thanks to the introduction of a tax incentive scheme launched by the government of Trinidad & Tobago, auto converters and dealers in the country are increasingly talking up Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a clean auto fuel for vehicles on the twin island Caribbean state.…

Argentina is poised this year to increase beef exports to the European Union (EU) after its government predicted the EU would soon lift foot and mouth disease-related import restrictions for meat from its northern provinces.

New agriculture minister Ricardo Buryaile said January 20 that the European Commission would lift restrictions “in the first half of the year.”…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has signalled it will be probing the possible abuse of bilateral double taxation treaties forged by European Union (EU) member states with non-EU countries, to detect tax avoidance.

The Commission has opened a formal investigation into how Luxembourg has taxed McDonald’s, assessing concerns that it allowed the US fast-food giant to avoid paying tax on its EU royalties in the Grand Duchy.…

Much remains to be decided between Argentine and Chinese nuclear bosses over the fuel element to the USD12.8 billion proposed construction of two reactors by the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC). 
Argentina contracted the CNNC in February after a tender to help build the 800 megawatt electrical (MWe) Atucha 3 pressurized heavy water reactor, with construction work scheduled to start in 2016, although with discussions continuing on the plan, this might slip to 2017.…

Vegetable oil companies are rightfully concerned about the reputation of key feedstocks such as soy for good environmental and social sustainability. Bad news stories about poor pay, pollution and virgin land clearances can knock consumer demand for products and that is bad for business.…

A USD13 billion deal agreed by China to build two reactors for Argentina hinges entirely on the Chinese side putting up the financing, with a final arrangement on the cash deal to be inked in 2017. That’s according to sources in the Chinese nuclear industry.…

Uruguay’s meat exports are rising, with growing production, aggressive promotions and wide access to global markets boosting sales despite a slump in Russian sales. Exports of offal, meat and byproducts increased 8.2% to USD659 million in the year through May 9, compared with USD609 million year-on-year and rose 16% in volume terms to 171,401 tonnes from 147,868 tonnes over the same period, according to the country’s National Institute of Meat (INAC – Instituto Nacional de Carnes).…

China has become New Zealand’s second largest market for beef and the largest for its lamb in the 12 months ending March 31, 2015, the Meat Industrial Association (MIA) of New Zealand has told GlobalMeatNews. In that time, 11% of New Zealand’s overseas beef sales by volume went to China, while 53% was exported to the US.…

Publishers were upbeat at the 41st Buenos Aires International Book Fair highlighting strong sales in the Argentine market of adventure, fantasy and self-help books. They told the Bookseller that they planned to focus on these genres as they sign new talent.…

The Russian Federal Financial Monitoring Service (Rosfinmonitoring), Moscow’s financial intelligence unit (FIU), has singled out individual and commercial customers using Russian banks from 41 countries for special transactions reports. Among these countries on the “blacklist” are the U.S., Canada, the European Union (28 states), Australia, Norway, Iran, Syria, Sudan, New Zealand, Argentina, Mexico Switzerland, North Korea and Zimbabwe.…

Despite Paraguay’s past difficulties in effectively fighting money laundering, the country has been introducing new regulations to boost its controls; however their reforms’ implementation have been hampered by lack of political will.
Located between Argentina and Brazil, Paraguay is a key country in the struggle against money laundering and financing of terrorism in South America because its porous border is used by drug cartels to smuggle drugs, among other illicit items, into the two region’s biggest markets for cocaine and marijuana.…

TO discover the best intelligence on money laundering, sometimes it is best just to ask the money launderers. Take China. There are numerous ways of getting dirty money out of China. The most common include smuggling a satchel of banknotes to Hong Kong (where Chinese Yuan Renminbi (CNY) is convertible), where it is washed through an over-priced (for quick transaction) purchase of real estate in the city, several Hong Kong real estate agents told the Money Laundering Bulletin.…

Denmark’s ministry for food, agriculture and fisheries (MFAF/ministeriet for fødevarer, landbrug og fiskeri) is investigating whether meat (and dairy) products sourced from the offspring of cloned farm animals have found its way onto supermarket shelves in the country. With the products in contention imported mainly from North America, the investigation could lead to stricter product labelling laws in Denmark.…

The China Meat Association (CMA) is calling on the Chinese government actively support the beef and lamb sector, Gao Guan, the association’s deputy secretary-general, has told globalmeatnews.com. Speaking in his Beijing office, he said: “Our association has been advising the government to encourage consumers to eat more beef and lamb,” he said, rather than the more commonly consumed pork and chicken.…

EGYPT’S USD1.23 billion oils and fats market has still to recover from the country’s post-revolutionary environment following the January 2011 uprising that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Since then, Egypt’s economy has been on a downward trajectory, affecting consumer demand across the board.…

THE LATIN American paint and coatings sector has been facing tough times in the past year, with sluggish overall economic performance depressing demand for the industry. Even, last summer’s World Cup football fiesta in Brazil, did not give the region’s largest market any motive to celebrate.…

THE TRADE agreement currently being negotiated between the European Union (EU) and the USA could bring significant opportunities for paint machinery manufacturers if the two parties agree to align their technical standards.
The European Commission, which is negotiating the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on behalf of the EU, has said it would like to close the gap between the two sides regarding technical regulations affecting the marketing, use and conformity assessment of machinery, as well as electrical and electronic products.…

SOUTH America’s personal care product sector has been is facing tougher times than usual – with some countries experiencing weaker sales last year and others faltering this year.
The region’s largest market Brazil is facing a rocky 2015, with a general slowdown in Brazil’s economy, expected to shrink by 1% in 2015.…

In the latest in a string of bans on cheese products entering Russia, the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights and Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor) has banned cheese products made by Poland’s Ostrowia.
But this latest dairy ban is not all it seems, and Milkiland, the Netherlands-based dairy products producer owning Ostrowia, has called for “dialogue” with Russian authorities because its banned ‘Wesola Krowka’ (‘Jolly Cow’) is made from vegetable fats.…

WHILE the global nonwovens industry maybe booming through investments, acquisition of new sites, expansion of capacity, more customers and exhibitions all over, the same optimism cannot be applied to emerging market former starlet Brazil. Despite its huge market with 200 million inhabitants, the nonwovens sector of South America’s economic powerhouse is looking for another deep loss of steam in 2015.…

Chile has exported more than 7,000 heifers to China in its first major export of live cattle, which has just arrived at its destination, and the government hopes this might be the start of developing a long term beef livestock export trade.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) governments and MEPs have struck a deal over creating two EU databases containing information on the trade in goods into and out of the EU, to help fight customs fraud. These would be run by the European Commission: one would be a central database for import and export data; and the other, a centralised repository for transit-related data.…

BEEF producers in Uruguay are emerging as the most progressive and successful in Latin America with a universal system for electronically tracking cattle and a continued surge in exports.

The country’s accumulated exports of beef products for 2014 (up to December 6) reached 229,907 tonnes – an increase of 5,750 tonnes compared to the same period in 2013, according to the National Meat Institute (Instituto Nacional de Carnes – INAC), which monitors and promotes the meat industry.…

Central America’s increasing exposure to money laundering is at least being recognised by the governments on the region, who are working both individually and collectively to combat the problem.

The region has strengthened cooperation, for instance. A key initiative is the Central American Integration System (SICA), a regional political organisation which coordinates government actions for Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize and the Dominican Republic regarding certain policy development and programmes, notably improving law enforcement.…

THE FINANCIAL Action Task Force (FATF) has warned Iran it faces tighter international scrutiny of its financial services and dealings, should it fail to criminalise terrorist financing and boost its suspicious transaction reporting (STR) requirements.

In its latest assessment of jurisdictions failing to comply with FATF anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) recommendations, the global AML body singled out the Islamic republic, giving Tehran until February (2015) to make reforms, or face the consequences.…

Forward-thinking digital strategies and ‘bringing the book to the buyer’ were the focus of Liber 2014, Spain’s leading book fair. Alternatively held in Madrid and Barcelona, this year’s fair saw 450 publishers, exporters, printers and related editorial services set up stands in Barcelona’s Fira trade fair buildings.…

Tiny Paraguay is now the world’s eighth top beef exporter says US government figures, ahead of meaty superpowers such as Argentina (11th), but their aim is to be number five by 2020 and have 20 million head of cattle available in that year alone.…

THE ETHICAL traits of Sharia-compliant, or Islamic, financing, such as not allowing interest or investments in gambling and tobacco, have made sustainable and responsible investment (SRI) and green funds an obvious extension for the sector. But with Islamic finance already being a niche market, compared to conventional financing, initiatives to diversify into SRIs have struggled over the past several years.…

ECUADOR, an important confectionery exporter to the European Union (EU), has struck a new bilateral free trade agreement with the EU, which will eliminate tariffs on imports to Europe. The new trade deal is supposed to take effect in late 2016, and until then a system of preferential tariffs will be in place.…

European Union (EU) meat production is projected to start growing in 2014, according to the European Commission, as Europe’s economic recovery solidifies. This could be up 0.7% year-on-year for beef, veal, pigmeat, poultry, sheep and goat meat. However, exports might fall for pigmeat and poultry, with Russian import bans especially causing problems for pigmeat.…

IN the 1970s and 1980s, the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean did not have a comprehensively robust reputation for sound financial management. Many Caribbean island states had newly emerged from colonialism, finding their way as independent countries. And many Latin American countries were riven by social discord, even civil war, with many under military rule.…

THE ORGANISATION for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) has secured agreement from its 34 rich world member countries to apply a new single global standard on automatic exchange of tax information. Endorsed by G20 finance ministers, the standard obliges countries and jurisdictions to obtain all financial information from their financial institutions and exchange that information automatically with other jurisdictions annually.…

Latin America’s cosmetics and personal care products sector has boomed as consumers take advantage of their rising disposable incomes. The region (including Mexico) accounted for 17% of global sales in the beauty and personal care industry, according to market analysts Euromonitor International in 2013. …

THE EUROPEAN Commission has revised guide prices for a range of poultry imports – if the value of exports exceed these levels, the European Union (EU) can impose additional duties on their sale.

Under the new rules, which should come into force in July, the EU has set a representative price for 100 kilograms of frozen chicken legs coming from Brazil at EUR135, while 100 kg of frozen boneless cuts coming from Argentina have been given a guide price of EUR294; from Brazil EUR220.50; Chile EUR315.70; and Thailand EUR254.60.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has added borates, chromium, coking coal, magnesite, phosphate rock and silicon metal to the European Union (EU) list of critical raw materials, prioritising EU policy actions to secure supplies of these minerals.

By adding these six materials, it raised the number of minerals considered of critical importance to the EU economy to 20.…

The Argentine government is continuing to try and boost its anti-money laundering/combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) systems, but the challenges that it faces, including a large informal economy and porous borders – especially with Brazil and Paraguay, make this a tough task.…

The Argentine government is continuing to try and boost its anti-money laundering/combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) systems, but the challenges that it faces, including a large informal economy and porous borders – especially with Brazil and Paraguay, make this a tough task.…

THE COUNTRIES of Latin America may have strong cultural links, but their politics and economies have always varied and this is still the case with the paint and coatings sector. Whilst the whole region has experienced rising incomes over the past decade, this growth has been far from even and is currently under threat – for instance in Venezuela and Argentina, where interventionist governments have impeded trade.…

RUSSIA is challenging the European Union’s (EU) third energy package at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), claiming its requirements for market access and unbundling break EU WTO commitments for open trading with other countries. Moscow is concerned the law will, for instance, allow competitors access to infrastructure such as the South Stream pipeline it wants to build across the Black Sea.…

THE DIRECTOR general of the European Apparel and Textile Confederation (EURATEX) has called on the European Union (EU) to keep pushing for a free trade deal between the EU and the Mercosur trade bloc, notably because it is dominated by Brazil (also including Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela), which today remains a tough market for the European textile industry.…

Venezuela’s economic woes are weighing heavily on its steel sector, which was already buckling from longstanding labour disputes and related financial problems.

The government in March effectively weakened its currency, the Venezuelan bolivar (VEF) by more than 80% against the US dollar for most transactions, unveiling a new currency market, to combat chronic shortages of key industrial inputs and consumer goods.…

Venezuela’s pharma sector is in critical condition as medicine manufacturers and traders are struggling to get their hands on hard currency, hindering them from importing medicines and manufacturing ingredients and materials. US dollars are crucial for most industries in the country’s import-reliant country, which earns most hard currency from oil exports.…

The e-book market in Latin America is trailing far behind those in Europe and the United States, frustrating editors gathered at the 40th Buenos Aires International Book Fair – ‘Feria del Libro de Buenos Aires’ (April 24 to May 12).

In Argentina, where publishers and readers seem reluctant to abandon print, the e-book market has remained stagnant over the past year.…

A NEW tax in Argentina is wreaking havoc for dealerships and consumers, and adding to the woes of manufacturers already grappling with onerous trade restrictions, including a new proposal to limit auto parts imports, part of the Peronist government’s protectionist economic policy.…

Colombia has perhaps the strongest reputation in Latin America for playing host to powerful illicit drug cartels and their related money laundering. As a result, it is perhaps reassuring that over the past three years, the Colombian government, through the country’s Attorney General’s Office, seized between USD1 billion and USD1.2 billion, according Luis Edmundo Suárez, Colombia’s Unidad de Información y Análisis Financiero – financial information and analysis unit (UIAF).…

IRAN and Turkey are regional giants within the Middle East oilseeds sector, and while their industries have been performing the threat of political instability and unstable energy subsidies threaten their profits.

According to Bill Baker, foreign agricultural service analyst at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Turkey and Iran constitute the two “major producers of oilseed crops in the Middle East.”…

CANADIAN rapeseed oil and European olive oil stand to benefit the most from the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) concluded between the European Union (EU) and Canada last October (2013) experts predict.

The reason is that these are the two main products with major trade significance between the two when it comes to oils and fats, stressed an EU official.…

IRAN and Turkey are regional giants within the Middle East oilseeds sector, and while their industries have been performing the threat of political instability and unstable energy subsidies threaten their profits.

According to Bill Baker, foreign agricultural service analyst at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Turkey and Iran constitute the two “major producers of oilseed crops in the Middle East.”…

THE FINAL investment deal on piping gas from Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz II field has been struck, confirming Europe will receive 10 billion cubic metres (bcm) annually from 2019. The gas will be shipped via the upgraded South Caucasus Pipeline through Georgia and the new TANAP pipeline across Turkey, linking with the planned Trans-Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) through Greece and Albania to Italy.…

While grappling with chronic shortages of many consumer staples, Venezuela is now looking to boost its supply of medicines and strengthen national healthcare system through its role in as president of the South American trade block, Mercosur.

The government journal El Correo del Orinoco, reported last month that Esperanza Briceño, president of the Rafael Rangel National Institute of Hygiene, would work with Mercosur members to “guarantee medicine access for the entire population.”…

THE FEDERATION of European Publishers (FEP) has welcomed this weekend’s World Trade Organisation (WTO) deal on reducing import-export red tape.

Speaking to The Bookseller, FEP deputy director Enrico Turrin told the Bookseller: “It can only help. Anything that helps remove barriers will facilitate trade.”…

THOSE who have spent some time walking Chinese supermarket aisles in the past decade will have noticed astonishing changes in the local diet. Increased sales of dairy products and meat are driving demand for soy as an animal feed ingredient, and demand for higher-end consumer products such as ice cream, and confectionery are increasing palm oil requirements.…

THERE are few brands as recognisable to Chinese consumers as the ‘Golden Dragon Fish’, the ‘Jin Long Yu’ in Mandarin, which adorns the tubs of cooking oil and bags of flour and rice in supermarkets across the country. The brand is owned by Singapore-based conglomerate Wilmar, a one-time trading house which has come to increasingly invest in downstream and upstream elements of the oil palm and soy industries.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) and Canadian oil exporters are to benefit from a new free trade deal struck between the EU and Canada. Once the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has been ratified (probably in 2015), it will lead to all existing non-food duties imposed on goods traded between the parties being scrapped.…

ALTHOUGH Colombia’s pharmaceutical sector has enjoyed growth over the past few years, new price controls could disrupt the sector’s expansion if they are poorly planned, industry representatives claim.

Their concerns focus on the reaction to maximum price controls on medication recently approved by the government.…

E-books now look more like evolution than a revolution in Spain. Overall sales of books were Euro EUR2.47 billion last year, down 10.9% on 2011 and 28.9% below 2008. E-book sales were EUR74.3 million, just 3% of the sector, representing 54,714 copies sold.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) and Canadian confectioners can look forward to increasing their trans-Atlantic trade once a new free trade agreement between the EU and Canada comes into force, probably in 2015.

The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), announced on October 18, will remove most tariffs for confectionery and sweet bakery products imposed by both sides on each other’s exports.…

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has voted to reduce the support the European Union (EU) gives to the traditional biofuel sector, backing European Commission proposals to amend the renewable energy directive (2009/28/EC). MEPs agreed that the law should insist that first-generation biofuels (from long-standing sources, notably food crops) should not exceed 6% of EU energy consumption in transport by 2020, compared to the 10% target for all biofuels in the existing legislation.…

THE INCREASING complexity of mobile telecommunications networks and the companies that operate them highlights why telcos should leverage their user and performance data to optimise service. But with companies having to operate second and third generation services while rolling-out LTE 4G systems, this optimisation planning is no simple task, especially as it also has to include boosting monetisation while keeping customers happy with core services.…

THE DIRECTOR of the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) has said continued pathogen contamination involving meat traded across Europe underlines the need to fight opposition to European Commission proposals to modernise meat inspection systems.

Stephen Rossides called on meat inspectors not to block future progress: “The current meat inspection system is focused on old risks,” Rossides said.…

INDIAN consumer product company Godrej has been pushing into Africa’s hair care market with four acquisitions in the last five years, putting it in a strategic position to compete with major western companies.

Selling hair colourants, hair extensions and soaps in Africa through brands such as Inecto, Renew, Tura and Darling, Godrej is banking on Africa’s fast growing demand for cosmetics and other personal care products and is moving towards becoming an established multinational.…

THE NEW terminal at the principal international airport in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, Ministro Pistarini International, was inaugurated in March, increasing its total capacity to 13 million passengers – last year (2012) it struggled to accommodate 8.8 million passengers.…

DIGITAL innovation and exports dominated discussion at the 31st edition of Liber 2013, Spain’s leading book fair, which ended on Sunday (October 6) in Madrid after drawing 10,000 visitors, compared with 6,000 last year in Barcelona.

And while 450 exhibitors and 300-plus international buyers almost universally framed their comments in terms of recession, robust overseas sales and advances in e-publishing made for a slightly more positive mood than last year.…

THE NEW terminal at the principal international airport in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, Ministro Pistarini International, was inaugurated in March, increasing its total capacity to 13 million passengers – last year (2012) it struggled to accommodate 8.8 million passengers.…

A SIGNIFICANT set of acquisitions by Brazilian meat major JBS has been given European Union (EU) regulatory approval by the European Commission. Acting as Europe’s international competition regulator, the Commission approved JBS’ purchase from Brazilian food processor Marfrig Alimentos of Netherlands-based Columbus Netherlands BV also known as Zenda) and six Brazilian-based companies that together form the Seara group.…

THE INSURANCE risks involved in oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) are rising in line with growing industry complexity and the move into deeper, remoter and more environmentally sensitive environments.

This is placing ever greater demands on the need to identify, quantify and insure against risk, particularly when the financial and reputational repercussions of getting it wrong are escalating too.…

BRAZIL is an innovative technical textile producer, declares a report from a senior São Paulo’s business school the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), despite the sector experiencing teething problems as it expands. Looking at the Brazilian textile sector as a whole, the study estimates that 77% of investment into the sector during 2012 was used to buy innovative machinery – and the technical textile sector especially has a lot of demand to meet.…

VIETNAM’S plans to undertake a major expansion of its textile, texting finishing and fibre production sector were a key focus of an International Exhibition on Garment Manufacturing Equipment and Fabric, held in Ho Chi Minh City from July 11-13. WTiN.com attended the conference, where 125 exhibitors from 17 countries and regions showcased a range of garments, leather and footwear, and other industry products.…

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) food and feed safety rapid alert network (RASFF) has warned of a spate of problems involving salmonella contamination of imported meat and meat products. In some instances, consignments were exported from outside the EU, and others, within it.…

WHILE it is hard to generalise about a region as diverse as Latin America, the truth is that many of its consumers are more concerned about personal appearance than is typical elsewhere in the world, and that is good news for the personal care product industry.…

The chairman of the influential steel committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) has told steel-making countries to ease off subsidising the sector to fight overcapacity.

In a statement released after a two day meeting of the committee in Paris, Risaburo Nezu noted that: “Excess capacity is one of the biggest challenges facing the steel industry today.”…

THE EUROPEAN Parliament has now formally approved a new European Union (EU) offshore oil and gas drilling directive, designed to prevent accidents such as the Deepwater Horizon spill happening in coastal EU sea waters.

These new rules will require oil and gas firms to prove they can cover potential liabilities from accidents and submit major hazard reports and emergency response plans to regulators before drilling operations start.…

The United States will express concerns about foreign government subsidies that fuel excess steelmaking capacity worldwide at Monday and Tuesday’s (July1-2) Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development’s (OECD) steel committee. The US and other key steel-making countries are scheduled to meet in Paris for two days of talks.…

THE ELECTION of tobacco magnate Horacio Cartes as Paraguay’s President cy was mired by scandalous accusations of corruption, and now experts say he will do little to confront the country’s flourishing contraband cigarette trade.
Mr Cartes, 56, is a business tycoon and newcomer to politics who owns more than 20 companies, including Paraguay’s largest cigarette manufacturer Tabacalera del Este (Tabesa).…

A CENTRE-left Portuguese member of the European Parliament (MEP) Nuno Teixeira has raised concerns about the safety of Brazilian beef after learning that two shipments of Brazilian beef meat have been blocked in the port of Rotterdam after testing positive for the presence of Ecoli bacteria.…

may be a big concept, but the road to making personal care product packaging greener is made of small incremental steps that can both provide green marketing benefits and reduce costs.

Recent innovations include reducing the size of containers, while maintaining the volume of product they hold, alongside innovations in using renewable resources and keeping packaging waste out of landfills.…

SUSTAINABILITY may be a big concept, but the road to making personal care product packaging greener is made of small incremental steps that can both provide green marketing benefits and reduce costs.

Recent innovations include reducing the size of containers, while maintaining the volume of product they hold, alongside innovations in using renewable resources and keeping packaging waste out of landfills.…

is traditionally a major supplier of biodiesel to the European Union (EU) market, but trade flows have reduced sharply in the past year and could fall further with an anti-dumping duty soon expected. An additional anti-subsidy countervailing duty may also be imposed on the Southern Cone nation.…

The Argentine government’s economic protectionism is thwarting the growth of e-book sales, experts at the International Book Fair in Buenos Aires said this week.
The country’s 39th book fair, which ended on Monday, was attended by a total of 1.1 million people, said fair organisers.…

DESPITE the presence of anti-fraud legislation, fraud and corruption are an everyday part of life throughout South America, where fraudsters are unlikely to be convicted, let alone penalised.

“Penalties don’t really have an effect on fraudsters,” said Fernando Gamiz, an analyst at the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), with over 20 years of experience working on South American fraud.…

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) recent decision to impose antidumping duties on imports of bioethanol from the United States is triggering fears that trade remedy measures may become the new tool of choice for protecting domestic biofuel producers from foreign competitors.

EU ministers decided on February 18 to impose a definitive (long-term) antidumping duty of Euro EUR0.63 cents per metric tonne on US bioethanol imports in response to a complaint from the European Renewable Ethanol Association (ePURE).…

The Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), a technical agency of the Organisation of American States (OAS), is playing an increasingly influential role in the Americas in terms of fighting drug-trade linked money laundering. Specifically, CICAD has a central role in the unfolding of the Hemispheric Plan of Action on Drugs 2011-2015 which was adopted by the OAS in 2011, and includes key anti-money launderingAML components.…

WITH the Brazilian government actively deterring automotive imports and working to encourage the construction of auto plants on Brazilian soil, domestic and international car companies are setting up new plants in Brazil at a steady clip.

The country is already the world’s seventh largest automotive producer.…

COLOMBIA industry associations and politicians have warned the country’s automotive industry is at risk following the signing of a free trade agreement with South Korea in February.

The free trade agreement, which is expected to come into force at the end of this year, will eventually allow South Korea-made vehicles to enter the South American country free of the current 35% tariff.…

BRAZIL’S government is betting its domestic automotive manufacturing sector will recover its production after output declined 1.9% for all vehicles (barring agricultural vehicles) in 2012 compared to 2011, according to Brazil’s National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers (ANFAVEA).

With overall industrial production in Brazil falling 2.7% last year (2012), the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE) said “vehicles exerted the highest negative influence on the overall index, pressed by the decrease in the production of approximately 80% of the products surveyed in this sector, highlighted by the smaller production of trucks, tractor trucks for trailers and semi-trailers, chassis with motor for trucks and buses, diesel motors for trucks and buses, car pieces and vehicles for transportation of goods.”…

WHILE Latin America has not seen the growth witnesses by emerging markets in Asia, their paint and coatings sectors are still strengthening, and can build on a higher historic levels of prosperity than most Asian countries.

And the industry is more robust than many.…

Venezuela’s steel industry and investors are hoping the country’s Interim President Nicolás Maduro will break with the policies of his late predecessor Hugo Chávez, which have severely buffeted a once largely private and highly profitable sector.

“The disaster of the industry is a combination of policy and mismanagement,” explained analyst Robert Bottome, director of the Caracas-based VenEconomy Publications Group.…

THE UNITED States, the European Union (EU) and Japan will press ahead with a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute complaint against Argentina’s use of import licenses and other measures to restrict auto and auto part imports, despite Argentina’s claims that the restrictions have now been removed.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) confectionery manufacturers and their suppliers stand to boost their export sales and reduce import costs with the launch of talks to forge the two largest bilateral trade deals ever sought by the EU – with the USA and Japan.…

A WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel has been established to rule on whether US bans on Argentine beef imports are legal under global trade laws. Argentina’s government says the restrictions are illegal under the WTO’s general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATT) and the WTO agreement on sanitary and phytosanitary measures.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has asked oil and gas companies to participate in a major public consultation designed to help it draft reforms promoting the development of new energy technologies. Brussels is planning to release a new policy paper on the subject in the middle of this year.…

BY JONATHAN GILBERT, IN BUENOS AIRES

ARGENTINA’S beef producers have claimed their government’s new trade complaint against the United States over allegedly illegal American beef import controls is a spurious political smokescreen.

Ángel Girardi, president of the Argentine Association of Beef Producers, told globalmeatnews.com…

BY CARMEN PAUN, IN BRUSSELS

THE ARGENTINE government has rejected a case brought by the European Union (EU) at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) claiming it is imposing unlawful import restrictions on all EU exports, including clothing, textiles and footwear.

Speaking to just-style, a diplomat at the Argentine embassy in Brussels said: "The EU action is unjustified".…

BY JONATHAN GILBERT, IN BUENOS AIRES; AND CARMEN PAUN, IN BRUSSELS

The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) dispute settlement body discussed today in Geneva a complaint lodged by the European Union (EU) against Argentine import restrictions which is harming EU auto and auto-part exports.…

Latin America’s robust economy and fascination with beauty has made it a very lucrative region for cosmetics and perfume companies.  However corruption, weak border control and smuggling networks are helping to make the piracy of cosmetics and perfumes into a pervasive problem, causing major loss of revenue to both governments and companies alike.…

BY CARMEN PAUN IN BRUSSELS

THE EUROPEAN Commission is hoping that the recent overhaul of the European Union’s (EU) Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) will increase the flow of rare earth metals and aluminium oxide into the EU. Concerns persist about supplies of these important industrial minerals.…

BY ROBERT STOKES, IN MALAGA

RANDOM House is bullish about selling more English and Spanish language titles in Spain and Latin America as a result of its planned merger with Penguin Books and outright purchase of Spain’s Random House Mondadori (RHM).…

BY ROBERT STOKES, IN MALAGA

RANDOM House is bullish about selling more English and Spanish language titles in Spain and Latin America as a result of its planned merger with Penguin Books and outright purchase of Spain’s Random House Mondadori (RHM).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has confirmed key beef exporters Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay will be excluded from the European Union’s future GSP low import duty regime for emerging markets, as they are now too rich to benefit. Brussels has released a list of countries that will qualify for this special status and the Brazilians, Argentines and Uruguayans are not included, along with middle-income countries such as Venezuela, Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and others.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has today approved a shake-up of its special low duty system for poor exporting countries, which is expected to change tariffs paid on a wide range of meat paid on their entry into the EU.…

BY ROBERT STOKES, IN MALAGA

12 SEPTEMBER 2012

SPAIN’s ailing book industry has seen things go from bad to worse throughout 2012 as the country moved centre stage in the Eurozone crisis, government austerity measures hit hard, and unemployment hovered around 25%.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD’S developed countries are enthusiastically or moderately implementing the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development’s (OECD) anti-bribery convention, so that 52.3% of world exports are sold by countries opposing graft. So says the latest Transparency International report that says the leading established economic players are now leading by example: with the USA, Germany, Britain, Italy, Switzerland, Norway and Denmark all praised for actively implementing the convention.…

BY DAVID HAYHURST, IN PARIS

THREE years ago, the Group of Twenty (G20) finance ministers and central bank governors stated the organisation’s intention was to "rationalise and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption".…

BY KITTY SO

Confectionery consumers worldwide are moving away from the traditional, sugary lollipop to other sweets, driven by health concerns and greater spending power. Market researchers say they are flocking to innovative, functional soft candies offering health benefits while consumers with more money turn to chocolates.…

BY JONATHAN GILBERT, IN BUENOS AIRES

ARGENTINA’S protectionist economic policy and controls on imports are causing difficulties for car manufacturers across South America. Auto production is falling in the country – to a certain extent, because parts are being held up at customs – and overseas producers have taken action by cancelling exports.…

BY JONATHAN DYSON, IN BOLIVIA

THE INDUSTRIAL production of lithium carbonate and lithium-ion batteries in Bolivia has moved a step closer following the formation of a joint venture between Bolivia’s state-owned mining corporation Comibol and a South Korea consortium led by the country’s state-run mineral development corporation Korea Resources Corp.…

BY SHEENA ROSSITER, IN SÃO PAULO

WITH Europe and north America’s economies continuing to perform poorly, the importance of large emerging markets as growth areas for the international nonwovens sector is growing, especially as their middle-classes expand. Brazil is a case in point, middle class demand for nonwoven consumer products is helping attract the foreign direct investment required to develop new plants and distribution networks.…

BY JONATHAN GILBERT, IN BUENOS AIRES

ARGENTINA’S increasingly protectionist government is under fire from local ham purchasers after confirming that it was blocking imports of Spanish and Italian ham as it seeks to protect domestic meat producers.

Anger is growing in Europe over Argentina’s controls on a wide range of imported goods with the European Union (EU) launching disputes proceedings at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) last month (May 25) against the South American nation, alleging it is violating international trade rules.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A POLITICAL agreement has been struck between the three main European Union (EU) institutions over a new directive on the sulphur content of marine fuels burnt in EU waters. Complying with the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) MARPOL Convention, sulphur content for ships in the North Sea, the English Channel and the Baltic Sea will be capped at 1% until December 2014 and 0.1% from January 1, 2015.…

BY MARK ROWE

FOR products that are marketed for their ability to sooth and generate the feel-good factor, the sustainable sourcing of cosmetics ingredients causes plenty of headaches for manufacturers and suppliers. The industry is in a period of transition, in which several of the world’s multinationals are engaging in a step change in how they go about sourcing the oils they need, and the public wants.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, IN BEIRUT; AND MARK GAO, IN ISTANBUL

MOST states in the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) have mulled developing nuclear power over the past decade, from Morocco to Egypt, and Jordan to Saudi Arabia, but only the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is coming close to embarking on the nuclear option thus far.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission is preparing to release calls for research proposals commanding millions of Euros of European Union (EU) funding, offering opportunities for innovative liquid fuel and oil production. The initiative is the last batch of funding under the outgoing EU seventh framework programme on research, which ends next year.…

BY HANA KAMARUDDIN IN SELANGOR, MALAYSIA

SUSTAINING university-industry-community initiatives beyond the first flush of enthusiasm is a key challenge for all partners involved, delegates at a key Asian higher education conference have said. Related issues of passing on know-how, gaining and keeping community support, and funding were common sustainability themes among attendees at the recent AsiaEngage Regional Conference on Higher Education – Community – Industry Engagement at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia on the outskirts of capital city Kuala Lumpur.…

BY ROBERT STOKES, IN MÁLAGA

JUST like El Dorado, the never-was city of gold, Latin America’s 390 million Spanish speakers, are a siren call to Spanish publishers, whose domestic market numbers just 46 million souls. There is even a side bet on 190 million Portuguese speaking Brazilians

Some publishers, lured by these big numbers, have tried and failed in the past, foundering on the reefs of censorship, economic and currency volatility, and the local business culture, though taking forever to get paid – if at all – should not have come as a shock to Spanish firms.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD AND JONATHAN DYSON, IN LIMA

SOME of world’s most coveted fibres, Vicuña, Guanaco, Alpaca and Llama, all hail from rugged Andean region in South America. Vicuña fibre, known locally and in the trade as the "gold of the Andes" and "the fabric of the gods" is a key part of the global high-end luxury market for rare and superfine fibres.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

PLASTICS companies in the European Union (EU) storing potentially dangerous chemicals on their premises will have to by 2015 abide by tougher management standards preventing industrial accidents. This is because the European Parliament, the European Commission and the EU Council of Ministers have struck an agreement on the contents of a new law – the Seveso III directive – that will include new safety rules for chemical-using businesses.…

BY KARRYN MILLER AND JEN SWANSON, IN YANGON

MYANMAR’S clothing industry looks set to grow as the country once shunned by the west starts to reform. Following pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest in November 2010, the government has taken steps to boost foreign relations and attract investors from abroad?although…

BY JONATHAN P DYSON, IN CANCÚN

A rapidly growing number of students in Mexico are attending private universities, but there are increasing concerns about the quality of many of the new institutions. While the majority of Mexican students still attend public universities, with around 2 million students – 70% of enrollment – restrictions on places at public universities have opened up significant opportunities for private institutions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) executive is taking diplomatic action to oppose trade red tape restrictions on EU auto parts manufacturers exporting to Brazil and Argentina. The European Commission has raised concerns bilaterally with Brasilia and Buenos Aires and also at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), where formal disputes proceedings could be launched.…

BY SHEENA ROSSITER, IN SÃO PAULO; LEAH GERMAIN AND MJ DESCHAMPS

THE FIFA World Cup never fails to draw huge international crowds to whichever country chosen to play host; boosting tourism and the local economy. However, significant influxes of visitors inevitably strains airport systems – which is why Brazil’s airports are currently undergoing significant expansions to prepare to host the football tournament in 2014, as well as the 2016 summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.…

BY STEPHANIE GARLOW, IN BUENOS AIRES

THE ARGENTINE government has promised to be steadfast in protecting its valuable beef industry in the face of a renewed Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak in neighbouring Paraguay.

SENACSA, Paraguay’s animal health agency, (Servicio Nacional de Calidad y Salud Animal) has confirmed the highly contagious disease was detected last week on a ranch in the central department (region) of San Pedro: this follows 15 cattle under 24-months-old showing signs of lameness and salivation.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has confirmed it is scrapping sugar production quotas across the European Union (EU) in 2015 when proposing a comprehensive reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). There have been calls from some member states and MEPs for the quota regime to be renewed, but the Commission has stuck to its guns and will continue with abolition.…

BY MEGAN DETRIE and KACI RACELMA

THE IMPACT of the Arab Spring revolution has rattled though North Africa, leaving no economic sector unscathed – including the personal care products industry. Despite the fact that the growth of the cosmetics markets in countries like Tunisia, Egypt and Libya remains limited in lieu of the year of demonstrations and political upheaval, efforts are currently being made to boost the industry.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

BANGLADESH will not oppose the European Union’s (EU) plans to grant Pakistan GSP+ status, just-style has been told. However, the country’s powerful clothing exporters have called on their government to press for the EU to withhold these privileges for products that are important to Bangladesh’s manufacturing industry, including some clothing lines.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

DOUBTS are growing about the wisdom of encouraging biofuel use in the European Union (EU) as a cornerstone of environmental policy aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The EU has painted itself into a corner with its renewable energy directive.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

WHILE India’s soaps and cosmetics manufacturers are currently reaping the benefits of a rapidly expanding domestic market, they are at the same time bracing themselves for the challenges of dealing with increased competition and a more complex segmented marketplace.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has taken another step towards focusing the European Union’s (EU) support for biofuel production on those fuels that create at least 35% less carbon emissions than fossil fuels. A key part of this process is using certification schemes to ensure that biofuels are green, taking account of the environmental impact of their production as well as use, and the Commission has now recognised seven of these systems.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ARGENTINE energy company Medanito is to receive a USD48 million equity investment from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to help it boost oil and gas production. The money will help Medanito develop its oil and gas reserves; expand its processing and storag1e facilities; and undertake new exploration in southwest Argentina.…

BY LEE ADENDORFF

THE growth of data revenues and emerging markets contrasted with lacklustre domestic business, particularly in southern Europe, have dominated latest financial figures from the EU’s ‘big five’ telcos – Telecom Italia, Telefónica, France Telecom, Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is staging a re-evaluation of the sweetener aspartame after it agreed to bring forward from 2020 a scheduled inquiry, despite recent scientific assessments failing to reveal fresh concerns about the sweetener.

Indeed, EFSA reviewed the latest studies on aspartame only in April, but accepted a European Commission request for a new study.…

BY MARIANNE BROWN and KEITH NUTHALL

A CHINK of light in the gloom spread over the nuclear industry by Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster can be seen to the south, where south-east Asian governments seem keen to push ahead with their nuclear expansion plans regardless.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has launched a Euro EUR1.5 million study into concerns that European Union (EU) animal welfare and food safety rules could harm the global competitiveness of EU meat and other livestock sectors.

Brussels has asked research teams to bid for a major study comparing compliance costs for EU and non-EU country meat producers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL and DAVE YIN

THIS has been the year where the European Union (EU) considered imposing a draconian origin labelling law that would have been a major headache for knitwear manufacturers and retailers. In the winter, the European Parliament was seriously discussing insisting on a regulation forcing knitwear and crocheted clothes and accessories imports into the EU to carry country of origin labels.…

BY GARRY PIERRE-PIERRE and KEITH NUTHALL

IT is more than 18 months since the earthquake that ravaged Haiti seriously damaged Toussaint L’Ouverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, notably its air traffic control tower, rendering it unusable. The airport suffered structural damage to its terminal building walls and there were some major electrical faults.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

LATIN America is proving to be one of the most intriguing and exciting markets globally for beauty and personal care products. "The Latin American cosmetic market grew 20% in 2010, so now it is a market of US dollars USD64 million – almost as big as the north American market," said Mr Jaime Concha Prada, who recently served as president of CASIC, the Chamber of the Latin American Cosmetics Industry.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BRAZIL and Argentina are among almost 100 countries expected to lose tariff breaks for their knitwear exports to the European Union (EU), under a planned reform of the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) system.

The European Commission announced yesterday (May 10) it wanted to focus import duty concessions on poorer countries and so henceforth those regarded by the World Bank as high or upper middle income states would no longer qualify from January 2014.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ARGENTINA, Uruguay and Iran are among almost 100 countries expected to lose tariff breaks for their food exports to the European Union (EU), under a planned reform of the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) system, which lowers EU import duties for emerging market and developing countries for more 6,200 tariff lines, including many food products.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BRAZIL and Argentina are among almost 100 countries expected to lose tariff breaks for their cosmetics exports to the European Union (EU), under a planned reform of the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) system. The European Commission wants to focus import duty concessions on poorer countries and so those regarded by the World Bank as high-or-upper middle income states would no longer qualify from January 2014.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has told manufacturers of intermediate chemicals – including those used in the paint, coatings and solvent sectors – they may have to submit more information under REACH chemical control system. ECHA screened more than 400 dossiers of substances declared as intermediates and has said that 86% have not proved that this special status should apply – the agency requires less information on intermediates than standard chemical substances.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

RUSSIA has been invited by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) to join its anti-bribery convention. This is despite Russia languishing at 154th out of 178 countries ranked in Transparency International’s 2010 corruption perception index. The OECD acted after its President Dmitry Medvedev signed in May legislation criminalising foreign bribery, with a significant increase in fines for companies and individuals who bribe foreign public officials to gain business advantages.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Iran are among almost 100 countries expected to lose tariff breaks for their plastics exports to the European Union (EU), under a planned reform of the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) system.

The European Commission announced yesterday (May 10) it wanted to focus import duty concessions on poorer countries and so henceforth those regarded by the World Bank as high or upper middle income states would no longer qualify from January 2014.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BRAZIL and Argentina are among almost 100 countries expected to lose tariff breaks for their textile and clothing exports to the European Union (EU), under a planned reform of the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) system.

The European Commission announced yesterday (May 10) it wanted to focus import duty concessions on poorer countries and so henceforth those regarded by the World Bank as high or upper middle income states would no longer qualify from January 2014.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A ROW has broken out between the European Commission and European Union (EU) food and farm federation Copa-Cogeca over its claims a planned trade deal with South America’s Mercosur would destroy Europe’s beef sector.

The Commission’s trade spokesman John Clancy told just-food such allegations were "exaggerated".…

BY EMMA JACKSON and KARRYN MILLER

IN October 2010, new olive oil standards came into effect in the United States for the first time since 1948, and Australia’s first olive oil standard ever is in the works. These new standards are meant to bring the two countries closer to international olive oil purity standards mandated by the Codex Alimentarius and the International Olive Council (IOC) to which Europe and other traditional olive oil-producing (and consuming) countries already adhere.…

BY LEE ADENDOORF, ALYSSA MCMURTRY, MAKKI MARSEILLES, and KEITH NUTHALL

GLOBAL olive oil manufacturing is on a roll, with the International Olive Council (IOC) saying 2009-10 world production was 3.02 million tonnes, a season-on-season increase of 354,500 tonnes (+13%). This would be the second best olive oil production year ever, next only to the record of 3.17 million tonnes produced in 2003/04.…

BY ROBERT STOKES

A SURGE in e-book reading in Spain coincides with exhibition space being devoted to digital publishing for the first time ever at LIBER, the International Book Fair for the Spanish speaking world, from Wednesday to Friday this week in Madrid.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD, KARRYN MILLER, GARRY PIERRE-PIERRE, KEITH NUTHALL

FOR niche spirits, obscure can be good – and so products made in countries not renowned for their spirits production can gather export market cache. Latin America and the Caribbean are regions where effort by buyers can pay dividends.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE AMERICAN Honey Producers Association has told just-food of its fears that a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling about honey pollen could flood the US market with honey imports. Richard Adee, the association’s Washington legislative committee chairman, said the ruling, (which said honey made from GM-pollen would require special authorisation for sale in the European Union (EU)), could disrupt global honey markets.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

DEFINING a niche drink is an arbitrary matter and what may pass as niche today may well be considered mainstream tomorrow. Flavoured vodka, for instance, had a relatively specialised following in Europe until a few years ago – now it is classified as an official spirit drink under European Union (EU) regulations.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

SUGAR has been at the centre of continuing concern about fraud draining European Union (EU) budgets of duty revenue. The latest operational report from EU anti-fraud unit OLAF (which reviewed 2009) recalled how fraudsters made millions of Euros from exporting 3,400 tonnes of sugar from the EU to neighbouring non-member state Croatia via the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.…

BY ALAN OSBORN, KARRYN MILLER, GAVIN BLAIR, KEITH NUTHALL

MOST drinks manufacturers would bridle at the accusation that they used anything unnatural to make their products: after all poisoning consumers is bad for business. But in the world of marketing, everything is relative, and some ingredients are so fresh and untainted with processing chemicals that they can, simply, be sold as being more ‘natural’ than standard inputs.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank is investing Canadian dollars CAD 7.3 million (US dollars USD 7 million) in Vancouver-based Argentex Mining Corporation to support polymetallic mineral exploration in Argentina.

Argentex’s Pinguino project in the southern province of Santa Cruz, in Patagonia, has uncovered sulphide-rich polymetallic deposits veins.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL, EMMA JACKSON, MJ DESCHAMPS

IT is the classic chicken and egg scenario. To what extent do widespread networks of fuel filling stations need to be established offering compressed and liquefied natural gas (CNG/LNG) for a mass market of autos using these fuels to develop?…

BY DINAH GARDNER, PACIFICA GODDARD, KARRYN MILLER

AS the ranks of China’s middle class swell, their desire for leading healthier lifestyles – including what they drink – is also growing. Manufacturers have a wealth of ingredients from which to pick. Not only can they use globally-renowned healthy choices such as fruit juices and mineral-enriched drinks, they also have thousands of herbs, roots, flowers and fruits popular in Chinese medicine to choose from as ingredients and additives.…

BY MIRIAM ELDER

RUSSIAN commodity experts have told just-food they expect grain prices to rise significantly within Russia, despite the announcement by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that all exports of grain from the country would be halted from August 15 to contain domestic prices.…

BY MARK ROWE

INNOVATIVE packaging is transforming the drinks industry. Heavy tins and bottles are being replaced by lighter composite and biodegradeable materials; hi-tech cartons are being manufactured that tell consumers if the milk’s gone off; and RFID (radio frequency identification) tags are being embedded with temperature sensors.…

BY WANG FANGQING, RAGHAVENDRA VERMA, BILL CORCORAN, PACIFICA GODDARD, KEITH NUTHALL

DRINKS packaging can be quite different in emerging and developing markets than in the rich world. One issue simply is scale. Poorer consumers are often, simply, more interested in smaller sized portions than richer.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL and ALYSHAH HASHAM

CANADA – long a difficult jurisdiction for the tobacco sector – became tougher still on July 5, when a national ban on manufacturing and selling most flavoured cigarettes, cigarillos and blunt wraps came into force.…

BY EMMA JACKSON

THE SUNFLOWER family is joining the ranks of other genetically sequenced oil crops, as a Canadian-led project maps the sunflower genome, part of the largest flowering family on the planet – with significant potential for commercial benefit for the oils and fats sector.…

BY MARK ROWE

IS the recession’s worst over for the jet fuel aviation industry? Passenger traffic during this late spring and summer has risen sharply compared with flights year-on-year, giving hope to an industry that Giovanni Bisignani, director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), described last year as "structurally sick".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) panel has refused to set an advisory limit for the intake of sugar by European Union (EU) consumers. EFSA’s panel on dietetic products, nutrition and allergies has concluded in a comprehensive assessment of dietary requirements for EU consumers “there was insufficient evidence to set an upper limit for sugars”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A DEADLOCK within the long-running political battle at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over cotton subsidies is blocking progress for the whole WTO Doha Development Round, diplomats claim. At the latest Geneva talks on the issue, India, China and Argentina warned "substantial negotiations [over cotton] are deadlocked and there won’t by any Doha agreement unless the cotton problem is solved…," related a WTO official.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE TOWN of Asbestos in French-speaking Québec, Canada – named after the mineral that underpins its economy – is waiting to see whether its provincial government will approve a Canadian dollar CAD58 million (US dollar USD56 million) loan enabling an underground mine to tap an immense deposit.…

BY EMMA JACKSON,RAGHAVENDRA VERMA,WANG FANGQING and PACIFICA GODDARD,

AS people migrate across the globe, the drinks industry has witnessed a slow influx of regionalised flavours into untraditional markets. White and green tea from Asia is now sold across the globe in soft drinks, and ‘exotic’ fruits such as pomegranate, mango and lychee are becoming popular juice flavours in Europe and the US.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD, ALAN OSBORN and KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN automakers will be looking to boost exports to the Mercosur countries of South America, if they strike a trade deal with the European Union (EU). A resumption of negotiations on slashing tariffs for goods traded between the EU’s 27 member countries and the four-country Mercosur block, (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay), has been announced by the European Commission, the EU’s executive.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

While most of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages produced in Brazil are consumed domestically, the exception is the juice sector. Brazil is one of the world’s top three producers of tropical fruit, according to Brazilian Fruits Institute (IBRAF), and an important global provider of fruit juice.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

According to the US department of agriculture (USDA), about 70% of the 2.5 billion litres of fruit and vegetable juices sold in Mexico in 2009 were produced domestically. Mexico exported USdollar USD266.99 million worth of juices in 2009, compared to USD308.23 million in 2008 and USD247.29 million in 2007, according the UN Comtrade database.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

EUROPEAN meat importers will be looking to boost supplies from the Mercosur countries of South America, if they strike a planned trade deal with the European Union (EU). A resumption of negotiations on slashing tariffs for goods traded between the EU’s 27 member countries and the four-country Mercosur block, (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay), has been announced by the European Commission, the EU’s executive.…

BY DANIEL PRUZIN

REPRESENTATIVES from around 160 countries are moving toward clinching a deal on new World Health Organisation (WHO) Protocol on Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products, which could be wrapped up within the next 12 months. Unlike its predecessor, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (under whose authority this latest agreement is being negotiated), the protocol is something of a mixed blessing for the tobacco industry.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

INTRODUCTION

LATIN America has never been a strong player in the global drinks marketplace, but maybe, as much of the region struggles towards unprecedented prosperity, this could change. Mexico has shown the way with the international profile of its beers, notably Corona, and its world-beating Tequila and Mezcal industries.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

INTRODUCTION

LATIN America has never been a strong player in the global drinks marketplace, but maybe, as much of the region struggles towards unprecedented prosperity, this could change. Mexico has shown the way with the international profile of its beers, notably Corona, and its world-beating Tequila and Mezcal industries.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

A decade ago, Latin America was considered to be one of the beer industry’s toughest markets, due to frequent bouts of economic uncertainty and political turmoil. But a lot has changed in the region since the year 2000, and recently instead of recoiling from this region, the biggest beer companies in the world have been fighting tooth and nail for shares of it.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

The carbonated soft drink segment has suffered recently in the United States and Europe, as consumers have become more health conscious and switched to less sugary alternatives, but in Latin America carbonated beverages have continued to perform well.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

Wine is not a particularly popular alcoholic beverage in most of Latin America, and only 1.94 billion litres were consumed in the region in 2009, according to Euromonitor International. Wine is also the only major beverage segment that has dropped in consumption per capita in Latin America in the last five years, from 3.8 litres in 2005 to 3.6 litres in 2009 (compared to almost 50 litres consumed per capita per year in France for example) said beverage information specialist Canadean.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has signalled it is unlikely to intervene to prevent the proposed takeover of Ukraine’s gas pipeline network by Russia’s Gazprom. Displaying his relatively relaxed attitude to closer energy links with Moscow, new German EU energy Commissioner Günter Oettinger told a press conference: "The decision has to come between Kiev and Moscow and not in Brussels."…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

The most important markets for bottled water have traditionally been developed economies like Western Europe and the United States. However, growth in these markets has recently flattened out, exacerbated by the global economic crisis and growing environmental concerns over the product.…

BY GARRY PIERRE-PIERRE

WHEN an earthquake of a magnitude of seven on the Richter scale struck Haiti in January, it destroyed most of this 9 million population Caribbean country’s infrastructure, including ports and airports. Many businesses have suffered, including the tobacco sector, with many retail outlets ruined, especially in the capital Port-au-Prince whose central business district was shattered by the quake.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

INTRODUCTION

There are signs around the world that the textile market is beginning to recover from the global economic crisis, and developing markets will be leading that recovery. Asia is, of course, at the forefront, but many countries in Latin America have also weathered the crisis and have come out in a surprisingly decent position, with their dynamic textile and apparel industries well positioned for future expansion.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

LAST year in Latin America, British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris International (PMI), the region’s two dominant companies, battled to maintain profits through declining volumes. Overall, Latin America was profitable for both companies. For BAT, profits were mainly attributable to a strong performance in Brazil, and improved premium brand sales, however volumes sales declined throughout the region.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

RICH country cosmetics companies maybe able to avoid undertaking chemical safety tests in key emerging markets because of an Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) mutual acceptance of data system. Using the unlikely acronym MAD, this procedure enables signatory countries to accept chemical safety tests carried out in fellow member states.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

RICH country textile and clothing chemical and dyes companies maybe able to avoid undertaking chemical safety tests in key emerging markets because of an Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) mutual acceptance of data system. Using the unlikely acronym MAD, this procedure enables signatory countries to accept chemical safety tests carried out in fellow member states.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

RICH country textile and clothing chemical and dyes companies maybe able to avoid undertaking chemical safety tests in key emerging markets because of an Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) mutual acceptance of data system. Using the unlikely acronym MAD, this procedure enables signatory countries to accept chemical safety tests carried out in fellow member states.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

DECLARED "an energetic and seductive city" by Giorgio Armani, Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, is a hotspot for fashion and design. Often called the ‘Paris of Latin America’, Buenos Aires consumers are well known for favouring trendy attire, and Argentine designers are developing a reputation globally for their creativity and excellent fashion sense.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON, PACIFICA GODDARD, GAVIN BLAIR and KEITH NUTHALL

NEW technologies devour new resources and the move towards hybrid and electric vehicles could make some currently impoverished countries rich. As the world moves away from fossil fuels, the soft metal lithium will become increasingly in demand as a critical component of auto batteries for green cars.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON, PACIFICA GODDARD, GAVIN BLAIR and KEITH NUTHALL

NEW technologies devour new resources and the move towards hybrid and electric vehicles could make some currently impoverished countries rich. As the world moves away from fossil fuels, the soft metal lithium will become increasingly in demand as a critical component of auto batteries for green cars.…

BY ALAN OSBORN,ANCA GURZU and KEITH NUTHALL

THE GLOBAL trade in illicit tobacco is huge and growing and a significant source of dirty money worldwide. Tobacco multinational British American Tobacco (BAT) estimates that 6.3% of cigarettes worldwide are illicit products (either counterfeit, smuggled or sold domestically on the black market), which makes 332 billion sticks, and that is a lot of cigarettes.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

CHINA has come under increased pressure to scrap export restrictions on certain key non-ferrous metals, with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) establishing a disputes panel to adjudicate complaints about these rules. With the European Union (EU) being joined by the United States and Mexico as formal parties to this dispute, the outlook could be serious for China if it loses.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD, ANCA GURZU, GAVIN BLAIR and KEITH NUTHALL

NEW technologies devour new resources and the move towards hybrid and electric vehicles could make some currently impoverished countries rich. As the world moves away from fossil fuels, the soft metal lithium will become increasingly in demand as a critical component of auto batteries for green cars.…

BY ANCA GURZU

INFRASTRUCTURE and technology costs are the two important factors when talking about promoting intermediate alternative fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and compressed natural gas (CNG), the Center for Automotive Research, a US-based non-profit organisation, has told wardsauto.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

THE CIGARETTE market in Argentina remained strong in 2008: the retail volume increased 3.12% from 2007 to 42.47 billion sticks, valued at Euro 1.72 billion, a 17.6% increase from 2007, according to the Argentine ministry of the economy.…

BY ANCA GURZU

The USA tobacco manufacturing (and leaf) industry has been facing tough times, with its habitual trade surplus dwindling to almost nothing. The USA’s Tobacco Merchants Association (TMA) reported a US$603.7 million trading surplus at the end of 2008, which was 32.5% less than the 2007 surplus of US$894.3 million.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A DETAILED European Commission report has listed trade barriers impeding European Union (EU) clothing and textile sales imposed to protect export market industries from the recession. Brussels is concerned that while these restrictions were designed to help vulnerable businesses survive the recession, they could cause long-term damage to Europe’s producers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AN INITIATIVE boosting the ability of Latin American and Caribbean countries to prevent precursor chemicals from being diverted from legitimate uses to illegal narcotic production has been launched. The UN Office in Drugs and Crime and European Commission’s three-year PRELAC project will cover: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A DETAILED European Commission report has listed trade barriers impeding European Union (EU) automobile, parts and components sales imposed to protect export market industries from the recession. Brussels fears that while these restrictions were designed to help vulnerable businesses survive the recession, they could cause long-term damage to Europe’s auto manufacturers.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

IT is a mind-bending question. How on earth, given the complexity and variety of available biofuels, their feedstocks and manufacturing processes, can their relative ‘green-ness’ be measured efficiently? But, to the delight of mathematicians and technical consultants the world over, this toughest of queries has to be answered.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

A NEW crisis over the presence of genetically modified (GM) ingredients in food and livestock feed has once more focused attention on the European Union’s (EU’s) controversial GM policies. It has especially raised the spectre of job losses, farm bankruptcies and higher consumer prices if a relaxation of the current de facto zero tolerance restriction applying to unauthorised GM products is not agreed soon.…

BY MONICA DOBIE

ARGENTINE oil and gas firm Pan American Energy International will receive US$153 million’s worth of loans from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank to help it develop oil and gas resources. This work focus on the Cerro Dragon, Piedra Clavada, and Koluel Kaike blocks of Golfo San Jorge, central coastal Argentina

ENDS…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ARGENTINA’S exports to biofuel markets of soy oil will expand through a US$40 million loan from the International Finance Corporation, of the World Bank. It will develop logistics and processing plant operated by Nobel Argentina at Timbues port, processing 3 million tonnes of soybeans annually.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

TRANSPORT infrastructure investments to help grow Argentina’s major (but currently troubled) soy export sector have continued, with the hope that the recent growth in the industry will become permanent.

In the mid-1990’s Argentina was producing a modest 11 to 12 million metric tonnes (mt) of soy per year.…

BY RUSSELL BERMAN

THE AMERICAN bio-based oils and fats sector is watching closely the development of key proposals and recommendations that could significantly alter the way goods are shipped across the country.

One of its most pressing transport concerns is an advancing proposal to end a decades-long antitrust exemption for freight rail.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

FOOTBALL maybe the ‘beautiful game’, but it is also a cesspool of international commercial crime. Keith Nuthall reports.

THERE has always been more than a hint of raffishness about the world’s most popular sport football, or soccer as it is known in north America and Australasia.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

FORMER European Commission chief accountant Marta Andreasen has been rebuffed trying to grab a senior position on the European Parliament’s influential budgetary control committee. The newly-minted UK Independence Party MEP had stood to become a vice-chair, but she was voted down by the parliament’s socialist and pro-federalist European People’s Party group.…

BY MARK ROWE and KEITH NUTHALL

RUSSIA’S belligerent approach to its neighbours in recent years has ranged from military conflict with Georgia to energy disputes with Ukraine and a string of commodity-based stand-offs, such as rows with Norway over fish products, Poland over meat supplies and Belarus over sugar.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

CORRUPTION begets fraud and fraud begets corruption, and there are few harder crimes to tackle than complex frauds rooted in institutionalised and culturally tolerated corruption. As a result, the work of international organisation Transparency International has been key in fighting fraud worldwide, especially that linked to corruption.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

IT has long been outmoded and inaccurate to split the world into two camps: industrialised developed economies, and largely agricultural developing countries. The growth of the 1990s and the current decade means there is a wide range of social and economic sophistication and wealth amongst the poorer of these two old-fashioned categories.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WHEN critics of Britain’s successful war to retake the Falklands Islands from an invading Argentina claimed the military action was about oil and gas reserves, few paid them much heed. After all, Buenos Aires had committed an act of naked aggression against a small remote community that wanted to remain British.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) RASFF food safety alert system has warned of two separate seizures by Norwegian customs of American almond exports because they contained an unauthorised food additive propylene oxide. Meanwhile French authorities have seized aflatoxin-tainted dried figs from Turkey.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL, EMMA JACKSON and ALAN OSBORN

IN the early 1990s the nuclear power industry faced a bleak outlook. High profile accidents such as in Chernobyl and Three Mile Island in, Pennsylvania, the USA, had raised public concern about the safety of the industry to all time high.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

WHILE net revenues for tobacco product sales in some key countries in South America have experienced growth in the last few years, in general the regional tobacco product market is stagnant. Producers blame increased excise rates, public health awareness, and new and more rigidly enforced regulations for the gloom.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD and KEITH NUTHALL

THE TRI-BORDER area between Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay in South America is a notorious breeding ground for illicit activity, and the tobacco industry suffers more than most. Contraband goods of every description pass through Paraguay’s trading hub, Ciudad del Este – CD’s and DVD’s, fake designer clothing, sunglasses and watches, sports shoes, games and electronics, and of course one of the world’s most smuggled and lucrative legal substances: cigarettes.…

BY MARK ROWE

THE PSYCHOLOGY of colour has fascinated philosophers and scientists down the ages, so it is perhaps unsurprising that the world’s paint companies devote much of their time to working out why consumers prefer certain colours for certain everyday items – and why these tastes vary so much across the world.…

BY WANG FANGQING

THE HONGHE Group and the Hongyun Group, the two major Chinese tobacco companies located in the key tobacco-growing Yunnan province have recently (WHEN EXACTLY?) submitted a merger agreement to the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA), the Beijing-based industry watchdog.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD Bank is lending Argentina US$30 million to help fund the safe decommissioning and cleansing of closed uranium mines in the country. The money will be spent by Argentina’s National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA). The bank said it would enable Argentina "to meet its legal obligations to remediate closed uranium mines and milling facilities in a permanent manner, consistent with internationally accepted standards for the safe disposal and handling of hazardous materials."…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD

CHINA’S entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2002 and the recent end of quotas in the US and European markets have created gigantic changes in the textile industry worldwide, with developing markets like those in Latin America expected to suffer the most from these shifts.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD, in Caracas

IN Latin America, the combination of economic growth, weak law enforcement, and a culture that turns a blind eye to corruption, creates an increasingly fertile setting for a variety of commercial crimes, Pacifica Goddard reports from Caracas.…

BY PACIFICA GODDARD, in Caracas

LATIN AMERICA has long been notorious for its high levels of corruption, especially through money laundering, bribery and the illicit drug trade. And although the recent years of relative stability and democratisation in the region have brought economic progress, this has also widened the opportunities for fraudulent activities and fuelled an increasing sophistication by which they are performed.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AN INTERNATIONAL website has been launched by two European campaign groups pushing for the return of water services to local governments worldwide. The Corporate Europe Observatory and Transnational Institute organisations have set up www.remunicipalisation.org to monitor campaigns for transferring water services from private utilities.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank is investing up to US$17 million into Argentina oil and gas company Roch to speed exploitation of its hydrocarbon reserves, particularly natural gas. The IFC planes to later lend Roch an additional US$20 million.…

BY RACHEL JONES, in Caracas

WHILE Paraguay has been producing and exporting soy since the 1970s, its dependence on soy products has increased dramatically over the last decade – a development that has been encouraged through heavy investment by international agribusiness.…

BY RACHEL JONES, in Caracas

SINCE biotech oil crops were first commercialised over a decade ago, their use has experienced yearly double-digit growth worldwide, with Latin America being something of a nursery for this growth. Globally, the area of biotech crops grew by 13%, or by 12 million hectares, in 2006, to reach 102 million hectares, according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA).…

BY PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut, and HELENA FLUSFELDER, in Jerusalem

THE DRINKS market in the Middle East continues to increase on the back of population growth, economic development, improvements in distribution and retail, and more aggressive advertising campaigns.

But like much of the rest of the world, younger and better educated market segments within the region are shifting away from carbonated soft drinks (CSD) towards fruit juices and bottled water as people become increasingly health conscious according to independent industry analysts and the drinks sector.…

BY RACHEL JONES, in Caracas

AS one of South America’s largest economies and the world’s leading

exporter of soy and sunflower oil, Argentina experienced a GDP growth rate

of 8.4 percent in 2006 and 7.9 percent a year earlier, according to the US

Energy and Information Administration.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WITH the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) seven-year-old Doha Development Round maybe drawing towards a close, the pharmaceutical industry might start to consider that a final deal could lead to the elimination of most import duties on drugs and medicines, traded worldwide.…

BY LUCY JONES, in Dallas; ALAN OSBORN, in London; KARRYN CARTELLE, in Tokyo; BILL CORCORAN, in Johannesburg; PAUL COCHRANE, in Beirut; RACHEL JONES, in Caracas; MARK ROWE; and KEITH NUTHALL

WITH the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha Development Round being slow to proceed since its 2001 launch – and only this year approaching something resembling and end game – free traders wanting to encourage global commerce have looked to bilateral and regional trade deals.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

DIPLOMATIC grumbles have started to emerge about the European Union’s (EU) REACH chemical control system, with claims being made at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) its complexity could break EU commitments under the WTO’s technical barriers to trade agreement.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AS the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha Development Round moves towards completion, a big push is underway to see a wine and spirits geographical indication register established within final deal. A WTO special group for the issue met yesterday (Mon Dec 3) and supporters of the register pushed for full negotiations on the issue, ending technical discussions that have dragged on for years.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

DIPLOMATIC grumbles are emerging about the European Union’s (EU) REACH chemical control system, claiming its complexity could break EU commitments under the being made at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) technical barriers to trade agreement. A meeting of the WTO technical barriers to trade committee heard Argentina, Brazil, the USA, South Korea, Australia, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, Chile, China, Mexico and Thailand raise concerns that REACH could impose illegally difficult tasks on exporters.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AS the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha Development Round moves towards completion, a big push is underway to see a wine and spirits geographical indication register established within final deal. A WTO special group for the issue met yesterday (Mon Dec 3) and supporters of the register pushed for full negotiations on the issue, ending technical discussions that have dragged on for years.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AS the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Doha Development Round moves towards completion, a big push is underway to see a wine and spirits geographical indication register established within final deal. A WTO special group for the issue met yesterday (Mon Dec 3) and supporters of the register pushed for full negotiations on the issue, ending technical discussions that have dragged on for years.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

CLAIMS are being made at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that the complexity of the European Union’s (EU) REACH chemical control system could break EU commitments under the WTO’s technical barriers to trade agreement. Argentina, Brazil, the USA, South Korea, Australia, Japan, Canada, Taiwan, Chile, China, Mexico and Thailand claim REACH could impose illegally difficult tasks on exporters.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

DIPLOMATIC grumbles have started to emerge about the European Union’s (EU) REACH chemical control system, with claims being made at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) its complexity could break EU commitments under the WTO’s technical barriers to trade agreement.…

BY MARK ROWE, in London, JULIAN RYALL, in Tokyo, and RACHEL JONES, in Caracas

PERSONAL care products – soaps, cosmetics, lotions and hair products – have always been important consumers of vegetable and animal-based oils and fats. Yet, this is a complex sub-sector of the global oils and fats industry.…

BY RACHEL JONES, in Caracas

FOLLOWING the late-November OPEC summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visited Tehran to discuss joint ventures over oil refining and then chuckle with his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, over the weakened US dollar.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ALLEGED glaring loopholes in China’s fight against the counterfeiting of goods will now be examined in detail by a World Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes settlement panel, which was established yesterday (Tues) at the urging of the United States.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON

FEW issues have proved as globally divisive as the ability to modify crops genetically. For years, a line has been drawn between the cautious European Union (EU) and the go-for-it United States, which has seen them at loggerheads over trading genetically modified crops.…

BY MARK ROWE

CONCERNS over the way in which soybean production takes place have led to calls for the Brazilian government to dramatically escalate its efforts to clean up the industry. Groups campaigning for a socially and environmentally responsible approach to soy production have called on the Brazilian government to speed up the process of providing satellite images that can map the scale of soy-related deforestation, and regulate the ownership of land earmarked for soy production.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation, of the World Bank, will lend US$550 to Anglo-Argentine oil and gas producer Pan American Energy LLC, operations in Cerro Dragon oil field, Golfo San Jorge Basin, southern Argentina. Pan American Energy is a joint venture between BP and Argentina’s Bridas Corporation.…

BY RACHEL JONES, in Caracas

A NUMBER of factors have contributed to a booming Latin American market in soap, perfume and cosmetics – most importantly, regional economic growth and a healthy overall GDP. Hair care is the region’s biggest seller, but an increase in life expectancy has created a growing demand for skin care products, especially those related to anti-aging and sun protection.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

ARGENTINA has formally requested the creation of a World Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel to rule on whether Brazil broke the WTO’s anti-dumping agreement when imposing tough anti-dumping duties on Argentine exports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins. Buenos Aires claims Brazil railroaded the tariffs through WTO-sanctioned legal procedures, ignoring commitments to properly consult with Argentine producers and carefully assess whether Brazilian PET manufacturer claims of cut-priced exports from Argentina actually held water.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ARGENTINA has formally requested the creation of a World Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel to rule on whether Brazil broke the WTO’s anti-dumping agreement when imposing tough anti-dumping duties on Argentine exports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins. Buenos Aires claims Brazil railroaded the tariffs through WTO-sanctioned legal procedures, ignoring commitments to properly consult with Argentine producers and carefully assess whether Brazilian PET manufacturer claims of cut-priced exports from Argentina actually held water.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE CANADIAN government has added to the growing pressure on the USA to slash the subsidies it pumps into its food sector, formally requesting that a World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel declares that Washington’s largesse has been illegally high.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE CANADIAN government has added to the growing pressure on the USA to slash the subsidies it pumps into its food sector, formally requesting that a World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel declares that Washington’s largesse has been illegally high.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ARGENTINE wine producers have a stay of execution over their right to sell wines in the European Union (EU) containing malic acid, which is used to correct acidity and banned in EU wine production. The European Commission has long been seeking a comprehensive wine agreement with Argentina covering wine making practices, and the EU Council of Ministers have now given both sides until January 2009 to strike a deal, before a ban on sales of Argentine wines containing malic acid theoretically comes into force.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has backed the British government in a legal row with the European Commission over the re-issuing of fishing licences that had been used by UK-flagged boats transferred to Argentina under a capacity reduction programme mandated by Brussels.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
ETHICALLY conscious consumers are spending more money on buying certified fair trade wine, although the marketing of other drinks certified to promote social development in poorer countries has been slower to grow.

Fair trade wines volumes are now respectable, with the London-based Fair Trade Foundation saying consumption is highest in the UK, with worldwide sales volumes totaling 618,000 litres in 2004 (bought entirely in Britain), and 1.39 million in 2005, with Britons buying 1.12 million of the share.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ARGENTINE wine producers are likely to be given another stay of execution over their right to sell wines in the European Union (EU) containing malic acid, which is used to correct acidity and banned in EU wine production.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A NEW fishing access deal has been negotiated between the European Commission and the Ivory Coast. Running six years from this June, the agreement is designed to replace an existing deal in place since 1990. The new deal will focus entirely on tuna, wIth European Union (EU) fishing rights being cut from an existing 9,000 to 7,000 tonnes per year, to be exploited by 25 seiners and 15 surface long liners, (down from 34 and up from 11 respectively under the existing system).The…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has rejected arguments by the European Commission that when a member state receives funding to reduce the size of its fishing fleet, it should not re-issue licences left unused when boats are transferred to a non-European Union (EU) register.…

BY MONICA DOBIE, in Ottawa
CANADA’S largest dairy processor Saputo Inc has announced it will close two plants and cuts 144 jobs to consolidate its Canadian manufacturing operations. A Vancouver cheese plant will close March 31, while a cutting and wrapping plant near Montreal will shut down on June 2.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED States’ diplomatic service is surely the largest and best resourced international network of experts in the world, and this is born out by the depth of the narcotics strategy report – or INCSR to use its acronym.…

BY RACHEL JONES, in Caracas
VENEZUELA’S economy, fueled by its vast oil wealth, has grown by about 9% in 2006, making it one of the fastest-growing in Latin America, resulting in increased consumption and production of paints and coatings. However, the boom has not been all good news for the sector, it has also caused problems related to inflation and currency controls, specifically in regards to the importation of primary materials for production.…

BY MARK ROWE

MORE countries are increasing market share and production levels, according to TDC Olive, with non-EU producers now securing significant market share: Syria (8% of global market share of olive production), Morocco (8%), Turkey (7%), Argentina (5%), Algeria (5%) and Egypt (7%).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WITH global trade ever increasing, and the power of brands to generate massive profits made starkly clear with every company report, the counterfeiting of goods is one of international organised crime’s major boom areas.

It is a serious problem for legitimate business, especially those based in developed countries with tough piracy controls, who are seeking to export to poorer countries where intellectual property crimes are a low priority.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE ARGENTINA government has failed to persuade a World Trade Organisation (WTO) panel to order the US to lift long-standing anti-dumping duties on Argentine exports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG). The disputes panel was examining American compliance with a 2004 ruling that the US had broken WTO rules in a sunset review of the duties in 2000, which had led to the reimposition of duties first erected in 1995.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

WITH global trade ever increasing, and the power of brands to generate massive profits made starkly clear with every company report, the counterfeiting of goods is one of international organised crime’s major boom areas. The European Commission has been researching the threat posed from around the world.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has agreed to widen European Union (EU) low duty quotas for Argentine exporters of wine, Vermouth and fruit juices: 40,000 hl wine at Euro 10/hl duties and 20,000 hl at Euro 8/hl; 13,810 hl Vermouth at Euro 7/hl; 7,044 tonnes fruit juices at 20% duty.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A FISHING access deal allowing European Union (EU) fishermen to exploit Guinea-Bissau’s Atlantic fish stocks until June next year has been approved by the EU Council of Ministers. The agreement was negotiated to run from this June, and includes fishing rights for:

*Shrimps: Italy boats of up to 1,776 gross registered tonnes (GRT), Spain to 1,421 GRT, Portugal 1,066 GRT, and Greece 137 GRT;

*Finfish and cephalopods: Spain 3,143 GRT, Italy 786 GRT, and Greece 471 GRT;

*Tuna seiners: Spain 20, France 19, and Italy 1; and

*Surface longliners and pole-and-line vessels: Spain 21, France 5, and Portugal 4.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has agreed to widen European Union (EU) low duty quotas for Argentine exporters of wine, Vermouth and fruit juices under new EU-Argentina trade deal. Framed to take account of previously existing trade agreements involving the 10 eastern and southern countries that joined the EU in 2004, the additional annual import quotas include:

*40,000 hl of wine at Euro 10/hl duties and 20,000 hl of wine at Euro 8/hl;

*13,810 hl of Vermouth at Euro 7/hl;

*7,044 tonnes of fruit juices at a 20% tariff.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

NEARLY a third of all confectionary sold in China are counterfeits of global brands, a new European Commission survey says. Businesses, industrial federations and diplomatic missions agreed: "For the confectionary business, the infringement causes more than 30% loss in sales value every year", and they stressed the difficulty of preventing such offences through legal action.…

BY LIZ HALL

SIX years ago, government representatives from nine South American countries gathered in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, to sign a document of great importance to those concerned with fighting money-laundering (ML) and terrorism financing (TF).

On December 8, 2000, representatives of the governments of the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, signed the Founding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) formally establishing GAFISUD, a regional body modelled on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE UNITED States is coming under pressure at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over its refusal of a licence allowing the registration of the contested Havana Club rum trademark to be renewed. Washington has already lost a WTO disputes case over the issue, with a panel declaring illegal clauses in its Omnibus Appropriations Act that prevent the registration of trademarks expropriated in the Cuban revolution after 1959.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC), of the World Bank, will lend US$70 million over 10 years to independent Argentine oil producer Companias Asociadas Petroleras SA (CAPSA), which works within the southern province of Chubut. The money will finance capital expenditures, working capital requirements, and general corporate activities.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

URBANISATION in developing countries will inflate demand for meat and processed foods generally from this year to 2015, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has predicted. In a new ‘Agricultural Outlook’ written with the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the OECD says "growing market opportunities in certain developing countries" (notably Brazil, China and India) will cause a "shift in production and export of farm commodities away from [developed] OECD countries and more towards other developing economies".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission looks likely to be blocked from forcing the UK and Dutch governments to repay Euro 7.4 million’s worth of subsidies for downsizing their fishing fleets by transferring two boats apiece to Argentina. Brussels was angered when both countries subsequently registered four replacement vessels, claiming this contravened the grants’ conditions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has approved the proposed acquisition of the inks and adhesive resins business of Dutch company Akzo Nobel by the USA’s Hexion, part of the Apollo Group. This follows a Commission inquiry focusing on potential damage to competition in supplies of printing ink industry resins, especially rosin resins.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

INTRODUCTION

WITH the approval in May of two key regulations covering respectively nutrition and health claims and the addition of vitamins and minerals to foods the EU has taken an important step forward in setting the legal framework for the food industry in Europe.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

INTRODUCTION

THE WORLD’S multilateral food trading system today stands at a crossroads: faced with the suspension of the World Trade Organisation’s Doha Development Round, it can either retreat to protectionism, leavened by a series of competitive bilateral trade deals, or it can grasp the nettle of liberal free trade, slash subsidies and tariffs, and then watch the economic rewards roll in.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
INTRODUCTION

THE WORLD’S multilateral food trading system today stands at a crossroads: faced with the suspension of the World Trade Organisation’s Doha Development Round, it can either retreat to protectionism, leavened by a series of competitive bilateral trade deals, or it can grasp the nettle of liberal free trade, slash subsidies and tariffs, and then watch the economic rewards roll in.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

IN line with the growing recognition in the 1980s of anti-money laundering campaigns as a weapon against terrorism and increased knowledge global drug supply routes, (implicating a number of Latin American countries), governments of the western hemisphere concluded that greater formal co-operation was necessary in fighting dirty money.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has released practical guidance on how Europe can shore up its defences against the import of foot-and-mouth disease. With fresh outbreaks erupting in Argentina and cases continuing to occur in China and India, EFSA has declared: "With further globalisation, the resources needed to reduce the risk…will probably continue to grow".…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC), of the World Bank, is buying US$10 million equity in independent Argentina and Chile oil and gas producer GeoPark Holdings Limited. The money will strengthen its capital base, corporate governance, environmental and community development policies.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

IN line with the growing recognition in the 1980s of anti-money laundering campaigns as a weapon against terrorism and increased knowledge global drug supply routes, (implicating a number of Latin American countries), governments of the western hemisphere concluded that greater formal co-operation was necessary in fighting dirty money.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AUTO manufacturing firms will be closely monitoring next week’s World Trade Organisation (WTO) summit in Hong Kong for signs that the WTO’s long-running Doha Development Round talks are about to crack open national automobile markets. Key auto industry countries – the US, the European Union, Canada, Japan, South Korea, India and Brazil – have been making steady progress this year in identifying non-tariff barriers to trade they would like to remove, such as burdensome customs procedures, technical engineering rules and licences.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE MULTILATERAL Investment Guarantee Agency, or MIGA, is the international organisation companies turn to when they want to invest in a jurisdiction where their assets might not be that safe. Mining companies have long used MIGA to cover risks that are too tasty for the private insurance industry, and the agency has issued 58 guarantees for the sector since it was formed in 1988.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

COSMETICS, perfume and personal hygiene companies in the Mercosur region of South America will have to stage annual health inspections of their manufacturing systems under a resolution agreed by member states Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. These will have to demonstrate that companies are following prescribed Mercosur standards of good practice, with written reports being produced by in-house laboratories, detailing results and any reforms that are required.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
UNESCO, the UN’s scientific and cultural organisation, has launched a filter removing arsenic from water and which could, it claims, save tens of millions of lives from a pollutant created by many mines. Unveiled at its headquarters in Paris, UNESCO said the filter was “simple and ecologically sound”, using as an absorbent recycled iron oxide coated sand produced as a by-product in groundwater treatment plants “available at no cost almost everywhere”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
UNESCO, the UN’s scientific and cultural organisation, has launched a filter removing arsenic from water and which could save tens of millions of lives. Unveiled at its headquarters in Paris, UNESCO said the filter was “simple and ecologically sound”, using as an absorbent recycled iron oxide coated sand produced as a by-product in groundwater treatment plants “available at no cost almost everywhere”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE LONG-RUNNING negotiations between the European Union (EU) and Argentina over forging a wine trade agreement should be given another year to bear fruit, the European Commission has proposed. It has asked the EU Council of Ministers to again allow Argentine producers to sell wines in Europe containing malic acid, which is used to correct acidity, even though it is banned in EU wine production.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ARGENTINE wine producers are likely to be given another stay of execution over their right to sell wines in the European Union (EU) containing malic acid, which is used to correct acidity and banned in EU wine production.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
DETAILS of restrictions imposed on exports to European buyers of leather raw materials have been highlighted in the detailed European Union (EU) market report. It identifies India, China, the US, Pakistan and Russia as “very important markets” for the supply of leather raw materials, whilst Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, South Africa, Malaysia and Brazil are labelled as “important suppliers (mainly by tanners)”.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE STEEP decline in sales of European Union (EU) finished leather to its number one market, the United States, has been highlighted by a comprehensive report on the global leather (and textile) market written for the European Commission.…

BY DEIRDRE MASON
IT may never equal the four-fold rise in the price of a barrel of crude oil that took place between 1973 and 1974, but this year’s hike to more than US$60 a barrel has given all those industries dependent on the stability of fuel prices a severe shock, and the aviation industry is one of those reeling from the increases.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
DEVELOPING countries can benefit from intellectual property laws, a World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) intergovernmental meeting has been told. Representatives from innovative and creative industries in Brazil, India, Argentina and Egypt explained how IP rules had helped boost their industries’ competitiveness.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ARGENTINA’S second largest oil and gas producer Pan American Energy LLC is being lent US$250 million by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), helping fund the BP-Bridas Corporation joint venture’s 2005 capital expenditure programme, focused on the Golfo San Jorge basin, southern Argentina.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel has told the United States it has until this December 17 to implement a previous ruling that it stages a new sunset review into renewing anti-dumping duties against Argentine exports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE MEMBER states of the Mercosur trade bloc in South America have agreed to harmonise their authorisation and registration procedures for cosmetic, perfume and personal hygiene products companies. The aim of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay is to remove restrictions preventing their trade in these products.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
RECEIVED wisdom on the rumbling row over the CAP pits Tony Blair’s neo-liberal agribusiness technicians, armed with computerised high-tech wizardry, against Jacques Chirac’s subsidy-cosseted peasants, idly scratching their pigs. Naturally, the reality is less simple: British farming is efficient, but it is not always as profitable as the French.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
CHINA’S presence at the meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Paris in February was a powerful reminder of how the world’s great economic, trade and regulatory institutions are changing, with consequences that few people probably fully grasp today.…

BY LIZ HALL
A PROFUSION of family-run businesses, corrupt and under-resourced authorities and low wages has traditionally meant much commercial crime goes undetected in Latin America. But the tide is turning, with more and more companies unwilling to turn a blind eye to fraud, bribery and counterfeit goods production.…

BY DAVID HAWORTH, in Brussels
PROPOSALS for a new European Union (EU) wine regime, which are currently under review, will be unveiled in 12 months’ time according to the recently installed European Commissioner for agriculture, Mrs Mariann Fischer Boel.

In a wide-ranging interview in her Brussels office she admitted that the present arrangements are not working.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EVERY vegetable farmer knows that planting methods are crucial to the success of a crop: spacing seeds, nurturing them with water and feed, protecting them from pests. Well, this is a good analogy for the current state of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agricultural liberalisation talks in Geneva.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A GROUP of cotton exporting countries are resisting a move by the United States to dilute the mandate of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) cotton sub-committee, formed to find agreement on this sensitive issue during the WTO Doha Development Round.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

AUTO manufacturing firms will be closely monitoring next week’s World Trade Organisation (WTO) summit in Hong Kong for signs that the WTO’s long-running Doha Development Round talks are about to crack open national automobile markets. Key auto industry countries – the US, the European Union, Canada, Japan, South Korea, India and Brazil – have been making steady progress this year in identifying non-tariff barriers to trade they would like to remove, such as burdensome customs procedures, technical engineering rules and licences.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

COSMETICS, perfume and personal hygiene companies in the Mercosur region of South America will have to stage annual health inspections of their manufacturing systems under a resolution agreed by member states Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. These will have to demonstrate that companies are following prescribed Mercosur standards of good practice, with written reports being produced by in-house laboratories, detailing results and any reforms that are required.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is to lift bans on imports of de-boned and maturated beef and veal from the Argentine provinces of Formosa, Salta, Chaco and Jujuy, after Buenos Aires successfully eradicated Foot and Mouth Disease from these regions.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE MULTILATERAL Investment Guarantee Agency, or MIGA, is the international organisation companies turn to when they want to invest in a jurisdiction where their assets might not be that safe. Mining companies have long used MIGA to cover risks that are too tasty for the private insurance industry, and the agency has issued 58 guarantees for the sector since it was formed in 1988.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) appellate body has dismissed an appeal brought by the United States claiming that a WTO disputes erred when it ruled against Washington’s renewal of anti-dumping duties against Argentine exports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG).…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has extended until September 2005 Argentina’s provisional authorisation to use the additive malic acid in wine sold into the EU. This acidity-correcting additive extracted from apples or synthetic acid is banned in EU wine making rules, but the European Commission wants a comprehensive mutual recognition agreement of oenological practices allowing its use by Argentines.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE FORMAL decision has been taken by the European Union (EU) Council of Ministers to abolish all remaining textile and clothing import quotas for World Trade Organisation (WTO) member countries from January 1. It means 210 quotas affecting exporters from Argentina, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru, Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea and Thailand will go.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
FEW whistle-blowers have hit the headlines as much as accountant Marta Andreasen who was suspended by the European Commission in 2002 after disclosing serious weaknesses in its bookkeeping system and has now just been formally sacked.

Of all those who have taken the brave and often lonely path of public disclosure, Ms Andreasen, as the Commission’s former chief accounting officer, is by far the most senior.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ARGENTINA has an extra year to strike a comprehensive wine-making standards deal with the European Union (EU) or face a possible block on exports of vintages containing malic acid, banned in the EU. The European Commission wants a mutual recognition agreement of oenological practices permanently allowing Argentine wine makers to sell malic acid wines in Europe, however.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ARGENTINA has been given a stay of execution of one more year to strike a comprehensive wine-making standards deal with the European Union (EU) or face a possible block on exports to Europe of its vintages that contain malic acid.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A DECISION by the WTO to hold a scientific examination of claims that the EU has been breaking trade rules by banning imports of GM foods will delay a decision in this disputes case until March 2005, or later.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel has ruled that the USA broke global trading procedures when renewing anti-dumping duties against Argentine exports of oil country tubular goods. The US has now to review the tariffs against this complex ruling to justify their reimposition.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE DOMINICAN Republic heads the list of countries granted low rate tariff quotas by the USA for sugar and sugar-containing product imports made in 2004-5. It has been allocated a 185,335 tonne quota, followed by Brazil with 152,691 tonnes and Philippines, 142,160.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel has ruled that the United States broke its rules when renewing maintain anti-dumping duties against Argentine exports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG), but has refrained from ordering their repeal. Instead, the US will have to review its tariff against this complex ruling and see whether it can justify their imposition legally using procedures mandated by the panel.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
EUROPEAN Union (EU) agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler has encouraged key meat exporter Argentina to strike a deal with Brussels at the ongoing World Trade Organisation (WTO) and EU-Mercosur trade bloc talks. “Both will offer Argentina opener markets for agriculture goods,” notably lower tariffs and wider quotas for beef, said Fischler during a visit to Buenos Aires.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AN ATTACK has been made on the United States, European Union (EU), and other textile importing jurisdictions for waiting until the last minute to abolish most restrictive quotas under the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Agreement on Textile and Clothing.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
NOBODY likes to be on a blacklist, especially one written by the American government. But every year, the US state department issues a comprehensive rogues gallery of countries involved in the narcotics trade and related criminal problems. One surprising entrant: the United States.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has corrected its anti-dumping duty on malleable cast iron tube or pipe fittings from Brazil, reducing the rate from 34.8 to 32 per cent. The move by the EU Council of Ministers follows a ruling last year by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that the European Commission had erred when calculating the original duty (erected in 2000).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
Ministers of the 15 EU countries have agreed to a new rule exemption that will allow US wines to be sold in the Union even though the Americans use oenological practices that are forbidden under EU legislation. Similar exemptions have been granted to Australia and Argentina.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ALL but one of the commonly used forms of asbestos have been added to a United Nations blacklist, enabling countries to block further imports without being challenged in global tribunals such as the World Trade Organisation. Amosite, actinolite, anthophyllite and tremolite were added to the Rotterdam Convention Prior Informed Consent (PIC) list by an intergovernmental negotiating committee, meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED Nations (UN) has framed a new anti-corruption convention and its established convention against organised crime is now coming into force. Keith Nuthall examines what this will mean for businesses, banks and governments.

THE COMMERCIAL world is often doubtful about the value of international conventions fighting crime, but their texts do at least reflect a global consensus amongst concerned governments.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
The European Commission has announced an extension of the areas in Argentina from which sales to the EU of de-boned and maturated meat are suspended because of foot and mouth disease. Brussels said last month that shipments from parts of Formosa and Salta had been halted.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A UNITED Nations (UN) Convention against Transnational Organised Crime has come into force, imposing a duty on ratifying countries to outlaw membership of an organised criminal group, which it defines legally. So far, said the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 48 countries have ratified it, including Monaco, Nigeria, Serbia & Montenegro, Peru, Spain, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Philippines, Tajikistan, Albania, France, Argentina, Mexico, Turkey, China, Norway and Afghanistan.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL in Paris, ALAN OSBORN in London, MARK ROWE in Singapore, ED PETERS and DON GASPER in Hong Kong, RICHARD HURST in Johannesburg, MONICA DOBIE and PHILIP FINE in Montreal, MATTHEW BRACE in Brisbane and ALEX SMAILES in Port of Spain.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
SURPRISINGLY wide support for the west African plan to rid the world of cotton subsidies has been voiced at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) summit, in Cancun, Mexico. The Canadian and Australian governments yesterday (10 Sept) threw their developed country weight behind the plan, as did WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
THE EUROPEAN Union has suspended the shipment into the EU of de-boned and maturated bovine meat from northern Argentina following reports of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in pigs in certain provinces. The European Commission said the EU’s Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health had voted in favour of the ban which will apply to meat from the departments of Ramon Lista in the province of Formosa and from General Jose de San Martin, Rivadavia, Oran, Iruya and Santa Victoria in the Province of Salta, where the outbreak has been centred, (it is close to the border with Paraguay and Bolivia).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE USA, Canada and Argentina have requested a WTO disputes panel be established to rule on the EU’s de facto five-year freeze on approving the import of new genetically modified foodstuffs. The three countries claim it is illegal under world trade law.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has asked EU ministers to approve – until September 30 next year – the contined import of wines from Argentina containing malic acid, which is banned in European wine production. Brussels said it wanted to ensure the “continued smooth progress” of negotiations towards a comprehensive EU-Argentina wine trade deal.…

Keith Nuthall
THE EUROPEAN Commission has asked EU ministers to approve – until September 30 next year – the continuing import of wines from Argentina containing malic acid, which is banned in European wine production. Brussels said it wanted to ensure the “continued smooth progress” of negotiations towards a comprehensive EU-Argentina wine trade deal.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union Council of Ministers have approved the continued import of wines from Argentina containing malic acid until September 30 next year, even though the substance is banned in European wine production. Ministers backed the European Commission’s call for the concession, which is designed to “smooth progress” towards a comprehensive EU-Argentina wine trade deal in 2004.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED States, Canada and Argentina have requested that a World Trade Organisation disputes panel adjudicate in their diplomatic row with the European Union over its de facto freeze on approving the import of new genetically modified foodstuffs.…

Alan Osborn
Negotiations over a wine and spirits registry at the World Trade

Organisation are deadlocked and it now looks highly unlikely that the list

will be agreed by trade ministers in Cancun next month. This downbeat

assessment follows a meeting of WTO members earlier this month which

officials said was inconclusive “as no country showed any flexibility.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ANTI-GLOBALISATION activists will not like it, but there are signs that September’s World Trade Organisation summit in Cancun might be able to deliver what has eluded political leaders since the WTO’s agricultural liberalisation talks began in 2000: the beginnings of a deal.…

BY RICHARD HURST
SOUTH African mining company AngloGold recently announced that it was seeking to divest from some of its Australian gold fields to continue other diversification efforts outside South Africa. AngloGold Australia ‘s general manager, Barrie Parker, said that the company’s current properties in the central Australian Tanami Desert, particularly the Coyote deposit, had been earmarked for sale in to raise money for AngloGold’s recent explorations in Ghana, Mongolia, Canada and South America.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE USA, Canada and Argentina have requested a WTO disputes panel be established to rule on the EU’s de facto five-year freeze on approving the import of new genetically modified foodstuffs. The three countries claim it is illegal under world trade law.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has ruled that Argentina’s data protection regime is tough enough to allow European Union companies to send digitised personal information to its computers, without taking extra steps to prevent abuse or transfers to third countries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE OFFICE International des Épizooties, the world animal health organisation, has declared northern Argentina (north of the 42° parallel) free from foot and mouth disease (FMD), albeit with the help of vaccination, backdated to July 7…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has ruled that Argentina’s data protection regime is tough enough to allow European Union companies to send digitised personal information to its computers, without taking extra steps to prevent abuse or transfers to third countries.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INTERNATIONAL Finance Corporation (IFC), of the World Bank, is lending US$105 million to Petrobras Energía Venezuela (PEV), owned by Argentina’s Pecom Energía, for developing PEV’s four Venezuelan oil fields. The IFC said the loan was “critical to the sustainability and expansion of PEV.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ALTHOUGH air traveller numbers fell last year, with the civil aviation industry still reeling from September 11, the global travel retail market for perfumery and cosmetics grew by 7.2 per cent last year, the strongest performer of all duty-free shop goods.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE OFFICE International des Épizooties, the world animal health organisation, has declared northern Argentina (north of the 42° parallel) free from foot and mouth disease (FMD), albeit with the help of vaccination, backdated to July 7…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED States, with Argentina, Canada and Egypt have decided to challenge at the WTO the EU’s five-year de facto moratorium on imports of biotech foods and crops. EU trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said Brussels would fight the case, maintaining that “the EU’s regulatory system for GMO’s authorisation is in line with WTO rules.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AS with many projects inspired by the start of the next 997 years and the last three, the framing of the United Nations’ (UN) Millennium Development Goals was an ambitious enterprise.

Imposing statistically measurable targets for international organisations and national governments in making improvements in global poverty, education, gender equality, health, the environment and education, they have proved tough to attain.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED States, with Argentina, Canada and Egypt have decided to challenge at the WTO the EU’s five-year de facto moratorium on imports of biotech foods and crops. EU trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy said Brussels would fight the case, maintaining that “the EU’s regulatory system for GMO’s authorisation is in line with WTO rules.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
CHILE has been given until December 23 to scrap a price band system, using variable import duties to maintain domestic sugar prices. A World Trade Organisation arbiter made the ruling after Chile lost a WTO dispute over the system, brought by Argentina.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE ARGENTINE government has launched the first stage of disputes proceedings at the World Trade Organisation, launching formal talks with Chile over Santiago’s imposition of 14 per cent temporary safeguard duties on fructose. Argentina claims that Chile broke the WTO’s GATT agreement by imposing the duties.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A RESTRICTED trade in knitted products from wool culled from captured wild vicuna in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile has been approved by a conference of parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A RESTRICTED trade in wool from captured wild vicuna in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile has been approved by a conference of parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The United Nations (UN) convention’s members agreed in Santiago, Chile, to lift a ban in trading these small beasts “for the purpose of allowing international trade in wool sheared from live animals…bearing the label vicuna Argentina, Bolivia or Chile.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A RESTRICTED trade in cloth from wool culled from captured wild vicuna in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile has been approved by a conference of parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE US government’s determination to maintain anti-dumping duties against Argentine exports of oil country tubular goods (OCTG) is being challenged at the World Trade Organisation by Buenos Aires, which has launched formal consultations on the row. This is the first stage in disputes proceedings; if the talks fail, then Argentina can demand that a WTO panel adjudicates over the duties.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AN ATTEMPT by Chile to maintain domestic sugar prices by using variable import duties has been declared contrary to World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules by the appellate body of the WTO disputes procedure. Chile’s price band system was challenged at the WTO by Argentina, with the support of both the US and the EU.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
CREATING finished leather from tanned leather, (in its wet state), is not sufficiently important a manufacturing process to warrant the final product being legally considered a new good, made in the country where it was processed rather than where it was sourced, the chairman of a special World Trade Organisation committee has advised.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE ARGENTINE government has launched the first stage of disputes proceedings at the World Trade Organisation, launching formal talks with Chile over Santiago’s imposition of 14 per cent temporary safeguard duties on fructose. Argentina claims that Chile broke the WTO’s GATT agreement by imposing the duties.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UNITED States has joined forces with Australia, Argentina, Canada, New Zealand and other large drinks exporters, in proposing that a register of geography-linked names of wines and spirits – now being discussed at the World Trade Organisation – should be voluntary, carrying little legal weight.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ARGENTINA has launched the first stage of disputes proceedings at the World Trade Organisation in a case against the European Union, which it accuses of breaking WTO rules by using its wine-making regulations to block imports of certain Argentine wines.…

Keith Nuthall
THE ARGENTINE government has launched the first stage of disputes proceedings at the World Trade Organisation, in a case against the European Union, which it accuses of breaking WTO rules through its wine-making regulations.

Notably, Buenos Aires says that the EU Regulation EC/1493/1999 includes requirements on oenological practices that are “more trade restrictive than they should and could be.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
CREATING finished leather from tanned leather, (in its wet state), is not sufficiently important a manufacturing process to warrant the final product being legally considered a new good, made in the country where it was processed rather than where it was sourced, the chairman of a special World Trade Organisation committee has advised.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
SWITZERLAND has complained to a key World Trade Organisation committee that its beef imports are being unfairly restricted by the USA because of concerns that they are contaminated with BSE. It has claimed at the WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Committee that the US should not, for example, be insisting on the onsite inspection of Swiss meat plants, because the Office International des Épizooties has classified Switzerland as having a low incidence the disease.…

BY MARK ROWE
THE ROYAL Dutch/Shell Group, Europe’s second largest oil company by sales, will decide next year on the location of what will be the world’s biggest natural gas-to-liquids plant. Malaysia, Argentina and Iran and are understood to be leading contenders for the US$1billion project, which will produce 75,000 barrels a day of kerosene, diesel and other fuels and is due to start operation in 2006.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FEED the world. Bob Geldof. Don’t they know it’s Christmas time? Food aid: it is supposed to be simple. Poor countries have hungry people. Rich countries have fat people. The developed world sends food to the developing world.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has proposed opening a low 20 per cent tariff import quota of 10,000 tonnes of high quality fresh, chilled or frozen beef, from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2003, to help exporting countries, such as Argentina, fight pressing economic problems.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union has welcomed the announcement from Argentina that it has complied with last year’s ruling of the World Trade Organisation and lifted anti-dumping duties that it has been imposing on imports of ceramic tiles from Italy.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union is to grant Argentina some leeway over its dismantling of controls on the export of its bovine hides and the import of finished leather, as required by a World Trade Organisation disputes panel ruling, which went against Buenos Aires.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union is to grant Argentina some leeway over its dismantling of controls on the export of its bovine hides and the import of finished leather, as required by a World Trade Organisation disputes panel ruling, which went against Buenos Aires.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
CHINA has sought to allay fears that it is dragging its feet over the implementation of liberalisation commitments it made when it was admitted into the World Trade Organisation. It has released explanatory notes to the European Union and Canada, who have raised concerns over the opening of textile import quotas.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AN AGREEMENT supporting research into new technologies for food distribution has been signed by the EU, Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
CHINA has admitted that it has encountered “unexpected difficulties” in setting up low duty import tariffs for wool and cotton. The EU, Argentina, Malaysia and Brazil have said at the WTO’s agriculture committee that while they “understood China’s problems,” they “were also disappointed,” that the January 1 deadline for establishing the quotas was missed.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union has “expressed concern” and “disappointment” over China’s failure to met a January 1 deadline to establish low duty tariff quotas for imports of sugar, palm oil and some other commodities under the terms of its accession to the World Trade Organisation.…

Keith Nuthall
CHINA has sought to allay fears that it is dragging its feet over the implementation of liberalisation commitments it made when it was admitted into the World Trade Organisation. It has released explanatory notes to the European Union and Canada, who have raised concerns over the opening of textile import quotas.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
IT was telling that the first step taken by President Bush against Islamic terror groups following the World Trade Centre disaster was to freeze bank accounts. The international community has now responded by agreeing common controls to stop terror groups laundering funds.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FRANZ Fischler has been making a lot of speeches recently. It is not because he has time on his hands, he is in charge of the European Commission’s largest two budgets, agriculture and fisheries after all. Rather it is because he is cross with the Americans, whom he accuses of playing Janus at the WTO.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE CAIRNS Group of the WTO, representing food exporting countries such as Australia and Argentina, has been pressing during the preparations for its planned launch of a general round at its November summit in Qatar, for an intensification of the discussions in the ongoing agricultural round.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE WORLD Trade Organisation is moving towards the launch of a general round at its November summit in Qatar, but these negotiations will only be approved if a wrangle affecting the trade in meat and other food products can be resolved.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ARGENTINA has come under political pressure to scrap its anti-dumping duties on imports of Italian ceramic tiles, after a disputes panel of the World Trade Organisation ruled that it had broken global agreements in the way that it established the tariffs.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union has launched the first stage of disputes proceedings at the WTO against Argentina, whom it accuses of wrongfully imposing countervailing duties on imported EU canned peaches. It has staged formal talks on the issue with Buenos Aires.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
ARGENTINA has until February 28 next year to implement a World Trade Organisation ruling that it should dismantle tanning industry controls on the export of raw and semi-tanned bovine hides, an WTO arbitrator has ruled.

The European Union – which brought the case in the first place – had called for arbitration after failing to reach agreement with Buenos Aires over the matter.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has cleared a planned Spanish publishing joint venture between Germany’s Bertelsmann and Arnoldo Mondadori Editore SpA, of Italy, combining all the book publishing divisions and imprints in Spain and Latin America of Random House and Mondadori.…

Keith Nuthall
A DEAL has been stuck at the World Trade Organisation’s goods council, which will extend the time that eight developing countries can erect trade barriers to restrict the import of components for automobile manufacturing, to promote local engineering companies.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank (EIB) has announced that it is lending US$40 million to Volkswagen Argentina S.A., a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, to support investment for the production of gearboxes for passenger cars in its plant located in Cordoba, Argentina.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE INDIAN government has sought formal talks at the World Trade Organisation with Argentina over what it claims is discriminatory treatment of its pharmaceutical exports. The south Americans insist that for medicines to enter Argentina, they must have been made in a country included on one of two official Buenos Aires lists, linked to specific inspection regimes.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union has called on the World Trade Organisation to arbitrate in a dispute with Argentina over the time that it has to implement an earlier ruling opposing Argentine tanning industry controls on the export of raw and semi-tanned bovine hides.…

BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAYAKE
DEMAND for ostrich leather, particularly from south Asia, has been one the result of the recent spread of foot-and-mouth disease across the globe, notably to Britain, Argentina, Uruguay, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The problems have created a scarcity in the market for bovine leather and there have been industry reports from India saying that there has been a resulting good demand for printed leathers, especially ostrich leather print, reflecting positive opinions that it is distinctive and elegant.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
SO SWEEPING has been the foot-and-mouth tragedy in the UK, that British farmers might be forgiven for assuming that they have been singled out for retribution by the Almighty, in return for long forgotten sins.

This is far from being the truth, of course.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
EUROPE, in wine terms, has pedigree. It is, after all, the home of the longest established commercial wine-making tradition. But these days, its primacy is being challenged by colonial upstarts, in the shape of New World vineyards, and guess what; the new kids on the block seem to be ganging up on the oldsters.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
FOOT-and-Mouth disease is spreading in Argentina, with 74 outbreaks, (compared with 689 in the UK), affecting 3,667 cattle being registered by March, the International Office of Epizootics has reported. Of these cases, the bulk have been in Buenos Aires province, with smaller outbreaks in the provinces of Cordoba, La Pampa, San Luis and Santa Fe.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL AND MONICA DOBIE
THE NEW Zealand government has imposed a series of trade restrictions, because of Foot and Mouth, clamping down on imports of venison, cattle semen and dairy from the UK and beef from Argentina, among many other products.…