Search Results for: Canada

Speaking at the event on Friday (Feb 17), Mark Carney, UN special envoy for climate action and finance, and former central bank governor for the UK and Canada, said of the baseline: “It’s critical. You need compatible information.”  

Mr Carney stressed ongoing discussions between the ISSB and major jurisdictions, such as the EU (European Union), the USA and Japan, about the need for regulatory harmony.…

Yes, Canada’s respected 75-year-old first ever indigenous Governor General should sue Elon Musk for defamation, as owner of Twitter, which published these untrue and poisonous comments.

Twitter and Musk made money from them – they attracted eyeballs, which boosted ad clicks, and boosted the social media site’s profile.…

The investment to build the interconnector will amount to EUR2.8 billion, with the EIB set to contribute up to EUR400 million for the financing construction of the section within the European Union (EU).  Other financiers include the UK Infrastructure Bank, which will focus on the stretch within UK maritime and land territory, and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).…

Higher education institutions are being warned they could be a target for money laundering, with fees being financed by the proceeds of crime, including corruption, which might also buy property, cars and other items for students.

The problem has been highlighted in a series of reports.…

The second-largest garment exporting country in the world, Bangladesh has grown its position as a key outsourcing hub since the 1980s.  

With a global market share of 6.26%, according to the World Trade Statistical Review 2021 (1), “The industry has come a long way,” said Md. …

Opposition is mounting outside the Big Three US auto manufacturers to proposed federal tax credits for electric vehicle purchases within proposed House of Representatives and Senate versions of the Build Back Better Act.

With a House vote maybe happening this week, representatives of foreign-owned and non-union manufacturers as well as the Canadian and Mexican governments, are pushing for changes to the tax credit packages under discussion.…

The Bangladesh food industry is increasing its efforts to export halal foods to Muslim majority population countries. A senior government delegation is planning to visit Turkey and Indonesia this year to gather facts and advice on improving Bangladesh sales in these countries of halal food.…

While FATF’s mutual evaluation reports continue to show growing compliance with the organisation’s recommendations, concerns remain that the global AML/CFT system continues to fail in either preventing ML and TF or detecting and punishing such crimes after they are committed.

With FATF undertaking a strategic review since 2018, launched by the former China presidency and continued by the German presidency under Dr Marcus Pleyer, change in how the world fights ML and TF may emerge.…

The executive director of the Chamber of the Textile and Apparel Industry, of El Salvador (CAMTEX – Cámara de la Industria Textil) has told Just Style how her manufacturing hub is seizing market opportunities growing as Covid-19 ebbs.

Patricia Figueroa, who has been in her job since 2015, also highlighted the challenges the Salvadoran clothing and textile industry will tackle in 2021-22, with CAMTEX’s help.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) will start work in early 2022, based in Frankfurt, Germany, and Montréal, Canada, the IFRS Foundation Trustees have announced at the COP26 climate change meeting in Glasgow, Scotland. The trustees added that the new body would by next June (2022) incorporate the work of the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) and the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF), which itself includes the Integrated Reporting Framework and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).…

THE CANADIAN auto parts sector is likely to suffer should the Trump administration go ahead with plans to impose escalating duties on Mexican exports to the USA to force Mexico to further restrict immigration into America.

With President Donald Trump yesterday (June 5) claiming talks with the Mexican government have been insufficiently productive, the US is poised to impose 5% duties on all imports from Mexico on June 10.…

Growth in demand for and production of renewable diesel is set to disrupt the global liquid fuels sector, with major increases in refining capacity being developed now. Renewable diesel has major potential as a transitional alternative energy source, because, unlike standard biofuels, in its highest quality form, it is chemically identical to fossil fuel diesel. …

The lorry driver shortage in the UK has grabbed headlines, with concerns raised that Britain’s Brexit from the European Union has worsened the problem. And while that is almost certainly true, the shortage of drivers willing and able to take on commercial haulage jobs is far from being a Britain-only challenge.…

Global supply chain delivery delays and price tensions continue to disrupt Italy’s otherwise robust food can production sector. With profit margins squeezed, food canners expect prices to rise across the board for these long shelf-life food staples

According to Italian can manufacturing industry association ANFIMA’s most recent data, Italy produced 698,523 tonnes of rigid metal packaging (tinplate and steel) and 24,745 tonnes of aluminium packaging in 2020, up 3.6% and 7% from the same period the previous year, respectively.…

The increasing decriminalisation and legalisation of cannabis as a recreational and medicinal substance has encouraged the liberalisation of hemp as a fibre crop, whose use in some jurisdictions had been restricted because of laws against the plant’s chemically-active ingredients.

This is starting to change, most notably in the USA, which used to have severe anti-marijuana laws, but which now has 18 states that have legalised recreational cannabis use.…

Factory owners and stakeholders in Haiti’s billion-dollar apparel and textile industry fear that without serious political and security intervention, the industry could buckle under pressures imposed by the country’s powerful and violent gangs. 

That fear is growing after two garment manufacturing factories, H4H and Palm Apparel, located southwest of Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, in Carrefour, were forced to close their doors in early September leaving an estimated 5,000 workers on the breadline. …

A comprehensive study of 3,650 students from 55 counties worldwide has indicated that the expansion of online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic has not reduced the attraction of moving countries to undertake in-person higher education in foreign universities and colleges.

Indeed, the study, by IDP Connect, part of Australia-based international student recruitment leader IDP Education, showed that 79% of students questioned were only considering overseas on-campus options.…

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.…

The Bangladesh innerwear industry has been witnessing robust growth in the past decade and this outsourcing hub is now competing effectively with its major rival China. The production value of the country’s intimate wear jumped from US216 million in 2012 to US1.078 billion in 2021, according to a report from data service Statista (1).…

After a tumultuous first semester fuelled by Covid-19 and a tight and polarised presidential election, Peru’s clothing and textile sector is now growing at pre-pandemic levels. Hence, the capital Lima’s chamber of commerce (Cámara de Comercio de Lima) projects growth between 10% and 15% in textile and clothing exports by the end of 2021, compared to what was reported in 2019.…

As the global clothing industry is reviving from Covid=19 slump, Bangladesh apparel manufacturers are at last reaping the benefits, industry is also bearing the fruit. In an exclusive interview with Just Style, the new president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Faruque Hasan noted that the Bangladesh clothing industry suffered a reduction in its exports of USD6 billion from USD34.13 billion in financial year (FY – July-June) 2018-19 to USD27.95 billion in FY 2019-20 and a year-on-year drop of clothing exports worth nearly USD1.5 billion in financial year (FY) 2020-21 (July 2020 to June 2021) (1).…

The Turkish apparel sector is looking to build on its long-standing record as a major apparel producer for the American market, offering quality products at a swifter time-to-market than its key competitors in Asia, especially China.

Turkey’s apparel exports to the USA remain robust – at around USD1 billion-a-year according to Mehmet Kaya, a board member of the Istanbul Apparel Exporters Association (İstanbul Hazır Giyim ve Konfeksiyon İhracatçıları Birliği – İHKİB).…

One of the world-changing impacts of the Second World War was an understanding that unfettered competition between nation states was not just undesirable, but – if taken to its logical conclusion – would lead to war. Amidst the ruins of Europe, as an exhausted continent stumbled out of conflict, new thinking emerged, that economic links between neighboring countries be deliberately forged to create interdependence that would encourage cooperation to achieve wealth.…

The Covid-19 pandemic has delivered experience about how an external crisis – in this case health – that forces AML officers to work at home, poses challenges in maintaining professional excellence. According to the Bank for International Settlements’ Financial Stability Institute an estimated 300 million office workers worked from home in May 2020, including 90% of banking and insurance workers.…

INTRODUCTION

Financial crime is a minefield for the international textile and clothing industry. With extended international supply chains extending into jurisdictions where the rule of law and a reliable independent judiciary may have a weak hold, if they exist at all, textile and clothing brands and manufacturers must take care.…

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.…

While the estimation of sources of laundered money is made imprecise by its inherent covert nature, the United Nations Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) has estimated that the amount of criminal proceeds processed annually is 2%-5% of global GDP, or USD800 billion to USD2 trillion.…

European and US interest in carbon capture and storage/sequestration (CCS) and carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) is continuing to surge as governments make ever more ambitious climate change commitments.

In tandem with improvements in technology mean capturing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted from industrial processes, power generation or directly from the air, and either storing or using it, CCS/CCUS is no longer viewed as a marginal solution with limited applications. …

The question of when and whether lobbying is ethically questionable or even a criminal bribe is a complex issue, with rules varying according to jurisdictions. Often, actions that are politically embarrassing, are definitely not bribes, or indeed unlawful in anyway. For example, on September 15, Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney survived a no-confidence vote in the Dáil Éireann over his handling of the appointment of former minister for children Katherine Zappone as his country’s ‘Special Envoy to the UN on Freedom of Opinion and Expression’.…

The question of when and whether lobbying is ethically questionable or even a criminal bribe is a complex issue, with rules varying according to jurisdictions. Often, actions that are politically embarrassing, are definitely not bribes, or indeed unlawful in anyway. For example, on September 15, Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney survived a no-confidence vote in the Dáil Éireann over his handling of the appointment of former minister for children Katherine Zappone as his country’s ‘Special Envoy to the UN on Freedom of Opinion and Expression’.…

The Greek metal packaging sector is characterised by fragmentation between two multinationals and a larger number of smaller Greek enterprises. This defines a national industry that is primarily inward looking, with few exports. Vasilis Papapanousis, sales director at leading tinplate manufacturer ELSA SILGAN Metal Packaging SA, told CanTech International that exports do not account for more than 5-10% of the total Greek production metal packaging.…

THE RULING council of the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO) is preparing to agree major reforms to the International Cocoa Agreement, which should see the agreement increase its commitment to boost sustainability in the chocolate sector.

Council members are considering final changes committing the ICCO to ensuring that cocoa production, processing and manufacture is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.…

AS COVID-19 batters the world into its second year of the most destructive global pandemic since the Spanish Flu of 1919, its impact on AML/CFT is becoming clearer. FATF released an updated assessment in December (2020) (1) highlighting an increase in certain predicate offences caused by the disease itself and the increased online activity it has generated: phishing scams, business compromise fraud; internet child sex exploitation; corruption and fraud related to medical supply contracts; and property thefts of vacant homes and offices.…

INTRODUCTION

TEXTILES and clothing manufacture and sales are all about leveraging resources, from creative talent to quality materials and sophisticated technology. So, enterprise resource planning programmes (ERP) have been attractive for the past 20 years or more and have become an increasingly important tool of manufacturers and brands.…

THE MEXICAN automotive industry is struggling to cope with the resurgence of demand for new vehicles, as it deals with the global shortage of microchips along with the increase in steel costs – hitting manufacturers’ bottom line – a key problem for Mexico USA-oriented export model.…

Ethical clothing and textile brands and product lines are springing up in Egypt with an eye on export markets, with a newly formed Sustainable Fashion Alliance aiding the segment’s development by addressing potential problems in the supply chain and lobbying the government for assistance.…

TEXTILE and clothing products sold in Canada may have significant proportions of imports, but the country does retain an important digital textile printing capacity.

Covid-19, however, has changed the market according to researchers and companies working in the sector.

“Daily, I hear comments from clients that they want to keep their business local, and that they do not want to go offshore,” said Joe Scout, sales executive at Toronto-based Club Ink, manufacturers of film industry wardrobe costumes and digitally-printed (largely non-textile) display solutions and.…

Even though life has been increasingly lived online during the Covid-19 pandemic, there is still a significant market for hardware surveillance devices, including those that are covert, with recording devices hidden in everyday objects, such as pens, watches, even water bottles.…

INTRODUCTION

Until now, the use of sensors within garments has been regarded as a specialist technical exercise, usually as a means of delivering medical information to doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals. However, production advances, especially the integration of sensors within yarns using nanotech and conductive fibre is opening up a wider range of more user-friendly functions that could bring sensor tech to the mass consumer market.…

INTRODUCTION

THE MANUFACTURE of protective masks has been maybe the largest growth area in the international textile and non-wovens industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. Billions of people have donned masks as they seek to avoid catching a disease that by June 11 (2021) had killed 3.7 million people and infected 175 million [1].…

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic has had many profound social and economic impacts, but maybe one of the most important for the clothing and textile sector has been how it encouraged the meshing of design and function in products.

With consumers staying at home, they have looked for apparel to provide comfort as much as formal elegance, of more importance when working in an office or attending public evening events.…

As Canada’s auto market emerges from its Covid-19-inspired slump, new vehicle sales are competing against increased demand for used vehicles, as inventories remain tight and prices rise across the board.

Canadian used vehicle prices have tracked upwards steadily in the past 10 years, according to data from JD Power (1), inching towards 110% of 1998 levels by early last year.…

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).…

Obliged entities following the risk-based approach of calibrating AML/CFT controls lodging suspicious transaction reports must rely on solid knowledge about their customers and partners. But to be comprehensive in assessing risk, obliged entities must know something about their customers’ customers.

That is the underpinning of ‘know your customers’ customers’ (KYCC) systems that are increasingly being touted by vendors.…

New regulatory plastic waste obligations coming into force in July (this year) will force tobacco producers selling into the European Union’s (EU) 447-million-person market to take measures to reduce butt littering. The move, part of the EU’s Single Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) (Directive (EU) 2019/904), are designed to reduce the 4.5 trillion cigarette butts that end up as litter annually worldwide (according to the UN), generating 845,000 tonnes of waste, according to a New York (USA) state document.…

With President Joe Biden assuming office in the United States, the Mexican clothing and textile industry is hoping improved trading relations, building on the legacy left by former President Donald Trump that it regards largely positively.

The Mexican Apparel Association (CANAIVE – Cámara Nacional de la Industria del Vestido) was particularly happy with the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), now called the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement: “USMCA opened new opportunities for our industry while seeking to obtain a more solid regional integration,” said CANAIVE, in a note to just-style.…

As the world looks upon China’s oppression of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, clothing companies have been stepping carefully around calls for brands to refuse to handle fabric that includes Xinjiang cotton.

Xinjiang grows 87% of Chinese cotton crop, with 5.16 million tonnes produced in 2020.…

The world’s anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) system has come a long way since the G7 group of nations decided to launch the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in July 1989. But Australian researchers have claimed AML/CFT compliance costs USD300 billion and only nets USD3 billion of an estimated USD3 trillion in criminal funds generated annually (a 0.1% success rate).…

The test remains the same. French tech multinational Thales stressed in a paper that they “allow a person to be identified and authenticated based on recognisable and verifiable data, which are unique and specific…” compared to a person’s biometric template.…

CANADIAN auto dealers, whose sales of high-tech vehicles maybe hampered by safety concerns linked to hacking and computer viruses, are being assisted by a new university cyber-protection unit allied to parts-makers.

The SHIELD Automotive Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence is based at the University of Windsor, just over the Detroit River, and will work with Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturing Association (APMA), with whom it has signed a memorandum of understanding.…

A PUBLIC inquiry in British Columbia, Canada, has increased concerns about how auto dealers maybe exploited by criminal networks to launder dirty money. Purchasers can be prepared to pay high prices for vehicles in cash, with dealers struggling to identify the source of these funds.…

THE WIDE diversity of AML laws worldwide can complicate the enforcement of AML/CFT extradition proceedings.

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations 37 and 39 say that governments should be prepared to extradite money launderers (and terrorist financiers) to another country if they both criminalise the underlying predicate offence.…

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.…

UK universities are turning a blind eye to Nigerian political elites laundering dirty money through their fees, according to a paper published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace from West Africa expert and non-resident scholar, Matthew Page. Commissioned by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, ‘West African Elites’ Spending on UK Schools and Universities: A Closer Look’ (1), flags up the “unexplained wealth” used by Nigerian politicians and public officials to pay British university and boarding school fees.…

INTRODUCTION

Accounting software is crucial for any company wanting to expand on a sustainable basis, adding diversity in supply and customer relationships as they grow. The clothing and textile industry is particularly complex regarding its inputs and outputs. Production is also complex when manufacturers handle spinning, weaving, cutting and finishing.…

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.…

SINGLE use plastics bans being brought in across the world may not cover all nonwovens products, but they certainly are having an impact on the industry as it parses often complex rules coming into force.

A key piece of legislation is the European Union’s (EU) so-called ‘single use plastics directive’ (1) which has deadlines passing in 2021.…

In 2021, when the UK has thrown away its most precious diplomatic asset, its membership of the European Union, for dubious democratic gains, burning major European civil rights enjoyed by Britons and causing likely economic long-term damage, it is maybe time to recall when Britain followed more enlightened international policies.…

In 2021, when the UK has thrown away its most precious diplomatic asset, its membership of the European Union, for dubious democratic gains, burning major European civil rights enjoyed by Britons and causing likely economic long-term damage, it is maybe time to recall when Britain followed more enlightened international policies.…

The president of the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) has warned that the military takeover in Myanmar could spark a significant shift in sourcing away from this south-east Asian country if democracy is not restored promptly. Julia Hughes told just-style: “If there is not a quick resolution, then yes we would expect a major shift to other Asian suppliers.”…

The boom in online fraud through the Covid-19 pandemic, at a time when new fintech is being rolled out, has grown demand for anti-fraud professionals.

The latest assessment released by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) (published in December 2020), based on responses from 1,712 anti-fraud professionals, (49% of whom were in the USA and Canada), said that 41% of organisations (public and private sector) are planning to increase their overall anti-fraud budget in 2021.…

THE UNITED Kingdom’s definitive exit from the European Union (EU) on December 31, 2020, after an 11-month transition period, will severely disrupt the UK and European can manufacturing industry, experts have told CanTech International. That said, industry figures acknowledge however that, by avoiding blanket tariffs and a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, the UK/EU Trade & Cooperation Agreement (TCA) (1) signed on Christmas Eve did head off economic disaster. …

THE 11TH-HOUR trade deal UK and European Union (EU) negotiators struck last Christmas Eve reassured many dairy traders, but British cheesemakers now face major challenges. New expensive and complicated bureaucracy for UK-EU trades is fouling-up overseas dairy sales, and even pricing smaller companies out of the EU market.…

THE REPUTATION of the Caribbean’s major cigar production centres – Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua – has dominated global markets for years. But the entire region’s balmy and moist climate and rich soils are ideal for growing cigar wrapper and filler leaf.…

THE EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) international food and drink trade has withstood the challenges of Covid-19, with figures for the first eight months of 2020 valuing EU exports (excluding the UK) at EUR119 billion, up 1.2% compared to January-August 2019. Imports also rose slightly to EUR81.6 billion (up 0.8%).…

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is consulting on proposed new accounting requirements for mergers and acquisitions involving companies within the same group. At present IFRS 3 on business combinations covers mergers and acquisitions involving third party-owned businesses, not intra-group deals.…

Abundant levels of data created throughout the garment supply chain are increasingly being leveraged to boost sales and margins, and the more figures are crunched the better.

KeunYoung Oh, chair and associate professor of the department of fashion and textile technology at State University of New York College, in Buffalo, USA, said as a result, data analysis skills are an essential component of recruitment policy.…

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed consumer behaviour as well as revenue streams for criminals, encouraging them to abandon certain laundering techniques in favour of others. Criminals have generated more money through cybercrime by attacking unwary computer users unused to using personal computers at home.…

CANADIAN auto sales experts have warned that aftermarket supply chains, including parts for repairs, must be guaranteed to boost consumer confidence about buying EVs in this vast unevenly populated country. With rural drivers maybe scores of miles from a repair shop, motorists fearing delays for EV parts to arrive, may be reluctant to switch from combustion engine vehicles, say marketing experts.…

Two studies unveiled before members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on November 19 in a joint meeting of the constitutional affairs and legal affairs committees have concluded that the European Union (EU) needs an independent ethics body. In his EP commissioned study ‘Strengthening transparency and integrity in the EU institutions by setting up an independent EU ethics body’, (1) Austrian management professor Dr Markus Frischuut suggested the body should have around seven ruling members and 50 staff. …

THE CANADIAN automobile sector has called on the country’s provinces to better coordinate efforts to increase demand for electric vehicles. This follows the Québec government announcing a ban on local sales of new combustion-driven cars, SUVs and pick-ups from 2035.

While the ban would not apply to most commercial vehicles and used-auto sales, and hybrid sales and use might still be allowed, Brian Kingston, the new president and CEO of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association (CVMA), fears this policy might not achieve its goal: to promote EV sales: “You need a plan, not a ban,” he told wardsauto.…

EUROPE’S confectionery and sweet bakery association CAOBISCO has been pressuring the European Union (EU) to resolve a long-running trade dispute with the USA over aircraft manufacturing subsidies causing Washington to impose tariffs on European food exports. These include 25% duties on exports from the EU (including the UK) of raspberry, strawberry, apricot, peach and other jams; cherries and peaches; sweet biscuits from Germany; waffles and wafers from Britain and Germany; and an additional 25% on these jams when exported from Germany and France.…

AS every small business owner knows, marketing and sales is a tough task, especially when the day-to-day delivery of services to existing clients takes up so much time. Hiring a full-time marketer is also beyond the means of most small businesses.…

CANADIAN automobile dealers are looking out for a potential increase in the price of vehicles that they sell on account of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which came into force on July 1 (2020).

This is likely to be fuelled by the new deal insisting that Canadian (as well as American and Mexican) auto-manufacturers may have to increase their USMCA-bloc sourcing to ensure that 75% of a vehicle’s parts are made a signatory country.…

ORGANISERS of the Canadian International AutoShow are drawing on innovative online systems to launch a unique online 2021 event, which will be staged virtually because of Covid-19.

Canada’s largest annual consumer show attracted 330,000 visitors this February, so staging the 2021 event physically was an impossible health risk until the epidemic is over, said show general manager Jason Campbell.…

A RESEARCH consortium in Canada is developing an open source model to create data-rich digital maps that can improve the operations of autonomous vehicles (AVs). The inspiration behind ‘Open HD Maps’ is to enable the holders of mapping data outside existing proprietary mapping services to contribute their information to a collaborative platform on a profit-sharing basis.…

USA automotive manufacturers are facing some tough choices when implementing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which entered into force on July 1, to avoid its pressure on costs being reflected in showroom price increases.

The new deal, which replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), requires US, Mexican and Canadian auto manufacturers to increase their USMCA-bloc sourcing to ensure that 75% of a vehicle’s parts are made in a signatory country to benefit from the free trade provisions.…

The Mexican auto industry should be able to preserve its critically important USA export sales if it implements the new labour wage and origin components of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) slowly and steadily, allowing time to invest in technological efficiencies, experts predict.…

Mavi, the Turkish denim giant, sold 9.7 million pairs of jeans worldwide in 2019, and, its chief executive has told just-style, has rebounded from the shuttering of the garment sector earlier this year with e-commerce sales doubling in its major markets.…

Countries exporting the most goods and services are also the worst at foreign bribery enforcement, according to the latest report from anti-graft group Transparency International. ‘Exporting Corruption Progress Report 2020: Assessing Enforcement of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention’ finds that most countries assessed (34 out of 47), conducted weak or no enforcement of their foreign bribery laws, in part hindered by a lack of public information on beneficial ownership. …

From sustainability to flammability, anti-viral protection to anti-corrosion, the potential applications of nanocoatings in the aerospace industry are “nearly endless,” say researchers who have noticed a sharp uptick in their use. This is particularly in relation to space missions and technologies.…

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.…

Cigarette sales could be boosted by the growing challenges faced by vaping products, according to senior figures from the industry speaking to TJI. Certainly, the days when vaping products received a relatively clear pass in marketing restrictions are over in some jurisdictions.…

The Canadian government is likely to extend its ‘Incentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles’ subsidy program when it brings an economic update statement to parliament during the fall, the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) predicts.

Its Chief Economist Oumar Dicko highlighted promises within a ‘Throne Speech’ delivered on September 23 (1), outlining the Liberal government’s plans, which said it would “make zero-emissions vehicles more affordable while investing in more charging stations across the country”.…

A SHIFT towards home-based work during the Covid-19 epidemic has raised multiple challenges for AML/CFT regulatory compliance departments, from changes in consumer behaviour that affects transaction monitoring, to digitally onboarding new customers, and heightened risks of illicit crime and fraud.

The first few months of the Covid-19 pandemic and related lockdowns this spring especially stretched financial institutions’ regulatory compliance departments to their limits, said Patrick Gerard Dahill, head of AML and financial crime recruitment at Barclay Simpson, in London.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has released detailed proposals to create a new International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), working alongside the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) but operationally independent under the IFRS Foundation. The goal would be integrating standards created by a wide range of existing sustainability initiatives, such as from the CDP (https://www.cdp.net/en…

QUANTUM computing is coming to fruition after decades of research and these new powerful systems will offer textile finishers the opportunity to develop new chemicals and products that they simply could not explore and create using classical computers.

These new computers excel in the complex calculations that are needed to model molecules, especially those from nature, whose assessment are often at the core of designing new chemical solutions that could deliver new functionality and colour to textiles.…

The cutting edge IT field of quantum computing is developing across Africa, with South Africa considered the hub, in part through an IBM centre in Johannesburg that enables academics throughout the continent to freely access its quantum computer network, based in the USA, through the cloud.…

QUANTUM computing is coming to fruition after decades of research and these new powerful systems will offer paint and coating manufacturers the opportunity to develop new chemicals and products unimaginable using classical computers.

These new computers excel in complex calculations needed to model molecules, especially those from nature, whose assessment are often at the core of designing new chemical solutions delivering new functionality and colour to paints and coatings.…

GRAPHENE, a form of carbon, formed into a single layer of atoms arranged in two-dimensional honeycomb lattice, has been hailed as a super-material – highly conductive (heat and power), strong, stable, and absorbent of light and liquid. It is the latter quality that has caught the eye of the petroleum sector, with graphene being used to help clean up oils spills.…

CANADIAN auto dealers and marques have been developing remote technologies enabling remote vehicle sales when Covid-19 social distancing restrictions impedes the physical operation of dealerships.

Even with these rules relaxing – with much of Ontario entering a ‘stage 3’ reopening from July 17, and dealerships fully open – physical distancing will still be required on premises.…

THE INTERNATIONAL trade in tobacco products and inputs contains significant variations in prices that might indicate the presence of trade-based money laundering – of TBML – a specialist database indicates. Certain trade flows are exploited by money launderers seeking to move criminal proceeds from one country to another through artificial pricing – deliberate over- and under- invoicing.…

INTRODUCTION

Quantum computers were once the stuff of science fiction, the technology that was always 10 years away from fruition. But now they are real and operating. Google last October announced it had developed a device of 53-qubits (quantum computers’ ability to express a signal), nicknamed Sycamore, which it claimed in a Nature article [1] took 200 seconds to sample one instance of a quantum circuit a million times, which the IT major claimed would take 10,000 years for a state-of-the-art digital supercomputer to achieve.…

Unsettling images of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or pristine tropical beaches desecrated with debris have promoted the trend for plastics-free goods across a wide range of economic sectors, including nonwovens, pressuring industries and policymakers to respond to the problem.…

Forensic linguistics is a new field, aiding detection of lies and deception within verbal and written statements, but it is developing, and artificial intelligence/machine learning offers new opportunities for this technique to become increasingly useful.

That is the view of Professor Jack Grieve, Professorial Fellow in Corpus Linguistics, University of Birmingham, UK, who sees a “great opportunity” in such work, although significant research is needed before such studies can yield useful work.…

THE NORTH American – especially the USA – nonwovens sector, has this year had to content with two major external impacts – the US trade war with China and the Covid-19 pandemic. New statistics from the North Carolina, USA-based Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA) have revealed a sharp decline in north American exports (including those from the USA, Canada and Mexico) to China from across north America (with the USA dominating) showed a fall in exports tonnage of 18.6% respectively year-on-year between 2019 and 2018, “led by declines in trade with China”, according to a memo from the organisation.…

AS governments worldwide loosen lockdowns imposed to impede the spread of Covid-19, energy companies are assessing their health and safety policies to ensure workplaces are not new infection hotspots, protecting workers and hence production.

These changes come as energy industries downscale workloads to reflect a collapse in demand for their output.…

CANADA’S Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) is optimistic that the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will deliver more sustained work to the country’s supply chain once the deal comes into force on July 1. It replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), in place since 1994.…

HONG Kong textile industry leaders have tried to reassure clothing traders and manufacturers operating from the territory they will not face serious harm by any change of diplomatic recognition prompted by the passage of a new HK security law. Speaking to just-style, Louis Chan, assistant principal economist (global research), for the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), claimed that sourcing offices in HK would continue to operate smoothly: “As long as the subject merchandise is not made in Hong Kong, the possible revocation of the special trading relationship or any suspension of HKCO (Hong Kong country of origin) recognition should have little or even no direct impacts on HK’s re-exports (of those items),” he argued.…

MAJOR European food and drink industry associations have asked the European Union (EU) and Britain to consider agreeing a temporary holding Brexit deal, preserving EU/UK free trade, once the current transitional period involving the UK follows EU rules, expires on December 31.…

THE POTENTIAL development of new food, liner molecules, label dyes and magnetised metals through the emerging technology of quantum computing offers benefits to the can manufacturing and filling industries. However, these companies will also need to review their IT security to ensure cyber-attacks via these powerful technologies do not disrupt their operational and financial systems and expose commercially valuable secrets to prying eyes.…

Comprised of a dry shampoo, deodorant, face moisturiser, lip balm, and more recently, body lotion, the line is sold only in North America and available in gym or travel sizes.  “For over 20 years, lululemon has been focused on solving athletes’ needs.…

Egypt’s garment and textile manufacturing sector has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, despite strict lockdown measures not being enacted and factories being able to stay open.

“A lot of orders were cancelled, or delayed, and many companies went into Chapter 11 (bankruptcy),” said Mohamed Kassem, chairman of the Egyptian Company for Textile Parks Development, in Cairo.…

CANADA’S automotive industry associations are pressing the Canadian federal government to launch a scrappage scheme to help the country’s automotive market out of its Covid-19 related slump. The Canadian Automobile Dealers Association (CADA), the Global Automakers of Canada (GAC) and the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association (CVMA) have made a formal proposal that the government subsidises automotive consumers by between CAD1,500 and CAD3,000 when they trade in an old vehicle and replace it with a new model.…

Entrepreneurship abounds across the diverse island nations of the Caribbean where small, independently-owned beauty product businesses thrive and have been successfully vying for space alongside major international brands in pharmacies, boutiques and family-owned stores alike.

What many manufacturers lack in start-up capital, they make up for in innovation and close proximity to a wealth of organic, raw materials that are finding new favour with modern, discerning consumers at home, with an eye to developing export sales.…

While the Canadian chocolate market is dominated by major manufacturers, such as Nestlé, Hershey, Mondelēz, Lindt, Mars and Ferrero – a diverse artisanal sector is growing towards commercial maturity, as consumers seek out premium products that are locally produced and often marketed to specific target customers.…

Metal packaging companies are innovating to make the most of the Covid-19 crisis, as competition intensifies from their rivals in the plastics packaging sector, with consumers seeking protection from the disease buying more wrapped food and more single-use plastics containers being sold and discarded.…

QUANTUM computers are now being developed that may offer accounting practices computing power to strengthen audits, but which also pose some serious cybersecurity concerns.

After decades of theorising, quantum computing is here. Google last October (2019) announced it had developed a device which it claimed took 200 seconds to sample data showing how a quantum computer works one million times (1), a task it claimed would take a standard digital super-computer 10,000 years.…

While medical teams worldwide seek to free up hospital beds to care for Covid-19 victims, attention is turning to effective wound care for patients to hasten healing following surgery, avoid cross contamination in a hospital and enable proper care at home following direct clinical supervision.…

CYBER-security specialists are warning that AML/CFT officers, law enforcers and IT security managers must prepare now for emerging threats posed by quantum computers, which are already available on the cloud and whose power will grow exponentially in the coming decade. Quantum computing could deliver water-tight solutions for financial institutions seeking dirty and terror money flows, but it could also create hacking tools that could break the toughest IT and cyber-security systems.…

Derisking through the dismantling of correspondent banking relationships continues to be a problem, according to the latest data, prompting concerns that informal transaction networks may grow, whose AML checks may be less robust than those applied by traditional banks.

The European Union (EU) is concerned, with the European Banking Authority (EBA) in October 2019 issued a report on risks affecting the financial sector, with derisking one of its biggest concerns regarding money laundering.…

GIVEN the hundreds of billions of dollars spent by banks on fighting money laundering, fears that trade-based money laundering (TBML) remains widespread, as stressed by FATF, the APG (http://www.fatf-gafi.org/publications/methodsandtrends/documents/trade-basedmoneylaunderingtypologies.html), and most recently, the European Commission (https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/supranational_risk_assessment_of_the_money_laundering_and_terrorist_financing_risks_affecting_the_union_-_annex.pdf), are of serous concern. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) said that in 2018, global merchandise exports were worth USD19.48 trillion, so there is plenty of place for laundered money to hide.…

ANTI-money laundering maybe a career that financial and legal professionals increasingly follow, but the training and qualification structure for AML/CFT is still emerging and solidifying, and there are doubts whether it will ever coalesce into a formal global structure, akin to FATF recommendations.…

Nicotine consumption is declining worldwide, with smokers are consuming less, as well as e-cigarette and heated tobacco users, according to market research provider Euromonitor International’s ‘Nicotine Survey, Exploring the Modern Nicotine Landscape’.

“Overall [the study] shows nicotine prevalence is declining not growing, and it is clear to see there isn’t much evidence that greater availability of nicotine formats is increasing smoking prevalence among adults,” said Shane MacGuill, head of tobacco research at Euromonitor International, in a webinar attended by TJI.…

Kabeer Naqvi, CEO of U Microfinance Bank Ltd, one of Pakistan’s fastest growing businesses, is clearly a man in a hurry. His bank – branded U Bank – is digitising quickly as it grows its deposits and its important lending business, that is pulling many thousands of Pakistanis out of poverty and into lives of sustainably growing income.…

Mexico’s digital textile printing industry is poised for growth as the country’s textile manufacturers bet on the technology to cut costs, meet orders faster and widen exports to Canada and the United States, efforts that have gained in importance this year as the global economy reels from the spread of the coronavirus.…

THE TREND towards consumers buying confectionery made with natural ingredients is gathering pace, with research from Germany-based international food ingredients-maker Döhler saying that worldwide more than 50% of confectionery consumers now want a “healthier” product and more than 60% “value natural ingredients”.…

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.…

In principle, the technology of osmotic power, known widely as ‘blue energy’, has a lot going for it: unlike wind or sunlight, its electricity generating technique of mixing freshwater and saltwater at the mouths of estuaries is constant, with electrically charged salt ions moving from salty seawater to fresh river water.…

CYBER-SECURITY specialists are already considering how to make IT systems resist a hack based on a quantum computer, an emerging technology that is starting to demonstrate its potential to calculate problems that elude current digital computers, let alone humans. Keith Nuthall reports

QUANTUM computing is here.…

Indonesia’s industry ministry launched an initiative in February (2020) aimed at eliminating lead used in paint made and sold in the country. It involves the Indonesian paint industry, is part of the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) project and is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), an international investment body.…

THE USE of paint and coatings by airlines is far more than the choice of an elegant trip for tail fins and fuselages. High tech coatings help aircraft operate efficiently and play an increasingly important role in helping planes fly smoothly, reducing drag and hence carbon emissions.…

While this dispute is happening thousands of kilometres away from where most Canadians (settler or indigenous) live, this dispute illustrates how tough it is to get appropriate sign-off from indigenous communities on pipeline projects and how it is underpinned by centuries’ old struggles involving indigenous Canadians.…

Global production of fibreglass is predicted to soar over the coming decade, as appreciation grows of its utility and cost effectiveness in expanding materials manufacturing sectors.

Driven by a push to increase reliance on renewable energy sources to help tackle the climate crisis, manufacturers of wind turbines are increasingly reliant on glass – and carbon – fibres to produce rotor blades, for instance.…

THE RELEASE this week of an immigration policy by the British government that is designed to emulate the points-based systems of Canada and Australia is yet another example of how Brexiteers ignore the reality that Britain is a small island off the coast of a populous and rich continent – Europe.…

THE MANY properties that have contributed to graphene being described as a ‘super material’ make it an increasingly attractive choice as an ingredient in a wide range of coatings with special functionalities say researchers and manufacturers. And, with Many of these properties offering environment-friendly and sustainable benefits, graphene is being considered as a key part of the coatings industries efforts to reduce carbon emissions and hence climate change.…

ROMANIAN politics are rarely a placid affair, although February 5’s no confidence vote downing the National Liberal Party government of Prime Minister Ludovic Orban after just three months in office marks a period of particularly intense instability. This collapse comes as the government had hoped to debate implementing the European Union’s (EU) fifth anti-money laundering directive – a task that will not now be undertaken until parliamentarians replace the government, or – as is more likely – snap elections are held.…

The intersection between beauty products, fashion and sport has never been so mainstream. This was evident last year when popular yoga and athletic-apparel brand, Vancouver, Canada-based Lululemon Athletica Inc launched in June (2019) its own athleisure gender-neutral beauty and personal care line (BPC), called ‘lululemon selfcare’.…

Sustainability issues are currently dominating the US paint and coatings industry with challenges and opportunities arising from stringent regulations and growing green markets, generating demand for environment-friendly business practices and sustainable consumer lifestyles. This change comes as the industry hopes for a fillip from the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), reforming North American trading arrangements, which has been hailed by the American Coatings Association (ACA) as “a win for America’s paint industry”.…

THERE are understandably many concerns about the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), notably that computers might start to take autonomous decisions that might harm rather than help humans. However, energy and climate scientists are exploring how AI and ML may help governments and industry grapple with reducing carbon emissions to avoid cataclysmic climate change.…

From smartphones to space satellites, applications for conductive adhesives (transferring heat, electricity or both) are expanding rapidly and their innovative use and market size show little size of abating as new avenues reveal themselves through growth in sales and R&D programmes.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has called on EU member states and other EU institutions to work harder to fight the scourge of food fraud, which can damage the commercial health of legitimate manufacturers and risk consumer health. In a detailed policy statement (called ‘council conclusions’ in EU jargon), ministers said an EU “legal definition of food fraud” should be created that would underpin future regulatory actions fighting such wrongdoing, which can include deliberate mislabelling and the use of illicit ingredients.…

WITH Middle East dairy sales expanding steadily, dairy suppliers from around the world are targeting its consumers, hoping to gain a foothold in an increasingly diverse marketplace that is often open to innovation.

Dairy Industries International attended the 4th Global Dairy Innovation Congress MENA 2020, held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from January 20-21, where participants were encouraged by sales projections as from market researcher Euromonitor International that the Middle East (and Africa) dairy market should expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 3% between 2019 and 2023.…

SHOWING consumers that dairy farming is sustainable, while surviving the less than favourable economic situation which all agriculture faces today, are the industry’s biggest challenges for 2020 and beyond, Pekka Pesonen, secretary general of European farming organisation Copa-Cogeca, has told Dairy Industries International.…

ITALY’S cosmetic and personal care product market remained strong through 2019, with major players in the industry focused on strengthening digital retail and production strategies to further connect with consumers, while deepening their presence in foreign markets, particularly in Asia. 

The year 2019 was also dynamic in terms of acquisitions, with a handful of Italian BPC (beauty and personal care) companies buying businesses that specialise in new and different products to extend their reach in new product categories, both domestically and abroad.…

HONG Kong has signed an avoidance of double taxation agreement with its neighbour Macao, designed to boost trade and investment in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of southern China. The deal will ensure that any Macao tax paid by Hong Kong residents earning income from Macao will be a tax credit in Hong Kong and vice versa for Macao residents.…

The Canadian automotive industry has welcomed the final text of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal, which includes new flexibility over steel supplies to the North American automotive manufacturing industry.

David Adams, president, Global Automakers of Canada (which represents all Canadian auto manufacturers except for the Big Three), said the new amendments reflected Canadian government thinking and that now he expected “all three countries will work to ratify expeditiously….”,…

Tegra, the Atlanta, USA-based leading apparel manufacturing and supply chain provider, is expanding its workforce in Latin America, with new job posts in El Salvador’s compound as well as its soon to be opened facility in Honduras. Tegra’s plant in El Salvador, Decotex, was expanded to nearly 250,000 square feet in August (2019).…

MEXICAN clothing industry experts hope that the current stand-off over the ratification of the new United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) will be solved soon, given that they expect that it will cement Mexico’s position as a major apparel exporter to the USA and Canada.…

SALES of light trucks – SUVs, CUVs, pick-ups and minivans – are rising in Canada, and the big question is how dominant this segment may become in this north American market. Sales hit 70.9% of the passenger vehicle market according to new 2018 data from Ontario-based DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc.…

AMERICAN textile manufacturers and farmers can start working in earnest to develop nationwide production of hemp fibre, after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) released detailed and comprehensive regulations on how production and processing should be authorised and regulated.

USDA’s guidance has been awaited by the textile industry since the USA’s 2018 farm bill legalised hemp as an agricultural commodity, removing it from the federal list of controlled substances, as long as it did not contain more than 0.3% THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the element that gives consumers of recreational and medicinal cannabis their high.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission will early next year (2020) consider whether to add cadmium to the European Union (EU) critical raw material list, with the aim of encouraging production and recycling of this mineral that widely used in batteries, potentially helping the EU economy away from fossil fuels.…

While cautious optimism on the future of global trade may be currently evident in US financial markets, notably because the United States and China are apparently nearing agreement on a new interim trade deal, representatives of the textile and apparel sectors gathered in New York for the 31st annual Apparel Importers Trade & Transportation Conference on November 7 were still expressing significant caution about future prospects.…

The British subsidiary of French engineering giant Alstom has been fined GBP15 million (USD19.37 million) plus GBP1.4 million (USD1.8 million) costs over bribes it paid to win a key contract to build trams to serve the Tunisian capital Tunis. The fine comes more than a year after Alstom Network UK’s April 2018 conviction for bribery and corruption, in a case brought by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO). …

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.…

The USA cosmetics industry is expecting to benefit from recently promulgated United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules that would facilitate increased legal cultivation of the hemp plant – the botanical source for cannabidiol (CBD), an ingredient already widely available in the US for pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications.…

METAL cans play an important role in enabling aid agencies to deliver food and drink to needy people in disaster zones and areas of food scarcity – being sturdy, stackable, and recyclable. The scale of some of these operations and hence their demand for canned food and drink is huge.…

Robust international enforcement of revised AML guidance will improve current weaknesses in cryptocurrency compliance, according to financial services analysts.

Current figures indicate about 3,000 separate cryptocurrencies being traded with a value of USD221 billion, according to Yahoo Finance on October 8^.…

WITH Canadian auto exports to the USA falling in 2018 and the new USMCA trade agreement between the USA, Mexico and Canada still unratified (only Mexico has done so), the Canadian auto sector has been eyeing Europe for overseas sales.

A report from the Canadian government’s chief economist released in June (2019) gave grounds for optimism as regards future EU sales.…

IT’S no simple business serving Canada’s indigenous community market, even though this includes 1.67 million people. A majority have official residency in 3,100 reserves (the Canadian term for reservation), many of whom live in the far north, where average January and February highs can be minus 21C/minus 6F.…

As the wearable technology sector continues developing groundbreaking new innovations – from garment-based air conditioners to clothing that boosts mental wellbeing – experts say conductive inks will play a crucial role in delivering the right balance between comfort and functionality. The goal is nothing short of making electronic technologies truly wearable.…

THE INCOMING European Commission may seek to further harmonise European Union (EU) food labelling rules on sugar content. This pledge comes from the nominee for new EU health commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, a Cypriot parliamentarian, whose EU role includes being responsible for food safety and standards.…

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.…

THE DEVELOPMENT of uniform safety standards to help reduce the number of reputation-damaging accidents occurring as automated vehicles are rolled out commercially is of key importance, a CAV Canada conference (connected and autonomous vehicles) in Canada has been told.

Sasha Ostojic, a board member of California-based autonomous vehicle company Zoox, and a former senior vice president engineering at GM’s Cruise Automation, said of the current American system, where manufacturers are protecting their CAV IP and not sharing safety information: “I truly think this is a problem.…

While the USA-China trade war currently dominates headlines, nonwovens analysts predict it will be a “relatively short-term” issue and not harm north America’s growing nonwovens market in the longer term.

With smart applications and sustainability driving the sector worldwide, the north American nonwovens market looks set to capitalise on these growth areas, aiding recovery from a past 10 years marred by economic weakness and volatile crude oil prices.…

Predicting fashion trends in advance to match supply chain requirements has long been a challenge for the knitwear industry and it is now developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine technology that learns from social media images to get ahead of the market.…

Jordanian garment manufacturers and supporting institutions like the International Labour Organization’s Better Work Jordan, plan to introduce garment design training to add value to a sector that is primarily ‘cut and sew’.

Jordan exported USD1.8 billion’s worth of garments last year, just over half to the USA, at USD1.02 billion, but designs are primarily provided by buyers and retailers, with minimal design in-country.…

From the creation of nanotube coatings to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in modelling to reduce production flaws, saving costs, textile composite manufacture is becoming smarter “on a near daily basis, according to researchers.

Uday Vaidya, chief technology officer at the Tennessee, USA-based Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), told Future Textiles described how thermography applies heat using maps to fabrics; when they cool, systems reveal the difference in effects and defects “which saves a lot of time”.…

AN INCREASING number of so-called ‘digital doppelgangers’, faked digital identities, designed to bypass financial anti-fraud systems, are being traded online via the darknet and even the open internet, according to David Décary-Hétu, Assistant Professor at the School of Criminology at the University of Montréal, Canada.…

Described by environmental campaigners as “the elephant in the COP21 negotiations room” when climate change proposals were agreed in Paris during 2015, today – the electrification of shipping is moving ahead apace.

From inland ferries to cargo barges and cruise ships, vessels are being built or retrofitted with renewable power propulsion sources, curbing the shipping industry’s major emissions.…

THE CANADIAN government has told wardsauto that it will wait for the release of a US final rule on federal automotive emissions before making any decisions on whether to follow the lead of the Trump administration on freezing emissions limits or imposing tougher tailpipe rules for Canada.…

EFFORTS are escalating to reduce regulatory trade barriers between the 13 provinces and territories of Canada that can restrict sales of automobiles, especially trucks, while hindering the growth of auto-industry companies wanting to expand across the country.

Provincial and territorial premiers (heads of government) were in July debating their response to a Canada Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) struck between the federal government and the governments of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Newfoundland & Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut.…

As recycling schemes collecting waste paint become more common worldwide,

innovation within the field is being encouraged and rewarded.

Some manufacturers have developed processes to mix waste products with virgin paint to create reformulated paint for retail. Other organisations are supporting underprivileged community groups with free paint to protect and decorate public buildings.…

A WAVE of oil and gas structure decommissioning in the North Sea, a steady continuing flow in the USA’s Gulf of Mexico fields, and a similar longer-term challenge in south-east Asia are concentrating minds on the infrastructure needed to dismantle such equipment safely.…

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.…

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.…

STUDENTS from top Pacific Rim research universities have embarked on an innovative programme of problem solving, designed to create fresh solutions on pressing socio-economic problems that leverage leadership skills and community contacts.

The University of Oregon (UO), in Eugene, Oregon, welcomed 50 undergraduate students from 30 universities based in the Pacific Rim region, including from the USA, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Japan, Australia, and more.…

As an industry much maligned for its heavy carbon footprint, the oil and gas sector is increasing its use of sustainable materials and manufacturing methods making textiles used for its protective clothing. This segment has also been focusing on improving the comfort and aesthetics of this apparel.…

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. …

WHILE concern grows about the use of social media to spread falsehoods, it does at least allow information to circulate that governments might prefer to suppress, speakers at the Worldviews on Media and Higher Education Conference, held at Canada’s University of Toronto have stressed.…

Are universities and the media doing enough in the defence of knowledge when faced with the global rise of populism? This question has been debated at the third Worldviews International Conference on Media and Higher Education. Staged at Canada’s University of Toronto, speakers asked how can higher education and journalism counter the claims of elitism made against these institutions?…

Flat Earth theories. Anti-vaccination conspiracies. Climate change denials. Such deep held beliefs are impeding the job of unveiling and spreading verifiable truths, speakers at the Worldviews International Conference on Media and Higher Education stressed. Educators and journalists who made up a panel on ‘Scientific research, ‘post-truth’ and fake news: What’s next?’…

UNIVERSITIES and colleges in the USA are being accused of moving away from the so-called ‘American dream’ of social mobility, a panel discussion at the Worldviews Conference held at the University of Toronto, Canada, has heard. The focus of this debate was the question – what is the civic education mission of universities, colleges and the media in the 21st century, and how this is playing out in the United States?…

AN INTERNATIONAL market research company is predicting that the legalisation of recreational cannabis, notably in Canada, and now in 10 US states, could encourage tobacco consumers to shift from smoking to vaping, and even depress tobacco sales overall long term.

Shane MacGuill, head of tobacco at Euromonitor International, said that while in the short term, recreational cannabis legalisation “could support the Canadian tobacco market as consumers experiment with consumption of cannabis flower in combustible format”, he predicted “any bump will be relatively small and short lived”.…

EVERY manufacturing and agricultural industry has an impact on climate change – and the tobacco sector is no different. Faced with long-standing criticism of the health impact of its products, the tobacco industry is now facing attacks that its work generates carbon emissions and hence climate change.…

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.…

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.…

India’s new Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, that took office on May 30 following its April and May election victory, is planning to increase the country’s minimum wage rates, which could damage the current cost advantages enjoyed of Indian apparel exporters, warned an industry body.…

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.  …

ANTI-fraud experts understand that managers always need to be aware of the potential for their organisations to lose money to fraud and corruption. But the fact that the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/acfepublic/2018-report-to-the-nations.pdf

estimates an average 5% of public and private revenues are lost to fraud indicates that more awareness is needed.…

ANTI-fraud experts understand that managers always need to be aware of the potential for their organisations to lose money to fraud and corruption. But the fact that the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/acfepublic/2018-report-to-the-nations.pdf

estimates an average 5% of public and private revenues are lost to fraud indicates that more awareness is needed.…

WITH the Carbon Trust defining energy management as the use of technology to improve energy performance of an organisation within their holistic management processes, the need to tap data banks of expertise can only help in framing and operating such policies.…

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.…

THE INDUSTRIAL minerals mining and processing sector and its customers has an increasingly complex and global supply chain and as a result, international technical standards are growing in utility and importance. Where suppliers and retailers follow and require the use of international standards to guide their operations and products, there will be fewer nasty surprises, in orders and purchases.…

The Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) has announced a public inquiry [1] into how money laundering has distorted its economy after three independent reports noted how criminal funds have flooded into this Pacific coast region. BC Supreme Court Judge Austin Cullen has been appointed to head the inquiry, which BC attorney general David Eby said would have the power to force cooperation by “people and organisations who refuse to share what they know unless legally compelled to do so”.…

Russia has criticised Mexico at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for maintaining anti-dumping duties on Russian steel exports, which it claims are outdated, being based on pricing assessments using data from a different country.

The Mexican government used this method for past dumping calculations on Russian steel because it is permitted under WTO rules where a government dominates an economy that does not operate as a free market.…

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) took effect in December 2018, incrementally bringing down import tariffs for Vietnamese garments in a market with 495 million consumers across 11 countries.

But Vietnamese garment-makers are struggling to reduce costs to deliver pricing that is competitive enough to make the most of CPTPP.…

Trade negotiators from the United States and China will meet for the second week in a row this Wednesday or Thursday, in what the American clothing sector hopes could be the final round of talks to resolve the trade war.

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told Fox Business last week they hope to get to “the point where we can either recommend to the president we have a deal, or make a recommendation that we don’t,” emphasising the United States wants to “rebalance” the trade relationship.…

United States (US) President Donald Trump’s announcement, May 10, to slap 25% additional tariffs on plastics exports to China could increase opportunities for European plastics exporters, experts have told Plastics News Europe.

Mike Boswell, managing director of UK-based plastics products supplier Plastribution, said: “Sales could increase to the US, depending on which items, as US products will become more expensive because of duty barriers.”…

THE LEGALISATION nationwide of recreational cannabis in Canada last October (2018) was a groundbreaking move – a first for a major western country – and from this coming October 17, at the latest, one that may have significant implications for the beauty business.…

HONG Kong accountants may see an increase in demand for non-financial assessments, with the HK Stock Exchange consulting on proposed new environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. It is proposing introducing mandatory disclosure requirements to include board statements considering ESG issues; and what reporting principles are used to develop company ESG reports.…

THE CANADIAN auto-sector, encouraged by its federal government, has been pushing ahead with a wide range of initiatives to try and make Canada an international high-tech hub of connected and automated vehicle (CAV) research and development.

These focus on the country’s existing auto-making hub Ontario, with – unusually – the capital Ottawa playing a key auto-manufacturing role, encouraged by its existing local tech sector.…

THE CANADIAN auto sector wants the country’s federal government to recycle payments made through its carbon tax system back to Ontario’s automotive manufacturing sector, so it can reduce emissions and related energy costs. Executives want the government to hasten an announcement on how the system will work in detail to enable the industry to plan and mitigate costs.…

INTERNATIONAL efforts are under way to improve how airports can serve as effective humanitarian logistics hubs, reducing the risk that they become bottlenecks in disaster relief efforts. These moves follow research and a growing consensus in the air and aid sectors that while airports are undoubtedly a lifeline during crises, they can also hamper the efficient delivery of aid to victims.…

SUPERFRUITS offer personal care product brands lots of marketing muscle, delivering an image of exoticism, as well as offering real functional benefits.

As a result, beauty companies have been willing to trawl the world for new super fruit ingredients to give their lines a competitive edge.…

THE ONTARIO government has launched a Canadian dollars CAD40 million (USD29.8 million) policy package designed to grow the Canadian province’s auto-sector and stem the haemorrhaging of its jobs and output to Mexico and the southern USA. However, while these is support for the plan in the industry, there is also skepticism that this policy package will move the needle on preserving auto output in Canada’s most populous province.…

A FORUM of experts, including senior academics, staged in Toronto, Canada, has been told that Canadian academic institutions need to do more work to promote reconciliation between the country’s indigenous population and descendants of settlers from overseas and more recent immigrants.…

CANADIAN tobacco majors have sought creditor protection after the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld two class action rulings, warning appellants Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges (RBH) and JTI-Macdonald Corp are liable to pay Canadian dollars CAD13.6 billion (USD10.2 billion) in damages to sick smokers.…

THE UNITED States and Canada maybe two developed countries that have long-established anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) systems, but these have been found wanting by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). While both countries continue to introduce AML/CFT reforms, they are unlikely to meet some key FATF demands.…

THE REDUCTION of transport costs for the mineral sector through high-capacity marine cargo handling solutions was a key topic of the annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention held in Toronto, this month (March 3-6). The CSL Group Inc (CSL), a privately-owned shipping company based in Montréal, Québec, and the world’s largest owner and operator of self-unloading vessels, explained how its systems can improve the logistics chain and better integrate cargo loading with mining operations.…

AIRPORTS and ATC organisations have been told they should ready to implement the incoming International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Global Reporting Format (GRF) assessing runway conditions, even if their governments have yet to write it into national regulations.

Nico Voorbach, director, ICAO and industry affairs, for global ATC association CANSO, said of the new system, whose implementation deadline is next November: “Stakeholders don’t have to wait for states.”…

THE GLOBAL civil aviation industry is preparing for the 2020 introduction of a new standardised Global Reporting Format (GRF) assessing runway conditions, enabling airports, ATC officers and flight crew to work together to boost safety on landings.

An implementation deadline of next November 5 has been approved by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).…

THE SUBMISSION to the White House by the US Department of Commerce of a report recommending whether and how the USA should impose tariffs on automotive and related parts on national security grounds has provoked significant concern worldwide.

President Donald Trump has 90 days from February 17 (to mid-May) to decide on whether to impose the tariffs under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act.…

WITH Bahrain investigating its first major oil find in 86 years, the mineral sector will be keeping a close eye on exploration because this is an offshore shale oil and gas resource that will need fracking inputs to extract hydrocarbons.

“It is definitely very unique, a one of a kind oil find in shallower waters close to shore,” said Edgar van der Meer, senior research analyst at NRG Expert, in London.…

IF evidence was needed that India’s consumer food market was becoming increasingly open to foreign tastes, Godrej Nature’s Basket, a premium fresh and fine foods store with an online and offline presence across India, claims 40% of its sales come from international food lines, mostly imported.…

ANNOUNCEMENTS made at the Routes Americas conference for 2019 have demonstrated how the region’s civil aviation sector is expanding and providing more business to airports.

New Canadian low-cost carrier Jetlines, for example, unveiled plans to put conference host Quebec City on its route network when it begins operating later this year.…

THE CANADIAN dairy industry has been left concerned by a change in Canada’s federal government dietary advice to consumers which damps down previous encouragement for them to eat dairy products. The change comes in the new Canada Food Guide (CFG), which has been updated for the first time in more than 10 years by the relevant ministry, Health Canada.…

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.…

From top quality cacao that meets the new European Union (EU) regulation for minimum cadmium content in foods; to a camu camu fruit-based supplement line with stable shelf life and high vitamin C content; Sacha Inchi flour with over 60% protein content; and liquid high potency maca not found elsewhere, UHTCO Corporation, is expanding its portfolio and presence in the international market.…

THE DYNAMIC east Asian powerhouses of Hong Kong and Singapore are both models for good practice in anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) – sharing both an efficient and open UK-inspired legal system and a need for a clean image internationally that helps maintain their status as hubs of global trade and finance.…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) Disputes Settlement Body (DSB) has approved establishing disputes settlement panels ruling on whether retaliatory duties imposed by the European Union (EU), on US knitwear exports, imposed in response to America’s controversial steel and aluminium tariffs, break WTO rules.…

ARTIFICIAL intelligence (AI) maybe the focus of hype in anti-fraud circles, but specialists insist that as AI systems are refined, they will create effective tools for financial institutions, governments and large companies.

Sundeep Tengur, London-based banking fraud and financial crime specialist within the global fraud and security practice of US-headquartered analytics software producers SAS Institute Inc, noted in a blog on the Fintech Extra site last April last year that the financial services industry has witnessed “considerable hype” around AI.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) food and drinks sector will have to prepare itself to find alternative materials to plastics, after the European Parliament and EU Council of Ministers struck a deal on approving European Commission proposals to ban single-use plastics. Under a new directive – now on track to receive formal approval by this summer (2019) – the EU will ban the use of such materials where alternatives are easily available and affordable.…

A TECHNOLOGY entwined with fossil fuels that, by the of 2018, boasted 43 large-scale facilities, (18 in commercial operation, five in construction and 20 in development), and which processed almost 40 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of CO2, is clearly more than a passing fad.…

EMBATTLED Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has launched appeal proceedings against a mammoth USD4.69 billion judgement as it fights on to salvage its reputation amid increasing claims its Baby Powder causes cancer.

Dubbed by one attorney as the biggest public health scandal after tobacco, the American personal care product giant is currently fending off almost 12,000 other lawsuits.…

A CANADIAN automotive industry association wants its federal government and the provincial administration of auto-making hub Ontario, to address the high cost of making vehicles in Canada, now the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has been negotiated.

Drafted on September 30 and signed on November 1, but still awaiting ratification, the Canadian auto sector has been assessing the likely impact of the USMCA, guessing that the agreement will come into force – maybe this summer.…

A CANADIAN automotive industry association wants its federal government and the provincial administration of auto-making hub Ontario, to address the high cost of making vehicles in Canada, now the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has been negotiated.

Drafted on September 30 and signed on November 1, but still awaiting ratification, the Canadian auto sector has been assessing the likely impact of the USMCA, guessing that the agreement will come into force – maybe this summer.…

AN INNOVATIVE support programme funded by the Mastercard Foundation is seeking to boost participation of indigenous Canadian youth in higher education, which has historically been low compared to the general population.

The foundation, which funds education and financial services for underprivileged communities worldwide, is hoping that systems established in Vancouver Island University, on Canada’s Pacific coast, and Yukon College, in the far north-west, will help guide the development of follow-up projects.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is considering introducing a Global Human Rights Sanction Regime to freeze assets and ban travel of individuals involved in rights abuses and corruption. Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok tweeted that “the EU decided to further develop a blueprint for an EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime” after a December 10 EU Council of Ministers (foreign affairs) meeting that discussed his motion on the issue. …

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) Disputes Settlement Body (DSB) has approved establishing disputes settlement panels ruling sought by the USA on whether retaliatory duties imposed by the European Union (EU), Canada, China, and Mexico on US confectionery and sweet bakery and associated ingredient exports, imposed in response to America’s controversial steel and aluminium tariffs, break WTO rules.…

THE AMERICAN legal cannabis sector is growing fast and bringing with it a complex and often confusing anti-money laundering compliance system, whose efficient operation is hindered by sometimes contradictory state and federal AML laws and regulations.

As of this November, writing, some 33 US states (including California, the most populous state – of 39.5 million out of the USA’s 325 million) have passed laws allowing for some degree of recreational or medical marijuana legalisation, with 10 states legalising possession and sale without medical justification – Alaska, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Michigan, Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine, plus the District of Columbia.…

CHINESE exports of knitted fabrics have been hit by major USA duties in the latest round of tit-for-tat tariffs imposed in the countries’ ongoing trade war. China exported USD470 million’s worth of knitted and crocheted fabrics to the USA in 2017, according to international trade data.…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) Disputes Settlement Body (DSB) has approved establishing disputes settlement panels ruling on whether retaliatory duties imposed by the European Union (EU), Canada, China, and Mexico on US drinks exports, imposed in response to America’s controversial steel and aluminium tariffs, break WTO rules.…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) Disputes Settlement Body (DSB) has approved establishing disputes settlement panels ruling on whether retaliatory duties imposed by the European Union (EU), Canada, China, and Mexico on US drinks exports, imposed in response to America’s controversial steel and aluminium tariffs, break WTO rules.…

A BEIJING-based security company has launched a new minimum impact scanner that could potentially be used by airports to protect landside architecture, without installing checkpoints that could restrict passenger flow. NUCTECH has released a TH1800 terahertz imaging system that can scan passengers for concealed weapons and explosives at a range of up to three metres.…

A BUDDY training system has been launched by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), enabling countries with significant regulatory capacity to help other states prepare for the upcoming CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) scheme. ICAO has been training national officials to advise on ensuring CORSIA’s legal requirements are written into local laws and also on building the emissions data monitoring, reporting and verification systems they need to measure their airlines’ carbon footprint.…

THE SECRETARY General of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has raised concerns that that its member states are implementing commitments made in the 2017 ICAO Global Aviation Security Plan (GASeP) too slowly. It has three main deadlines to boost security in airports and planes – 2020, 2023 and 2030.…

THE ASSISTANT president of a major security technology manufacturer has called at a global aviation conference fort the creation of global standards and rules on aviation security, policed by a single regulator. Daniel Goh, of China-based Nuctech, said a world certification system would reduce costs and the time to market for security innovations, enabling airports and airlines to better respond to developing risks.…

THE MIDDLE East regional director of the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) has called for a rethink of how the roll-out of the 2017 ICAO Global Aviation Security Plan (GASeP), as member states struggle to meet initial 2020 deadlines for security improvements.…

THE WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) Disputes Settlement Body (DSB) has agreed to establish disputes settlement panels to rule on whether retaliatory duties imposed by Canada, China, and Mexico on US meat exports, imposed in response to America’s controversial steel and aluminium tariffs, break WTO rules.…

MPs in Canada have returned to their House of Commons after the traditional summer break, when they are expected to vote on a draft law, the Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Act, that would ban the testing of cosmetics and their ingredients on annals in Canada and block the sale of personal care products that have been assessed using such techniques.…

FACED with ever tightening restrictions on production, marketing and distribution, the tobacco sector is keeping a close eye on how the legalisation in Canada of another largely smoked product – cannabis – rolls out. On October 17, 2018, the consumption and cultivation of cannabis in Canada will become legal, making it the first G7 country to legalise recreational cannabis nationwide.…

THE NEW US Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal scraps a provision within the old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that could have allowed member countries to demand a minimum import level of oil and oil products from each other.…

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 PRESIDENT and CEO of the Aluminum Association of Canada has said he hopes the agreement yesterday (September 30) of a new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will lead to a swift resolution of the dispute over 10% American tariffs imposed from June 1.…

AMERICAN poultry exporters will gain improved access to Canadian markets under the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which was announced late Sunday night. (September 30). The deal has created new duty-free quotas for US chicken and turkey producers, chipping away at the Canadian tariff protection which underpins its supply management system.…

COMMENTATORS may scoff at President Donald Trump’s ‘Art of the Deal’ negotiating pretentions, but it would be hard to argue that the American food sector was not a winner in the new USA-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) trade deal, stuck on September 30.…

THE PLASTICS industries of the United States, Canada and Mexico have something to cheer about – at last – from American trade policy – a north American trade deal that cuts regulatory barriers as well as tariffs. But as these three plastics markets – with a combined population of close to 500 million people – become more integrated, will this make them a tougher mark for European plastics exporters, who lack trade deals with the USA, especially.…

THE PERSONAL care product industries of the United States, Canada and Mexico have something to cheer about – at last – from American trade policy – a north American trade deal that will cut regulatory barriers as well as tariffs.

While ensuring most trade in personal care products will be exported duty free between the three signatory countries, a new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) – which was announced on September 30 – has a special personal care product annex.…

AMERICAN confectioners may suffer from the latest tit-for-tat tariff exchange between the USA and China, with retaliatory duties from China targeting US confectionery exports. Many of these duties are high – at 25% – imposed from September 24 on US-made sugar; cocoa powder; milk powder; honey; jams; and more; plus 20% duties on US-made confectionery without cocoa; chewing gum; some chocolates; and more.…

*EU member states have been given temporary permission to use so-called reverse charge mechanisms to collect VAT, involving shifting liability to pay from suppliers to customers, to fight fraud. The EU Council of Ministers has approved a directive allowing governments to reverse charge VAT on domestic supplies of goods and services above EUR17,500 per transaction until June 2022, when a country is losing 25% or more of VAT to carousel fraud.…

Japan’s traditional tobacco market continues to contract, with fewer people smoking and more smokers expressing a desire to stop, but sales in the heated tobacco sector remain positive and are growing.

Less than 30% of Japanese adults now smoke, according to statistics released by the health, labour and welfare ministry in early September, the first time the figure has fallen beneath that threshold since statistics were first collated in 1986.…

GREENLAND’S coalition government has lost its parliamentary majority after accepting that the Danish state could pay Danish Krone DKK700 million (USD109 million) to secure a 33% share of Greenlandic airport operator Kalaallit Airports A/S. Partii Naleraq, a pro-independence party, quit the ruling bloc because it would give Denmark, which controls Greenland defence and foreign policy, control over island transport policy.…

THE CANADIAN government has launched a contest encouraging innovators to develop and use biofuels to fly commercial airliners in Canada. The Natural Resources Canada ministry said four finalists (or fewer) will receive up to Canadian dollars CAD2 million (USD1.53 million) each over 18 months to scale up sustainable aviation fuel in Canada.…

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).…

WITH the old certainties that the world would move steadily towards ever freer trade now crumbling, the technical textile sector is closely monitoring shifts in trade policy by key governments and international organisations.

This industry depends on the free flow of materials and finished goods – and unlike many textile segments – still has a significant manufacturing presence in mature markets, making the impact of trade policy changes complex and hard to predict.…

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. …

AUSTRALIA and New Zealand might be saturated markets for the cosmetic and toiletry retailing industry but the consumers’ willingness to buy a variety of complex formulated and premium green products is continually expanding revenue. Millennial consumers especially are contributing to rising demand for independent and green brands.…

THE CANADIAN government is resisting Australian proposals to establish a disputes panel at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to judge whether discrimination against wines imported into Canada break global commerce agreements.

Despite Australia making its initial complaint to the WTO back in January, Canada claimed to a WTO disputes settlement body (DSB) meeting yesterday (Aug 27) that talks held since then between the two governments had been inconclusive and more time was needed for consultations.…

CONTRACTORS at Sint Maarten’s hurricane-battered airport are battling against the clock to complete major repairs by the start of the new tourist season in November.

Princess Juliana International Airport was one of several across the Caribbean pummeled by catastrophic Hurricane Irma in September 2017.…

CANADA’S government has been talking tough about protecting the country’s supply management system, as negotiators conduct what might be the final round of talks to renew the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), with the United States and Mexico.

Faced with objections from US President Donald Trump about sky-high Canadian tariffs on out-of-quota imports of some foods, including chicken and turkey, Ottawa has stressed that it wants to preserve its supply management of these poultry products within Canada.…

LARGE motorway service areas have become a recent feature of the Irish landscape, with plaza-type facilities incorporating fuel, food and grocery retailers under one roof.  However, the key players in the forecourt market, which is increasingly held by Irish firms Maxol and Applegreen, along with Canadian newcomer Couche-Tard – are now racing to reposition themselves given the Irish government plans by 2030 to end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles.…

PLAIN packaging rules, or approximations, are growing around the world, but the tobacco sector still argues that these controls are over-reaches that do not reduce smoking and instead encourage counterfeiting and smuggling.

Since January 2017, French smokers have been buying non-branded packs of cigarettes, seeing only a warning picture with text about how tobacco consumption affects people’s health, along with the name of the manufacturer in a simple typeface.…

UK and remaining European Union (EU) food producers are becoming increasingly anxious about the prospect of Britain crashing out of the EU single market without a replacement trade deal. It is a scenario that could leave British manufacturers facing crippling tariffs, border delays and reams of red tape.…

THE RUSSIAN and European Union (EU) meat industries are beginning to accept Russia’s ban on meat and livestock as a fact, with President Vladimir Putin extending the existing embargo on imports of meat and other food products to Russia from western countries and allies until December 31, 2019.…

UK food and drink manufacturers have warned that adopting new rules for designating the origin of products after Brexit could be catastrophic for their industry due to the globally integrated supply chains of many UK-made foods.

The UK Food & Drink Federation (FDF) and National Association of British and Irish Flour Millers (nabim) (NOTE TO EDITOR – GROUP USES LOWER CASE FOR ACRONYM) are among the bodies that have called for European Union (EU) rules of origin (ROO) to be maintained after Brexit to avoid punitive tariffs on UK foods made with ingredients imported from outside the EU and exported to other member states.…

THE NEWLY signed 11-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) could help Vietnam boost garment and textile exports to the lucrative Australian market significantly. But the Asian clothing makers may still face big challenges in taking market share in this mature market away from China, experts warn. …

THE AMERICAN tobacco industry has had to face up to retaliatory safeguard duties on imports into the European Union (EU) of USA-made tobacco and tobacco products, after US President Donald Trump imposed import duties on EU-made aluminium and steel imports.

The American duties came into force on June 1 and the EU reaction was swift.…

THE ALUMINUM Association of Canada is assessing the list of aluminium products that could be subject to retaliatory duties following the USA’s imposition of tariffs to identify lines that maybe re-exported multiple times during complex manufacturing processes. The industry group will request that these lines are reduced from the Canadian government safeguard duty list.…

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 QUÉBEC government has said it will push the American government to exempt its aluminium industry from the duties that it announced last Thursday would be levied on Canadian exports of the metal. Québec smelters make the vast majority of aluminium exported from Canada – much of it destined for the USA.…

THE DEPUTY Premier of Québec this morning committed her government to helping the Canadian province’s aluminium sector preserve its current level of employment in the face of the American tariffs that have hit the industry since last Thursday.

Speaking at an international aluminium summit in Montreal, Canada, Dominique Anglade said: “If there’s a risk of a reduction in production and not being able to export as much, we will be here to support the companies to make sure they maintain the jobs in the sector.”…

A GLOBAL meeting of senior aluminium executives worldwide has heard calls for a multilateral solution for the problem of overcapacity. The goal would be integrating China and its state-owned enterprises into the world trading system in a way that is acceptable to major market economy regulators.…

KNITWEAR is a key part of the growth in clothing manufacturing that is becoming an important part of the economies of several Caribbean countries, providing thousands of jobs and producing apparel worn not only in the region but in the USA, Canada, Europe and elsewhere.…

CANADA’S minister of international trade today told world aluminium sector leaders how the deplored the imposition of duties by the USA of Canadian exports of the metal, branding it “deeply troubling and unacceptable.” Arguing that the action would “do nothing to address the problem of global over-capacity”, François-Philippe Champagne said the tariffs would harm American and Canadian producers whose integrated aluminium industries “don’t sell to each other, they make things together.”…

THE BANGLADESH government could shut down more than 750 apparel factories if the units fail to complete safety improvement work by December (2018), the country’s junior labour and employment minister Mujibul Haque made the announcement.

“The factories that will not complete the work by December will be closed down in January,” he said in a statement issued by Bangladesh’s ministry of labour and employment.…

FRAUD poses a “tremendous threat to organisations of all types and sizes, in all parts of the world”, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) – which like many expert groups have sought to demonstrate the scale of the problem with statistics.…

CANADA’S Edmonton International Airport (EIA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with NextStep Renewable Energy Inc (NSRE) to cooperate in constructing a processing facility in the western province of Alberta. The project will utilise existing, proven, market ready technology to make “high quality drop-in jet fuel and diesel fuel”, said NSRE – diversifying Alberta’s fossil-fuel reliant energy sector.…

THE USA personal care product industry is under fire, with the European Union (EU) and Canada and Mexico announcing plans to impose protective duties on American exports following the decision by the Trump administration to levy tariffs on streel and aluminium exports on these key trading partners.…

FRAUD poses a “tremendous threat to organisations of all types and sizes, in all parts of the world”, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) – which like many expert groups have sought to demonstrate the scale of the problem with statistics.…

THE USA personal care product industry is under fire, with the European Union (EU) and Canada and Mexico announcing plans to impose protective duties on American exports following the decision by the Trump administration to levy tariffs on streel and aluminium exports on these key trading partners.…

THE AMERICAN confectionery sector is facing tough tariffs in its key export market of Canada after the US government decided to impose punitive duties on Canadian exports of steel and aluminium.

Ottawa announced its own retaliatory duties, which it intends to impose from July 1, having consulted on a shortlist of products, including potential 10% duties on US-made maple sugar and syrup, liquorice, toffee, chocolate, sugar confectionery, strawberry jam, nut purées and pastes.…

ACHIEVING regulatory convergence in the USD465 billion global cosmetics industry (Euromonitor 2017 figures) is an important long-term goal, industry experts agreed at European personal care product association Cosmetics Europe’s June 13-14 annual conference 2018 in Brussels. Europe is a key market for this industry – providing EUR77.6 billion’s worth of personal care product sales last year, and supporting more than two million jobs, said Cosmetics Europe president Loïc Armand, also president of L’Oréal France.…

THE AMERICAN and Canadian automotive industries will be counting the cost of new tariffs being imposed on steel and aluminum traded between their countries, following the decision yesterday by the Trump administration to start collecting 25% on Canadian steel and 10% on aluminum.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has moved ahead with its plans to impose temporary safeguard duties on imports into the EU of USA-made textiles and clothing, as a reaction to the levying of American import duties on aluminium and steel imports, announced on Thursday (May 31).…

OFFICIAL projections for Vietnam’s garment and textile exports in 2018 are bright but input imports for garment and textile production were more than half of the value of garment and textile exports in 2017, highlighting the need for increased domestic sourcing, industry analysts say.…

THE CANADIAN fur industry is adapting to changes in consumer demand by looking to new uses of pelts, including fur yarns that can be knitted or weaved, as well as the use of fur for trimming. The resulting product lines are intended for a broader target market, including clothing and accessories that will appeal to a new generation.…

THE PROSPECTS of a successful conclusion to the ongoing talks to renew the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have taken a heavy blow from today’s decision by President Donald Trump to impose duties on steel and aluminium products from Canada and Mexico at 25% and 10%, respectively.…

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.…

THE AMERICAN clothing sector has attacked the imposition of tariffs by the US government on European Union (EU), Mexican and Canadian steel and aluminium exports, which has prompted the EU to move ahead with imposing retaliatory duties on USA-made clothing.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has moved ahead with its plans to impose temporary safeguard duties on imports into the EU of USA-made clothes, as a reaction to the levying of American import duties on aluminium and steel imports, announced yesterday (May 31).…

THE USA food industry is under fire with the European Union (EU), Canada and Mexico all announcing plans to impose protective duties on American exports following today’s decision by the Trump administration to levy tariffs on streel and aluminium exports from these three key trading partners.…

TECHNICAL textile markets can be driven and shaped by a range of forces – from natural disasters, to technological change, economic developments and political movements. In the case of the USA, at present, the technical textile market and industry is being moved by all these influences at the same time.…

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.…

THE AIR traffic control sector could become a casualty of a new trade war brewing between the USA and China, unless the two governments strike a deal rather than impose tit-for-tat duties.

Upset about alleged thefts of American intellectual property by Chinese industrialists, the USA has proposed imposing 25% duties on a wide-range of China-made manufactured goods.…

After the USA, UK, Australia and others, Canada could become latest country to introduce deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs). The government has proposed legislation to create a scheme, to be known as the Remediation Agreement Regime (RAR), which would involve voluntary agreements between prosecutors and corporations accused of committing a criminal offence. …

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.…

THE UKRAINE government is to allocate up to USD300 million towards the development of the domestic textile industry in its country over the next two years, according to officials.

A government spokesman for the ministry of economic development and trade told WTiN.com…

Are students and academics free to speak their mind on university and college campuses in north America? And how should higher education institutions respond when one person’s free speech silences or harms another? These issues have been highlighted at the fourth annual Worldviews Lecture at the University of Toronto, at which University World News was a media sponsor.…

THE TEXTILE sector looks likely to become a major casualty of a new trade war brewing between the USA and China, unless the two governments step back from the brink and strike a deal rather than impose tit-for-tat duties.

Upset about alleged thefts of American intellectual property by Chinese industrialists, the USA has proposed imposing 25% duties on a wide-range of China-made manufactured goods.…

THE INTERNATIONAL knitwear sector has found itself at the centre of the ongoing turmoil in global trade relations, with major jurisdictions considering imposing tariffs on knitted products, inputs and related machinery.

One concern focuses on how the USA has proposed imposing 25% duties on a wide-range of China-made manufactured goods over alleged thefts of American intellectual property by Chinese industrialists.…

The United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) has raised significant concerns about the risk of 25% duties being imposed on imports into China of American-produced cotton, as the latest trade row between Washington and Beijing ramps up.

Stung by the announcement of the USA’s planned imposition of 25% duties on a wide-range of Chinese manufactured goods (among them clothing-making machinery, such as knitting machines and finishing equipment), over allegations of intellectual property theft, China has announced possible retaliatory duties.…

Word from US President Donald Trump that he may reverse a longstanding position and explore the possibility that the country may join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) after all, has left the fashion industry – along with much of the American business community – somewhat sceptical, while being supportive.…

THE AIR traffic control sector could become a casualty of a new trade war brewing between the USA and China, unless the two governments strike a deal rather than impose tit-for-tat duties.

Upset about alleged thefts of American intellectual property by Chinese industrialists, the USA has proposed imposing 25% duties on a wide-range of China-made manufactured goods.…

AIR Canada has joined with other civil aviation organisations and companies, plus academics, to stage a biofuel blend demonstration project at Toronto’s Lester B Pearson International Airport. The Canadian carrier claims it avoided emitting 160 tonnes of carbon on 22 domestic flights during April 22’s international Earth Day through introducing 230,000 litres of sustainable biofuel blended within the airport’s multi-user fuel supply system.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has released a draft list of products that could be subject to retaliatory European Union (EU) safeguard duties, as a response to the erection of American import duties on aluminium and steel imports.

These include a wide range of fabric, yarn and clothing products.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) has warned that is prepared to impose temporary safeguard duties on imports into the EU of USA-made trucks, as it launched its reaction to the erection of American import duties on aluminium and steel imports.

The EU executive, the European Commission, has released a draft list of products which may in future attract retaliatory duties, and this includes trucks weighing under five tonnes, above and below 2,500cc engine capacity, which are diesel and semi-diesel.…

International activity to understand and potentially extract natural gas from methane hydrates has intensified since 2010 with the continuation and launch of new research and development (R&D) projects and field production tests offshore and onshore, as shown in a new overview by Carolyn D Ruppel, chief of the gas hydrates project at the United States Geological Survey (USGS).(1)…

THE GROWTH in global renewable energy and electric car markets is already changing the face of the industrial minerals sector and it will continue to shape demand for years to come, a senior Toronto-based industry conference has been told.

Vancouver-based Gianni Kovacevic, CEO of CopperBank Resources, told this year’s Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention that mineral resource companies needed to analyse the likely impact of climate change, and how it feeds into energy and transport infrastructure spending and related environmental regulation.…

INVESTORS at this year’s Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention have been voicing concerns that the supply of key minerals used to make batteries may not be able to keep pace with demand.

At an investors forum dealing with energy materials and technologies, a series of graphite, cobalt and manganese miners highlighted the increasing demand for the minerals, and the lack of sufficient supplies to meet future expectations.…

WHILE global politics, whether through the protectionism of Donald Trump, or the uncertainty of Brexit, have the potential to chill the global minerals industry, a recent major conference in Canada showed that market demand can often outweigh concerns about regulation.

A noticeably more positive outlook was evident this year, as the global mining community gathered in Toronto for the 2018 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention, trade show and investors exchange.…

Charles de Lusignan, communications manager for European iron and steel association Eurofer noted the comments made by USTR Mr Lighthizer at the US Senate: “We will only believe it when we see it on a paper signed, but it goes beyond rumour, it is almost fact, it would appear that it will be an instant temporary exclusion in the same vein as applied to Mexico and Canada.”…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has warned that is prepared to impose temporary safeguard duties on imports into the EU of USA-made glass and ceramics, as it launched its reaction to new American import duties on aluminium and steel imports.

The Commission, has released a draft list of products which may in future attract retaliatory safeguard duties.…

THE PROSPECT of a grand bargain between the European Union (EU), the USA and Japan, involving action to reduce steel and aluminium overproduction, but abiding by global trading laws, has been raised.

An unusual Brussels meeting on Saturday (March 10) between EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Japan’s minister for economy and industry, Hiroshige Seko, debated such a plan, and agreed to continue discussions.…

WHILE United States President Donald Trump’s imposition of import tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium on March 8 included a waiver for Canadian and Mexican exporters, his administration continues to stress this relief could be temporary.

In the March 8 presidential proclamation imposing the steel duties, Trump stressed “ongoing discussions with these countries” alongside his decision “to exempt steel articles imports from these countries from the tariff, at least at this time”. …

PRESIDENT Donald Trump today (March 5) signalled to Canada and Mexico that he would use his planned imposition of import tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium as a bargaining chip to wring concessions in the ongoing North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiation.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has warned that is prepared to impose temporary safeguard duties on imports into the EU of USA-made steel and aluminium, as it launched its reaction to new American import duties on aluminium and steel imports.

The Commission, has released a draft list of products which may in future attract retaliatory duties, and this includes a wide range of aluminium and steel products: bars, rods, angles, plate, wire, and more.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has released a draft list of products that could be subject to retaliatory European Union (EU) safeguard duties, as a response to the erection of American import duties on aluminium and steel imports.

These include food products – sweetcorn, maize, kidney beans, rice (milled, semi-milled and broken), peanut butter, cranberries (and cranberry juice), and orange juice.…

REPRESENTATIVES of the USA fashion and apparel industries, along with most of the country’s business community and Congressional leadership, are voicing concern about President Donald Trump’s March 1 announcement that he intends to impose additional tariffs on all imports of steel and aluminium.…

Representatives of the USA beef industry are voicing consternation over the Chinese government’s announcement that the country is preparing retaliatory sanctions against beef exports as part of its escalating trade war with the United States.

Kent Bacus, director of international trade and market access for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (USA), followed up the April 4 Chinese announcement of a potential 25% tariff on USA beef exports with an immediate statement of concern.…

Japan is now the United States’ leading export market for beef, in value and volume, and largest market for pork exports in value, according to 2017 trade data released by the US department of agriculture (USDA).

In the past calendar year, Japan imported 307,559 metric tonnes of US beef, an increase of 19% year-on-year, worth USD1.89 billion, which marks a 25% increase in value year-on-year from 2016.…

AMERICAN pigmeat exporters have since yesterday (April 2) had to pay additional retaliatory 25% duties on products sold to mainland China responding to the USA’s imposition of 25% and 10% duties on imported steel and aluminium.

China’s ministry of commerce has announced that following a brief round of public consultation, these duties would be collected with immediate effect.…

THE UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is to regain GBP4.4 million (USD6.2 million) in a corruption case where Canada’s Griffiths Energy bribed Chadian diplomats in the United States and Canada with discounted shares deals and “consultancy fees”.

Griffiths used a front company ‘Chad Oil’ set up in September 2009, just five days before agreements were signed, the SFO said.…

A KEY Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) conference on fighting graft has heard how auditors can play a key role in promoting honesty in local government.

Speaking to Accounting & Business at the 2018 OECD Anti-Corruption & Integrity Forum, in Paris, on March 27, Richard Chambers, President and CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), said: “There are inherent risks involving local government where you often have less oversight and where you have officials or individuals who have motives to benefit from positions of authority.”…

INDIA’S 12 newly sanctioned nuclear reactors with 9,000-megawatt (MW) capacity may use imported fuel, but most of the equipment will be made in India, government officials have told Fuel Cycle Week.

“We will see what is the maximum [amount of fuel] we can get from within the country and then what will be the external input of fuel,” Malur Ramaswamy Srinivasan, member of India’s Atomic Energy Commission, told Fuel Cycle Week.…

IF there is one issue that is a key focus of the north American nonwovens sector this year, it has to be the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Tri-lateral talks have now reached their eighth round, with an objective of achieving a new deal by this summer, although observers believe this timescale might slip.…

INDUSTRIAL minerals companies need to better manage their communications in an increasingly interconnected world, the CEO of Brazil-based Nexa Resources S.A. told this year’s Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention.

In comments echoed by Canadian colleagues, Tito Martins, said he felt that the industry must change the way it engages with an expanding number of potential partners, from local communities and environmentalists, as well as regulators and financiers.…

MAJOR shifts in the power of exporting countries within the meat and livestock sector in the past decade have been identified in new statistical analysis released by the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The global body has noted how India between 2006 and 2016 became a bovine meat export power house (notably in buffalo meat) with overseas sales rising from 79,400 tonnes (1.9% of world exports) to 1.2 million tonnes (18.7%) and the world’s largest exporter to boot.…

THE UK’S Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) has said if Taiwan lifts its current ban on British pork exports this year, it hopes to see the industry sell about USD15 million’s worth of the meat to the island in the first full year.…

ONLINE-savvy cosmetics consumers are becoming more adventurous – gone are the days that they would only trust the quality of traditional brands bought sight unseen on the web. Instead, consumers are investigating product ingredients carefully, as well as online reviews, and armed with such information, are often choosing to buy emerging, smaller brands over those established, known ones.…

In nearly three decades of public service in politics and accounting, Bermuda’s Patricia Gordon-Pamplin, FCCA, has earned a reputation as a warrior for fairness and good governance.

“I got actively involved in politics to fight a cause,” she says. “My personal approach to life is if you have the ability to do something you have the responsibility to do it.…

EXPANSION within the paint and coatings industry and market in the United States managed to outpace the US economy in 2017, growing at about 3% in volume (regarding production) and over 3.3% in value (sales), ahead of the most recently recorded GDP growth rate of 2.6% as of Q4 of 2017.…

THE AUTOMOTIVE sector is a hotbed of growth for industrial performance materials like nonwovens. And the global market for such materials have the potential to cross the EUR2 billion mark soon, according to Germany-based Freudenberg Performance Materials Holding SE & Co KG.…

Australia has today (January 16) requested formal talks with Canada at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), where it will pressure the Canadian government to liberalise wine trading restrictions in four of Canada’ provinces. These are British Columbia (BC), Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.…

TARGETING online fraud as businesses, government and consumers increasingly conduct business and transactions via the Internet is an increasing priority for anti-fraud technology providers.

Real-time identification of potential frauds is a key focus of new systems developed and released in the past year.…

MORE airports will be able to welcome the largest civilian airliners from 2020, a senior Boeing manager told an International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) conference this week (Dec 12), as the manufacturer is confident it will roll out large planes with folding wing-tips by that year.…

THE STRATEGY and business development director of global aviation and transport systems giant Thales predicts that a global set of comprehensive rules controlling unmanned aircraft could be in place by 2019. That would be the year of the next triennial assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), and allow enough time for expertise to be developed in countries such as the USA, Singapore, Australia, and the UK, that are leading on drone regulation.…

THE HEAD of groundbreaking satellite navigation company Aireon has told Jane’s Airport Review that his company’s network will not replace ground-based air navigation services, rather compliment them and supply healthy excess capacity that will boost reliability. Don Thoma, president and CEO of Aireon, Virginia, USA-based space-based automatic dependent surveillance broadcast network system operator, said: “It’s going to be all of the above.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is to discuss enriching the weather forecasts supplied to airlines, airports and air traffic controllers through the World Area Forecast System (WAFS), so that pilots have much more detailed data available to avoid turbulence and tap stronger tail winds.…

THE PRESIDENT of key USA aviation standards institution the RTCA has told an international ATM conference that growth in drone traffic means the industry must develops technical guidance much faster than in the past.

Speaking today (Monday) at the launch of this week’s GANIS (Global Air Navigation Industry Symposium) at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) headquarters in Montréal, Canada, Margaret Jenny warned that the old slow and steady way of developing standards for manned aviation was now out of date.…

INTERNATIONAL specialists in exchanging aviation systems data are highlighting for the need for developing a comprehensive global guideline for rolling out SWIM (system wide information management), an international ATC conference has been told. Speaking to this week’s (December 11-15) GANIS (Global Air Navigation Industry Symposium) at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) headquarters in Montréal, Canada, Alexander Pufahl, ICAO’s information management technical officer, declared: “It has to be a global system.…

China appears to be stepping up a gear regarding its fight against money laundering, judging by the propaganda campaign ongoing across the country this winter. Uniformed staff of the Postal Savings Bank of China have, for instance, been out on the streets of the city of Jian in Jiangxi Province, handing out leaflets to pedestrians warning about the dangers of money laundering.…

AS much as USD200 million is to be invested by the Russian government in the local manufacture of raw materials used by the domestic textile industry over the next two years (2018-19).

Funds will be allocated to boost production of cotton, flax and wool in specific areas across the country, thus allowing for the reduction of imports of such products by between 25% and 30% as early as next year, said Russia’s minister of industry and trade, Denis Manturov.…

NEW Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) signal a promising outlook for the Vietnamese textile industry with tariff concessions providing the biggest stimulus to figures, according to the country’s trade officials.

Attendees at the 17^th Vietnam International Textile & Garment Industry Exhibition, held late last month (November 22-25th) in Ho Chi Minh City, heard the deals will impact significantly on the national textile sector.…

Two new cosmetics houses which each claim to be ‘disrupting’ the industry in their approach as start-ups follow diametrically opposed business models with both claiming their version is the key to their success.

While one, Deciem, based in Toronto, Canada, keeps all stages of development and production in-house, Be For Beauty, from Nottingham, UK, claims business is better when outsourcing key elements such as manufacturing to specialists in the field.…

MANY thousands of fossil fuel sector employees around the world are being offered free training programmes to work in the renewable energy sector, as this segment grows, and its carbon-heavy counterparts are phased out.

Coal miners and workers from the oil and gas industry, both of which have seen recent downturns and face an uncertain future due to climate change concerns and market pressures, are increasingly open to such re-skilling, some provided by companies in the renewables industry keen to sign up talented workers who understand energy, as green power expands.…

AIRPORTS Council International (ACI) is to launch in the New Year a pilot programme designed to boost environmental good practice in airport management. The organisation’s director general Angela Gittens told a seminar on green airports, at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), in Montréal, Canada, that the roll out would begin at Mariscal Sucre International Airport, Quito, Ecuador.…

THE RUSSIAN Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) may impose a ban on all imports of beef and pork from Brazil, the largest meat importer to Russia, in coming days over concerns about the detection of a forbidden hormone, government officials have warned.…

Prospects for trade deals that have underpinned the growth in American clothing and textile imports and exports appear increasingly precarious as the administration of President Donald Trump passes the 300-day mark, participants at a clothing industry conference heard this week.

Concern is especially severe regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), as indicated by ‘SaveNAFTA’ being the password to access a mobile app provided to attendees at the 29^th annual Apparel Importers Trade & Transportation Conference held by the American Import Shippers Association (AISA) and the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) on November 15, in New York City.…

WHILE the Vatican City State and Holy See’s acceptance that their financial institutions could be exploited by money launderers is far more realistic than the denials of 10 years ago, a much-anticipated Italian court ruling has shown much work is needed to clear dirty money from these hallowed accounts.…

Of course, it is not doing this by increasing policing and the number of suspicious transaction reports, but by liberalising what is now a criminal activity, the growing, processing, sale and consumption of cannabis for recreation.

By doing so, it plans to be the first G20 country to legalise and regulate the recreational use of cannabis nationwide by July 2018.…

THE RUSSIAN government has expanded the range of meat and livestock imports that it is blocking from the USA and the European Union (EU) and other associated countries who have been imposing sanctions on Moscow over its annexation of the Crimea and support for Ukraine separatists.…

METAL ore exploration and production companies are warning Tanzania faces a sharp decline in metal ore output as the government continues to implement stringent laws to regulate the sector.

Tensions between the state and foreign-owned companies have been rising as the government of President John Pombe Magufuli has increased surveillance on the output of mines in the country, blocking exports.…

WITH the introduction of Bill C-45 into the Canadian House of Commons earlier this year, and its securing a second reading vote in June (see https://openparliament.ca/bills/42-1/C-45/), Canada’s government has moved closer to removing millions of dollars of dirty money from its economy.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) planned trade deal with Japan – its sixth most important trading partner – struck in principle at the July 6 EU-Japan Summit in Brussels and set to be operational in 2019, will benefit the EU dairy industry greatly, experts say.…

OFFSHORE exploration is going through difficult times, but the Barque prospect in New Zealand is being rated as one of the most promising upcoming exploration oil wells in the world. If successful the project, located offshore from South Canterbury and North Otago in the south-east of South Island, would be the most significant discovery in New Zealand since the giant Maui field in the Tasman Sea in the 1960s.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU)-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA), on which negotiations concluded December 2, 2015, will open up “huge business opportunities” for Vietnamese garment companies, business experts agreed last month (September). They were speaking at an event jointly organised by EU business federation BusinessEurope, EuroCham [European Chamber of Commerce] Vietnam and the EU-Vietnam Business Network.…

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). …

SOUTH AFRICA MULLS REMOVING OVERSEAS WORK TAX EXEMPTION

The South African National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) have proposed a 2017 Draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill that would remove a tax exemption for South African residents working overseas for more than 183 days (at least 60 days continuously).…

A new industry roadmap to advance the development of power-to-gas in Europe is just one reason advocates of hydrogen production and storage are optimistic about the next decade. The laying of foundations for larger-scale developments of power-to-gas (P2G) in Europe have gathered momentum throughout 2017, with the European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) and the Joint Programme on Energy Storage under the European Energy Research Alliance (EERA) laying plans.…

Upgrades and advancements in airport winter management technologies and techniques, especially regarding wet snow, were highlighted at this year’s SWIFT Airfield Operations Conference & Equipment Expo, which was staged at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, for the first time.

The largest city in Atlantic Canada has a reputation for receiving large doses of such snow at Halifax Stanfield International Airport, with high humidity from the Atlantic Ocean combining with the intense cold of eastern Canadian winters.…

A FEDERAL US government review has been ordered into the potential link between talc and ovarian cancer following “the continuing influx of adverse event reports”, as the minerals and cosmetics sector considers implications of a high-profile ruling over the issue. A jury in the Los Angeles Superior Court ordered personal care product manufacturers Johnson & Johnson to pay USD417 million to Eva Echeverria who claimed she developed the disease after using their talc-based products for feminine hygiene purposes.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU)-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (FTA), on which negotiations concluded December 2, 2015, will open up “huge business opportunities” for Vietnamese garment companies, business experts agreed earlier this month at an event jointly organised by EU business federation BusinessEurope, EuroCham [European Chamber of Commerce] Vietnam and the EU-Vietnam Business Network.…

JAPAN’S paint and coatings sector is putting on a positive face and playing up overseas expansion efforts, as well as its traditional strength in innovation, but analysts are concerned about the longer-term outlook for domestic companies.

Sales of paint in Japan came to Japanese Yen JPY 675 billion (USD6.10 billion) in 2016, a marginal increase of around 1% on the previous year’s figure, according to the Japan Paint Manufacturers Association.…

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. …

RUSSIA plans to become one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of tin in the coming years, expected to take place through the investment of up to USD250 million developing some of the country’s largest tin fields.

According to officials at Russia’s energy ministry, some of these funds will be provided directly by the state, with the remainder allocated by private investors, who will be responsible for the implementation of the project.…

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has decided to extend for 18 months the existing bans on imports of food and agricultural products to Russia from the European Union (EU), according to a Kremlin spokesperson. Putin has ordered that the ban will now last until December 31, 2018.…

Nearly two years since Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) in September 2015 announced plans to build a fourth runway and a new air control centre by 2017 and inaugurate both in 2018, these projects are still not being materialized.

On January 17, the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress Standing Committee deputy director Wu Jianguo, for his part, revealed that the fourth runway is “brewing”, without however mentioning any timeline.…

WITHOUT European Union (EU) supervision, the fight against fraud, in the UK at least, will become more difficult after ‘Brexit’, European fraud experts claim.

“London is already known to be a major money laundering centre, so that can only get worse once the EU ‘strings’ have been severed,” predicted Hugh Penri-Williams, fraud consultant and vice president of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) France.…

THE RUSSIAN Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) may impose a ban on all imports of beef and pork from Brazil, the largest meat importer to Russia, in coming days over concerns about the detection of a forbidden hormone, government officials have warned.…

AIRPORTS are moving towards a collaborative total airport management model, including commercial, service and regulatory partners, although there are no plans to draft a formal global blueprint on how to achieve this.

An International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) official confirmed that this would not happen at a session of ICAO’s GANIS (Global Air Navigation Industry Symposium) in Montréal, Canada, this week (Dec 13), saying that airports were too diverse to make such a standard practical.…

COLOMBIA’S oil and gas sector is stabilising after a crisis provoked by the plunge in global oil prices, but efforts to recover growth are being hampered by guerrilla attacks, corruption scandals and a popular backlash against the industry.

The crash in oil prices that began in 2014 has left the oil industry in Colombia in a precarious position, with only an estimated five years of commercially reliable reserves remaining, according to government calculations.…

International politics and trade relations are set to influence the medium-term future of the US paint and coatings industry, analysts have predicted, highlighting a generally positive outlook with certain caveats.

USA PAINT AND COATINGS SECTOR EXPECTED TO GROW, IF TRUMP DOES NOT TORPEDO TRADE POLICY

The state of the economy and its knock-on effect to the construction and manufacturing sectors (the World Bank is forecasting 2.2% GDP growth for the USA in 2017), is encouraging for paint and coatings producers.…

ANXIETY has greeted the passage and signing of three sets of laws to regulate the mining sector in Tanzania, even though it could reverse a ban on copper and gold exports imposed in March.

The Natural Wealth and Resources Contracts (Review and re-negotiation of unconscionable terms) Act 2017, The Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, No 7 of 2017 and The Natural Wealth and Resources (Permanent Sovereignty) Act 2017 were approved by parliamentarians on July 3

Tanzanian President John Magufuli signed the new bills into law on July 5, despite opposition from key industry players.…

Donald Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the 2015 Paris Climate Treaty will not halt moves to cut fossil fuels or reduce decarbonisation requirements on the non-energy minerals sector and other industries, say experts.

Trump called for a new “fair” deal that would not disadvantage US businesses and workers and claimed that China and India had “no meaningful obligations” placed on them by the agreement.…

India’s Ready Roti, makers of Harvest Gold bread, is planning a major expansion with new products following a 65% stake sale to Mexico’s Grupo Bimbo. Rajan Makani, deputy general manager, brands, for Ready Roti in New Delhi told just-food that the deal “will be beneficial for Indian consumers”, with the tie up sparking the launch of “many new products”. …

TECHNICAL discussions between the European Union (EU) and Canada over cheese quotas are threatening to disrupt the planned operational launch of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) that was supposed to have been agreed in detail in February.

CETA is scheduled to come into force on July 1, but talks are ongoing about the administrative arrangements establishing how Canada will open up its cheese markets.…

Singapore will review its 80 bilateral agreements on avoiding double taxation to ensure they do not help companies avoid paying tax where relevant business activity took place. This follows its signing the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD)-sponsored Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.…

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.…

Ethiopia airlines, the largest cargo carrier in Africa, is close to completing its cargo terminal expansion as part of a major infrastructure upgrade at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport, serving the Ethiopian capital.

Ethiopian Airlines, with its fleet of two Boeing 757Fs and six Boeing 777Fs, requested the new facility to accommodate increased volume growth and transit traffic.…

THE NETHERLANDS-based Hendrix Genetics plans to build a complex producing hatching eggs for turkey chicks in Russia this year, according to the Russian ministry of agriculture.

Ina report, it has said the new complex will be able to produce 6.5 million hatching eggs per year, and the potential to increase volumes in future.…

OVER a sunny weekend in May 2017, 74,000 people headed to Barcelona’s Palau Sant Jordi, a futuristic events space built for the city’s 1992 Olympic Games, and many were going to learn about Spain’s organic and natural cosmetics products. On other occasions, these impressive numbers would be expected for the international pop stars who regularly perform here.…

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.…

GOVERNMENTS in east Africa may have been passing legislation and regulation to control the tobacco sector, but these laws’ effectiveness is being weakened by lax implementation.

Kenya has been leading the local pack with controls, in 2007 enacted its first Tobacco Control Act, and in 2014 ratifying the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC).…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) pig meat producers were big winners in boosting export sales over between last March (2016) and February (2017), according to the European Commission, with receipts rising by more than 33% compared to the same period last year. The EU pigmeat sector earned EUR5.4 billion in export earnings from March 2016 to February 2017, EUR1.35 billion more than the same period in the previous year, leading the United States and Canada as the second and third most important pigmeat exporters, reported EU statistical agency Eurostat.…

Italy’s ministry of agriculture, food and forestry has confirmed to just-food that it has notified the European Commission of a national decree proposal that would make origin labelling mandatory for all foods containing durum wheat, including dry pasta. The measure would be applicable to foods sold in Italy only, with labels indicating where the wheat was cultivated and milled, protecting Italian wheat producers, with the idea being supported by Italy’s farmers’ association Coldiretti.…

THE NEW Global Aviation Security Plan (GASeP) needs to be flexible and strategic, avoiding mandating detailed specific solutions that risk becoming outdated, the director general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said. Commenting on the development of this plan by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in an exclusive interview with Jane’s Airport Review, IATA’s Alexandre de Juniac said We would like to see a plan that has clear strategic goals, backed up by ambitious and measurable targets.…

Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia have announced that they will be exploring a commercially viable investment project to create an aviation biofuel supply, after 30 organisations expressed interest in such an initiative. The goal would be generating sustainable local production of such fuels.…

Political uncertainty over US trade deals sparked by the ascension of President Donald Trump to power should be eased to avoid stifling innovation in the country’s technical textiles industry which could see it marginalised on the world stage, insiders have warned.…

Success and sustainability appear to be the buzzwords of a US nonwovens industry that is moving forward confidently, leading the north American sector, which it dominates in sales and production.

Having recovered from a slight downward turn in capacity following the recession, the US sector has returned to healthy growth and an improving economic outlook, coupled with ever-increasing applications for engineered fabric products.…

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.…

REMAINING contrasts between the anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) laws of European Union (EU) member states hinder the work of their financial intelligence units (FIUs), the European Parliament’s committee of inquiry into money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion (PANA) heard yesterday (April 27) in Brussels.…

THE DIAMOND trade is still one of money launderers’ best friends due the precious stone’s high value to mass ratio, akin to the highest value banknotes that can be obtained. Indeed, it is maybe harder to trace diamonds than numbered banknotes, there is no reliable means by which the point of origin of a particular diamond can be ascertained just by examining it.…

Speaking to University World News, Mr Jimale recalled how he graduated from SNU faculty of veterinary in 1983, then becoming a lecturer in the same department, in the years before the 1991 collapse of the Somali government in the midst of civil war.…

Cambodia’s garment industry is in a curious situation, with statistics indicating that export earnings from this key Asian fabric and yarn buyer are on the rise, despite evidence that overseas sales should actually be falling. According to one industry insider, this makes it difficult to project how the Cambodian clothing sector will perform in 2017 and hence how much it will spend on supplies.…

Professor Mohamed Ahmed Jimale, Rector of the Somali National University (SNU), hopes his work will enable poorer Somalis to attain the kind of education that launched him on his career.

Speaking to University World News, Mr Jimale recalled how he graduated from SNU faculty of veterinary in 1983, then becoming a lecturer in the same department, in the years before the 1991 collapse of the Somali government in the midst of civil war.…

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 MARKET for nonwovens for the automotive industry is forecast to continue to grow with China being the driving force, but clever producers will diversify their product lines to include filters, experts at a Nonwovens for High-performance Applications conference in Prague, have heard.…

A MALAYSIAN government scheme encouraging foreign investors to buy property in Malaysia may have led to thousands of Bangladeshis breaching their country’s strict capital control restrictions.

A total of 3,493 Bangladeshis has participated in the Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) long-term residency programme since 2003, according to statistics updated in December (2016) – 10.7% of all investors taking part worldwide.…

AN APPRECIATION of interior design along with environmental concerns appear to be driving innovation when it comes to the colouring of nonwovens.

Often used in functional or ‘behind the scenes’ capacities in industrial applications, colour is not always top of the list when consideration is given to nonwovens finishing processes.…

AN INCREASE in numbers of people attending this year’s annual Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) international convention has signalled a return of confidence to the global mineral exploration and mining industry.

After three consecutive years of steadily declining attendance, PDAC organisers were pleased to announce that more than 24,000 people from over 120 countries took part in this year’s edition, which ran from March 5-8 in downtown Toronto.…

Brazilian overseas beef meat sales are set to grow in 2017, according to projections from the Associação Brasileira das Indústrias Exportadoras de Carne (ABIEC). “Our export forecasts for 2017 are USD5.5 to USD6 billion, said Antônio Jorge Camardelli, the ABIEC president.…

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.…

THE CANADIAN government has introduced temporary drone controls, banning operators from flying model aircraft and recreational drones weighing between 250g and 35kg from within 9 kilometres of the centre of any airport, heliport, aerodrome or water aerodrome. Operators also cannot fly such drones higher than 90 metres; at night; and within 75 metres of buildings, vehicles or people, and must mark their drone with contact information.…

SOUTH African fragrance sales are growing swiftly. Research released by Euromonitor International in April 2016 entitled ‘Fragrances in South Africa’ showed a market more than doubling from South African rand ZAR5.288 billion (USD423 million) in 2010 to ZAR11.505 billion (USD923.4 million) in 2015.…

THE ASEAN Audit Regulators Group (AARG) and the big-four audit firms have agreed a measurable goal to improve audit quality within south-east Asia. The project involves Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand; along with Malaysia’s Audit Oversight Board, Indonesia’s Finance Professions Supervisory Centre, Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission.…

EUROPEAN food and drink exporters will be preparing to boost exports through the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the European Union (EU) and Canada (CETA), which has been provisionally approved by the European Parliament.

The deal, whose duty reduction and quota expansion elements could apply from April (2017) will phase out nearly 99% of tariffs on all food and drink traded between the EU and Canada over the next seven years.…

The technology is known as ‘dynamic inductive charging’ and has been trialled in a range of scenarios across different continents. And one system, in South Korea, is now in operation on a live transport route, on roads in the towns of Gumi, in the country’s southeast, and Sejong, in central South Korea.…

As the drive to encourage electric vehicle (EV) ownership gathers momentum, so does the desire to install automated recharging systems, such as devices built into roads that top up batteries as autos motor on.

The technology is known as ‘dynamic inductive charging’ and has been trialled in a range of scenarios across different continents.…

THE AUTOMOTIVE industries of the European Union (EU) and Canada are both optimistic that they will export more vehicles as a result of the newly approved Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the two jurisdictions. The European Parliament gave CETA its support last Wednesday (February 15), meaning it will come into force provisionally once the Canadian House of Commons does the same (considered a formality).…

Enhancing the percentage of oil recovered from existing assets is a no-brainer for countries that want to maximise economic gains from their oil reserves.

In an era of apparently ‘lower for longer’ oil prices, it is high up the agenda for oil companies and governments.…

THE EUROPEAN and Canadian minerals industries have broadly welcomed the approval by the European Parliament of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the European Union (EU) and Canada (CETA), saying it would increase exports in an already flourishing trade.…

Fresh from their disappointment in seeing the tariff reductions contained in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) go down to official defeat with a January 23 executive action by President Donald Trump, the US apparel and footwear sector is bracing itself for even greater cost increases to come.…

EUROPEAN drinks industry associations have said they are now preparing to exploit the export market benefits that flow from yesterday’s (Feb 15) approval by the European Parliament of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the European Union (EU) and Canada (CETA).…

The European Parliament today (Feb 15) authorised a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union (EU) and Canada (CETA), a deal that has been long anticipated by the EU drinks export sector.

The deal, which could now apply provisionally from as early as April 2017 will scrap nearly 99% of tariffs on all goods traded between the EU and Canada.…

EUROPEAN drinks industry associations have said they are now preparing to exploit the export market benefits that flow from yesterday’s (Feb 15) approval by the European Parliament of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the European Union (EU) and Canada (CETA).…

One month after staunch free-trade opponent Donald Trump became US President there are many policy decisions still to be confirmed and clarified to get a full idea of the impact his presidency will have on the trade in technical textiles. His accession comes during an unstable time for international trade – it is arguably even less clear how the UK’s planned exit from the EU will work out for the sector.…

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.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) exports of cheese to Canada will increase substantially, by some 128%, as a result of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union (EU) and Canada, which the European Parliament approved provisionally on February 15, say EU dairy associations.…

THE EUROPEAN and Canadian cosmetic industries have welcomed the European Parliament’s approval [February 15] of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union (EU) and Canada (CETA), with both sides anticipating greatly increased exports.

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.…

THE TRADE in confectionery products between the European Union (EU) and Canada is likely to increase now the European Parliament has approved the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

The vote – on February 15 (2017) – follows years of detailed negotiations and means that large sections of this trade deal can now come into force, maybe as early as April, as long as Canada stages its own vote in time.…

As US President Donald Trump on January 23 pulled America out from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with an executive order, he signalled he will instead ask Asian TPP members for bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs). This includes countries such as Vietnam that rely on apparel and textile exports.…

Even as the official withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been greeted by enthusiasm by American automakers, the focus is shifting to the bilateral trade deals that President Donald Trump has promised will take its place.…

The European metals industry will wait before taking an official position on the controversial European Union (EU)-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), following a key European Parliament vote backing the deal.

The European Parliament’s international trade committee (INTA) has now referred CETA (on January 24), with its blessing, to the body’s plenary, which could vote later this month to approve provisional implementation of the agreement as early as April.…

THE US Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) has called on the new American administration of President Donald Trump to work hard to negotiate new bilateral trade deals with Asian markets now he has formally pulled his country from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal.…

As US President Donald Trump has been wasting no time carrying out his campaign pledges to undo long-standing American trade ties, the Asian apparel industry and the US retailers it supplies have ample reasons to be on edge.

Signs are particularly worrisome for apparel players sourcing from Vietnam, a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the unratified 12-nation deal that will now not include the USA after Trump extracted America from its commitments via a January 23 presidential memorandum.…

LICENCES created last year (2016) by Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) for grocery stores, allowing them to sell wine, but only brands made in the province, are being challenged at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) by the USA.

It has triggered disputes proceedings at the global trade body, claiming that by discriminating against foreign wine in this way, BC, and hence Canada, has broken its obligations under the WTO’s General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).…

WINTER sportsmen and women are busy training for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, in South Korea, from next February 9 to 28 (2018), and part of their preparation will be securing the best clothing and footwear made from carefully drafted technical textiles.…

ELECTRONICS and gadgets such as smart watches may have reached their technological and popularity limits, but smart textiles – materials, for example anti-bacterial, that react to environmental or physical stimuli – are here to stay, industry experts argue.

Speakers at this year’s FUTEX – the 7^th Innovative Textile European Convention on ‘interactive textiles for health, sport and the home’ emphasised the bright future for ‘wearable’ technology.…

The January 23 presidential memorandum from President Donald Trump, puling the USA from participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal has disappointed the American cosmetics and personal care products sector. This is not only because of the tariff barriers it would have eliminated but also because the TPP would have pushed regulatory controls in all TPP countries in the same direction.…

Colombia’s billion dollar illegal gold trade has become one of the country’s primary sources of finance for armed groups and mafias and a hub of commercial crime. Underworld networks now exploit, infiltrate, and co-opt every step of Colombia’s gold supply chain.…

HONG Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange have put listed companies on notice that they will closely monitor rights issues and open offers that substantially dilute the interests of non-subscribing minority shareholders.

In a joint statement, the SFC and the exchange have said they fear in some cases deals have been conducted without complying with requirements to give fair and equal treatment to all shareholders. …

CHINA’S central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBC), has issued a new anti-money laundering and terror finance reporting requirements for all financial institutions inside the country. The rules come into force July 1. They cover banks, brokers, foreign exchange, online and mobile payment systems and insurance companies, who will have to file reports to the central bank, via their headquarters or via representative institutions, if a client requires daily cash transactions exceeding Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY50,000 (USD7,261) or a larger amount of USD10,000’s worth in foreign currency.…

A FIRST pilot test of automated vehicles is now underway within the Canadian province of Ontario, using a groundbreaking regulatory system designed to encourage tech and auto firms to undertake such research and development.

The pilot, which began November 28, takes advantage of a provincial law, in place since January 1 (2016), which allows companies to test self-driving vehicles on Ontario roads.…

2016 – Winners and losers

RETAILERS & BRANDS

WINNERS

US-based sportswear brand Under Armour delivered its 26th consecutive quarter of 20%-plus revenue growth in the third quarter of 2016, with sales increases across all divisions. Net sales were up 22% in the third quarter to USD1.47bn.…

THE PROMISE from US President-elect Donald Trump to withdraw the USA from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement on his first day of office has prompted widespread nervousness in auto-sectors around the world.

His rejection of the deal could scupper an agreement negotiated over five years by the United States; Australia; Brunei; Canada; Chile; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Peru; Singapore and Vietnam.…

HUMAN resources experts in the Asia-Pacific region are mulling the potential impact of US President-elect Donald Trump abandoning the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal. He has promised to withdraw the US from the agreement on his first day in office.

And without American participation, the pact seems dead in the water: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently said it would be “meaningless,” while Vietnam, whose export-driven economy was expected to be one of the major beneficiaries of the TPP, has withdrawn the proposal for ratification in its National Assembly.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) paint and coatings companies have been offered new flexibility over securing authorisation for biocidal products. A new rule that came into force on November 1 allows companies to get a national authorisation when an authorisation, or an application, for an EU-wide authorisation has been made for an identical product.…

A senior Canada metal industry association has called on its government to continue ratifying the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), despite US President-elect Donald Trump’s commitment to withdraw the US from the trade deal on his first day of office.

“We definitely still support Canada moving forward with the TPP, even without the US.…

TOBACCO has been grown, processed, smoked and traded within and between native Canadian and American communities for centuries, so it is no surprise that attempts to restrict how their reserves and reservations make and sell tobacco cause upset.

But in Canada, with tobacco control rules on health warnings, advertising and tobacco content in these First Nations jurisdictions often weak or non-existent, and tax and duty not collected on sales, there has been pressure on the federal and provincial government to crack down on what police and anti-tobacco campaigners regard as a legal free-for-all.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s pledge to put meat and livestock produce second in its 2017 European Union (EU) agri-food promotion campaign (making up 15% of the programmes) has been welcomed by the industry. The announcement came during the release of a EUR133 million marketing budget for EU agri-food producers for 2017, up from EUR111 million in 2016.…

IRAN’S rose water export sector is facing the potential for rapid expansion now that the country can trade freely globally after the bulk of international banking and economic sanctions imposed over the Iranian nuclear programme were lifted this January (2016).…

The reform of European Union (EU) statutory audit rules, which came into force on June 17, represents a set of challenges to public interest entities (PIEs) and their audit committees. And with these changes applying to fiscal years beginning on or after this date, and given that there are about 37,000 PIEs (basically listed companies, credit institutions and insurance undertakings) across the EU, the reform is having a profound effect on European corporate governance.…

FACED with the twin threats of Brexit and a new US President-elect who prefers bilateral relations to multilateralism, the European Union (EU) and its institutions are nonetheless pushing ahead with forging a collaborative system of anti-fraud law enforcement.

In a sign that such initiatives draw overwhelming backing from European Parliament political groups, the EU’s elected assembly, its plenary has backed by 545 votes to 91 a detailed call for the European Commission to review its legislation against corruption and organised criminals.…

UNITED States President-elect Donald Trump’s commitment to withdraw the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, condemning the deal as a “potential disaster for our country”, has received the thumbs-down from the cosmetics industry.

“TPP represents an important step forward for the cosmetics industry in the signatory countries, containing as it does a specific annex for cosmetics and personal care,” Cosmetics Europe director general John Chave told Soap Perfumery & Cosmetics.…

BATHURST Regional Airport, in the Canadian Atlantic province of New Brunswick, is to be expanded through a Canadian dollar CAD6.28 million (USD4.63 million) project. The federal Canadian and provincial New Brunswick governments will both support the plan, spending CAD2.09 million (USD1.53 million) each.…

THE SIGNING of a Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement between the European Union (EU) and Canada (CETA) on October 30 will have a positive impact on the personal care product sector, industry associations have claimed on both sides of the Atlantic.…

With a strong national economy and significant investment in construction and public buildings, the Philippine paint and coatings sector is enjoying a period of robust growth. Official figures for the overall paint market have not been published since 2014 but the leading sectors have continued to flourish.…

EXECUTIVES at a Vietnam knitwear company have told WTiN.com that while it has expanded production because of increased exports, if costs continue to rise in this south-east Asian country – the company is prepared to move production overseas.

Over the last roughly 30 years, Thai Son S.P.…

THE LEADER of Europe’s farmers has warned that the European Union (EU)-Canada Comprehensive Economic & Trade Agreement (CETA), whose legal texts were finally signed on Sunday (Oct 30), will be “a painful exercise” for the EU meats sector, EU farm body Copa-Cogeca secretary general Pekka Pesonen has claimed.…

Fast fashion is all about getting product to market quickly without over-spending. And while new technologies such as digital printing machinery can speed up the process, they can also add cost.

Guido Schlossmann, president and chief executive officer of Thailand-based consultants Synergies Worldwide, stressed to just-style that the key issue is getting the balance right.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) environment director has told Jane’s Airport Review of her delight that the ICAO Assembly has formally approved a Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), the first single industry-focused worldwide system fighting climate change.…

BRITISH company boards will have another Brexit-related issue to consider now that the European Union (EU) appears set to approve the controversial Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada. Will it apply in Britain once the UK quits the EU?…

THE INTERNATIONAL Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is helping its member states design safe operation rules for drones, even though many such aircraft and their systems operate domestically and are hence beyond ICAO’s usual cross-border remit.

“States are saying we all need help and want this to be harmonised,” said Leslie Cary, the ICAO air navigation bureau’s remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) programme manager.…

LAW firms are at “high risk of misuse” for money laundering and terrorist financing in Canada, according to the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF). 

FATF inspectors scoured Canadian anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) provisions in a November 2015 visit and found: “All high-risk areas are covered by AML/CFT measures, except legal counsels, legal firms and Quebec notaries.”…

JAPANESE consumers’ preference for meat is growing so strongly, it has pushed domestic per capita fish consumption to its lowest level since the 1960s, according to 2015 figures from Japan’s ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries. The gap between levels of meat and fish consumption is increasing; meat consumption overtook that of fish about six years ago but the gap is widening; fish consumption is now 30% less than it was at its peak, in 2001. …

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).…

Dairy processors have expressed their concern regarding a 2.76% increase in the minimum price for butter and skimmed milk powder sold in Canada. Imposed by the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC), this came into effect on September 1. The Dairy Processors Association of Canada (DPAC) has voiced its apprehension to the CDC: “We expressed our concerns with a mid-year increase, and presented the potential impact of this not only for processors, but for the market and ultimately consumers,” said Jacques Lefebvre, president and CEO of the DPAC.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Air Transport Association (IATA) has said that the planned new global emissions control system under discussion at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) will be affordable for airlines.

Speaking at a press conference to mark the opening of ICAO’s assembly today (September 27), in Montréal, Canada, IATA senior vice president Paul Steele said that the “worst case scenario” of additional costs for airlines under the planned global market-based measure (GMBM) between 2020 and 2035 would be USD24.9 billion, just over 1% of airline revenues.…

Sri Lanka’s cosmetic and beauty product manufacturers are becoming increasingly anxious over the lack of sales regulations, promoting significant volumes of lower grade cosmetic imports, putting local manufacturers at risk. 

Until July 2015, there was a specific authority to oversee cosmetic products being imported as well as distributed in the country.…

AS a decades-long prohibition on production and sale of the ‘cannabis sativa’ plant and its components are falling away throughout North America, the use of hemp as a personal care product ingredient is on the rise.

In the United States (US), four states have legalised recreational cannabis (Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska), along with the capital territory Washington DC, while 21 states have legalised medical marijuana, boosting growth in the legal consumption and production of the plant.…

Dairy processors have expressed their concern regarding a 2.76% increase in the minimum price for butter and skimmed milk powder sold in Canada. Imposed by the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC), this came into effect on September 1. The Dairy Processors Association of Canada (DPAC) has voiced its apprehension to the CDC: “We expressed our concerns with a mid-year increase, and presented the potential impact of this not only for processors, but for the market and ultimately consumers,” said Jacques Lefebvre, president and CEO of the DPAC.…

BIG marketing stunts can boost sales of technical textiles and maybe one of the biggest examples in Europe this year was created by world renowned artists Christo. He created ‘The Floating Piers’ on Lake Iseo, near Brescia, in northern Italy.…

THE PARIS conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) last December, of COP21, made a commitment to create a carbon-neutral world between 2050 and 2100. This means that governments and international organisations must devise policies to ensure the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity equals the amount that that trees, soil and oceans can absorb naturally preventing the build-up of CO2 in the atmosphere.…

Using cosmetics is not just window dressing, but can boost real happiness in consumers, European industry organisation Cosmetics Europe president Loïc Armand has told Soap, Perfumery & Cosmetics in an exclusive interview. Speaking on the sidelines of the Cosmetics Europe Week 2016 conference ‘Personal Care in a Changing World’ (June 13-17), Armand said: “People think that cosmetics are just about looking good, and that they are just superficial, but I think it should be recognised in law that cosmetic products can have real well-being benefits.”…

The Indonesian Textiles Association (API – Asosiasi Pertekstilan Indonesia) has told WTiN.com that it enthusiastically endorses the opening of negotiations between the European Union (EU) and Indonesia to forge a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) free trade deal.

The goal of the talks announced in July will be to create an agreement that goes beyond traditional agreements that focus on duty and quota abolition, to include removing non-tariff barriers through regulatory mutual recognition and harmonisation.…

ORGANIC wool can pose various challenges to producers and apparel and textile manufacturers, including added costs and more complicated logistics. But for niche markets, these products can attract customers willing to pay more for softer, chemical-free woollen goods.  

Dalena White, secretary general of the Brussels-based International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO), told Twist International: “Wool farmers have lovely stories to tell, including the heritage of their sheep, the natural pastures they graze on and the love they have for their animals and their native land.…

Europe’s automakers have lashed out at new European Union (EU) proposals designed to decarbonize the economy and encourage a shift to low- or no-emission options as being too focused on technology. They have also claimed it is and discriminatory because it only deals with road transport. …

THE UK’s vote on June 23 to quit the European Union (EU) creates deep uncertainty over the shape of future electricity industry regulations in Britain, and the UK’s regulatory relationship regarding power supplies with countries remaining in the EU.

Victory by the ‘Leave’ side in Britain’s in-out referendum enables the UK government to kick off an exit process by invoking Article 50 in the Treaty on European Union, which gives notice that member state wishes to leave.…

THE CANADIAN government has welcomed a European Commission ruling that should see the European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), negotiated in 2014, finally on its way to ratification. Brussels has agreed, after months of legal arguments, that CETA is a ‘mixed’ agreement, including trade and non-trade regulatory aspects.…

The Canadian meat industry is optimistic that healthy sales will follow after it resumes exporting beef to Taiwan following its government lifting a beef import ban on Friday, July 8. Taiwan had imposed a temporary suspension of Canadian beef imports in February 2015, after a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) had been discovered in Alberta earlier that month.…

CANADA’S beef sector has warned that labour shortages in its industry are a problem and could get worse in the coming decade.

Brady Stadnicki, policy analyst at the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) was commenting to GlobalMeatNews after a Canadian government report highlighted a chronic workforce shortage in Canada’s food production sector.…

Mirroring the increasing trend toward legalisation of marijuana for recreational and/or medicinal purposes in the USA and Canada, North American consumers are incorporating the cannabis plant and its byproducts into their diets.

Some 25 American states and the federal District of Columbia had, by this month (July) liberalised their marijuana laws following decades of prohibition.…

Regulators from Canada’s three main wine-producing provinces have agreed to remove technical restrictions preventing their winemakers from selling wine to consumers across all these jurisdictions. Until now, red tape has prevented all but the largest winemakers from Québec, Ontario and British Columbia (BC) selling their products to consumers outside their own province.…

Long before standards and guidelines on food and drink make their way into the codified statutes of national laws, many have often already gone through a rigorous, scientifically based process of scrutiny by an intergovernmental body whose membership comprises 99% of the world’s population.…

Business governance experts in Canada have told Board Agenda how they think companies can maximise the ability and performance of their non-executive board members.

Their comments come as concern about the effectiveness of non-execs in Canada has been piqued by media reports that Pierre Beaudoin, a director of Montréal-based comms and finance conglomerate Power Corp, had 20.28% of shareholder votes withheld at a director election in May – usually such elections proffer 100% support.…

Diversity and inclusion: linking culture and accounting’ was the theme for the annual general meeting of ACCA Canada, held at Toronto’s Aga Khan Museum on June 16. In a special presentation, Stephen Shea, EY Canada’s Managing Partner, Talent, explained why the financial sector needed to embrace diversity and inclusion, a concern that is now sufficiently mainstreamed to have its own acronym – D&I. …

THE UK’s personal care and cosmetics industry faces uncertainty and potential future trade challenges with the European Union (EU) following the 52% to 48% June 23 referendum vote to leave the EU. “No longer being part of a single market for the free circulation of goods and no longer being a key player in the development of legislation governing those goods will be a major challenge to the cosmetics industry as it will be to all other sectors of the UK industry,” Chris Flower, director-general of the UK’s Cosmetic, Toiletry & Perfumery Association (CTPA), told Soap Perfumery and Cosmetics.…

Global travel fraud has been increasing sharply as a result of burgeoning numbers of online travel and accommodation booking websites available to consumers. Vanessa Sinders, senior vice president of government affairs at the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), said there were 15 million online hotel bookings in 2015 in the USA that were affected by fraudulent scams, such as third-party rogue websites that look to the consumer like a hotel website, though they have no actual affiliation, or hacking legitimate accounts on social media and setting up fake advertisements for holiday packages or accommodations that do not exist.…

Tough regulation and a willingness for law enforcement authorities to crack down hard on fraudsters seems to be doing its job of curbing mortgage appraisal fraud in both the United States and the United Kingdom as the number of cases is falling.…

THE UK’s vote yesterday (June 23) to quit the European Union (EU) creates deep uncertainty over the shape of future food and drink regulations in Britain. The same applies to market access for companies operating from Britain or seeking to export to its consumers.…

AS the UK and the European Union (EU) digest the result of the June 23 referendum vote to leave the EU, all options are under consideration. However, short of an unexpected collapse of the movement towards Brexit, reformed future EU-UK relations are likely to complicate existing civil aviation arrangements within Europe.…

The Russian government has decided to ease its extended embargo on imports of food and agricultural products to Russia from Western countries, according to the Russian ministry of agriculture. 

An official statement said exports from the European Union, USA, Norway, Australia and Canada of poultry meat, frozen beef, plus dried and frozen vegetables used to make baby food in Russia would be allowed into the country.…

Innovative reusable feminine hygiene products have recently gained popularity amongst women, and experts say this segment is poised to challenge the traditional disposable product industry worldwide.

The global retail sales of panty-liners, tampons and pads in 2015 were USD30 billion, up from USD29 billion in 2014 – a growth rate of 3.5%, according to Svetlana Uduslivaia, head of tissue and hygiene at UK-based market research firm, Euromonitor International.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission’s trade directorate general and the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office have said that they will be assessing the impact of Britain’s anticipated exit from the European Union (EU) on the planned EU-US Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP).…

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.…

CANADIAN health officials are considering allowing the irradiation of fresh and frozen ground beef sold in their country. A 75-day consultation period opened to the general public on June 17, and will officially end on September 1.

The proposal from the federal ministry Health Canada would allow meat producers and packagers to irradiate this product.…

THE UK’s vote last week (June 23) to quit the European Union (EU) creates deep uncertainty over the shape of future meat and livestock regulations in Britain. The same applies to EU market access for British meat and livestock companies or exporters from the rest of the EU wanting to target British consumers.…

A FLOOD of American pork exports to the European Union (EU), if it strikes a major trade deal with the USA, could make Denmark lose a significant portion of its export market share in other EU member states, an environmental group is claiming.…

THE CHINESE government is upset that the USA has demanded that a World Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel probes whether it has complied with an earlier 2013 order to reform China’s anti-dumping and countervailing duties on American broiler chicken product exports.…

THE UK’s vote last Thursday (June 23) to quit the European Union (EU) creates deep uncertainty over the shape of future nuclear industry regulations in Britain. The same applies to EU market access for British nuclear fuel and component companies or exporters from the rest of the EU wanting to target British nuclear operators.…

FORWARD planning; managing supply chain partners well and staying on top of potential regional issues such as changes in weather or currency values can help apparel and textile companies avoid key supply chain disruptions such as out-of-stock situations, eroded margins and missed market opportunities.…

UNCERTAINTY might sound like a rather nebulous concern for international clothing brands considering their sourcing, but it can be a very tough problem that undermines operational efficiency up and downstream. It is an especially large challenge for brands who are venturing out to source apparel from emerging sources such as sub-Saharan Africa or Myanmar among others, Dr Patrick J Conway, department chair of economics at the University of North Carolina, USA, told just-style.…

Apparel and textile companies face various risks when shifting sourcing and must consider carefully the location of the skilled labour they require; the effort and cost it will take to ensure a new supplier is meeting global standards; and the potential loss of a good relationship with their current suppliers.…

THE PRINCIPLES of preventing multinationals shifting profits to low tax jurisdictions and hiding revenues through opaque and complex company structures have been welcomed, and have grabbed big headlines.

But the ability of tax administrations to achieve these goals, in cooperation with accountants and auditors, will depend on detailed and transparent reporting systems, that enable tax offices to swap reports on multiple revenue flows that cross national borders.…

Pakistan remains a source of concern to global anti-money laundering (ML) authorities even though the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the world’s leading AML organisation, removed the country from its monitoring process last February (2015). Then, FATF cited Pakistan as having made “significant progress” in improving its AML and CFT (combating the financing of terrorism) regime.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that Belgium’s planned phase-out of its nuclear power capacity threatens the security of its energy supplies. In a paper on the country’s energy outlook, the IEA concluded: “Phase-out by 2025 is close. Security of supply needs to be ensured, but new investment in generation capacity is lacking.”…

In 2015, North America’s manufacturing capacity for nonwovens (regarding the United States, Canada and Mexico) grew from 2014 by 2.4% to reach about 2.77 million tonnes, according to a spokesperson for the US-based Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry (INDA). The United States dominates supplies in the region, making up 91% of capacity.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced that it will propose a ‘services passport’ system by December 31, designed to simplify administrative procedures for service providers, such as accountants, auditors and bookkeepers, who want to expand to foreign member states. EU internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska said: “The cross-border provision of services in the EU is underdeveloped, in particular in the area of business services – such as accounting…” The passport system would give accountants more information, boosting legal certainty and clarity about relevant professional rules in another member state.…

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.…

As the European Union (EU) dairy industry continues to face challenges, it is calling for EU institutions and member governments to have a greater focus on resolving Russia’s ban on EU agricultural goods, while continuing to open up new markets. In the meantime, the Russian ban has not helped an oversupply problem that is depressing prices.…

Fraud investigation has come a long way since the days when police launched dawn raids on suspect premises, driving criminals to flush away paper evidence down the toilet. We have technology to thank for that.

Advances in information handling have radically changed the ways in which big companies guard their financial records and the methods used by fraudsters to overcome them.  …

Fraud investigation has come a long way since the days when police launched dawn raids on suspect premises, driving criminals to flush away paper evidence down the toilet. We have technology to thank for that.

Advances in information handling have radically changed the ways in which big companies guard their financial records and the methods used by fraudsters to overcome them.  …

RUSSIA’S agriculture ministry has announced that it is drafting a decree that will extend the country’s ban on imports of a wide range of European Union (EU), US, Canada, Australia and Norway food exports until December 31, 2017. Russian agriculture minister Alexander Tkachev said in Moscow today that his ministry did not plan to expand the number of products covered by the ban.…

AS accountants, auditors and their business clients consider whether the UK should remain in or leave the European Union (EU) in the upcoming referendum on British EU membership, it has become abundantly clear that there are no simple options.

Remaining in the EU will mean the UK will continue to face demands for accepting European taxation policies that its government and businesses may find unpalatable, especially as it seeks to cement the City of London’s place as Europe’s, if not the world’s, premier financial centre.…

INNOVATIVE ways of powering trains are poised for mainstream use in the global transport industry. Today, the most common trains are still those powered by diesel engines, but there is a continuing shift towards electricity and alternative power sources.

“With rail expected to play an increasingly important role in future transport systems…there is a lot of focus on how it should be more energy efficient,” said Andrew Foulkes, a communications manager at Ricardo Rail, a UK-based railway engineering and consultancy firm.…

NORTH America’s textile sector – of which technical textiles comprise nearly 70% production by value in the USA and just below 50% in Canada – has grown slowly when compared with global production. And growth within the industry in North America will further slow by 2020 due to competition from the Asia-Pacific region and Western Europe, according to industry analysts at Euromonitor. …

A strong demand for ‘jamón serrano’ – or dry-cured ham – in Asia, the US, and Canada has prompted Spain’s meat major Grupo Cañigueral to acquire Far Jamón Serrano SA, a company that specialises in the product. Jamón serrano is considered to be one of the Spain’s most prestigious and unique foodstuffs. …

Changes to labelling and advertising laws for halal food in Canada have come into force to better inform consumers and encourage halal meat producers to follow established certification systems. As of Tuesday, April 4, all halal claims – by both domestic and international suppliers – on food labels, packaging and advertising materials sold in Canada must be accompanied by the name of the organisation or person certifying it as halal.…

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.”…

THE MEXICAN government is to create a formal register of organic food producers, including meat and livestock businesses, and is currently carrying out a nationwide survey to build its list. The government is to use its Agricultural and Fishery Information System (Servicio de Información Agroalimentaria y Pesquera) to build the database, which should be ready by this December (2016).…

A COST of maintaining nuclear generation capacity of between 95 GWe and 105GWe in the European Union (EU) until 2050 and beyond will cost between EUR350 and EUR450 billion over the next 35 years, the European Commission has concluded. (That is between USD398 billion and USD511 billion at current exchange rates).…

New Zealand’s butter producers may be a global force in this key dairy segment, but they have regarded the groundbreaking Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement with scepticism. Negotiations for the TPP produced a deal last October (2015), and although New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra and the DairyNZ producers association declared they had secured increased access to some key markets – Japan, Canada and the United States all increased butter quotas to varying degrees – there was general agreement that the gains had been modest.…

The new business director of Birla Cellulose (part of India’s Aditya Birla Group), Dilip Gaur, has his priority set: to build on the popularity of the Liva fabric and take it to new heights.

Barely two weeks into his new position as the head of multi-billion dollar Aditya Birla Group’s cellulose business, Mr Gaur told Twist International, “My focus will be to see how I can scale it up.…

It is high time universities started to measure more what achieve in student learning, and less in enrolment, the Presidents’ Forum of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN) has been told. The president of the Netherlands’ Maastricht University’s, Professor Jo Ritzen, referenced an American study in 2011 which found that many USA university and college students did not learn much at all.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced that it will negotiate new bilateral aviation safety agreements for European Union (EU), with China and Japan. The EU already has struck such deals with the USA, Canada and Brazil. They involve cooperation over airport and air traffic management safety, plus testing and maintenance of aeronautical components, ensuring safe air operations and flight crew licensing.…

MEXICO and central America are often regarding as manufacturing centres for the USA, the world’s largest personal care product country. And while it remains true that brands take advantage of lower costs in these countries to make competitive exports, Mexico (population 122 million) and the seven countries of central America (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama – population 45 million) are significant markets in their own right.…

THE EUROPEAN Association of Sugar Pro­ducers (CEFS) and the European Federation of Trade Unions in the Food, Agriculture and Tourism sectors (EFFAT) have called for the European Union (EU) to push for a global agreement ending all subsidies and other trade-distorting policies affecting the sugar sector.…

The 2016 outlook for the US paints and coatings industry remains positive, with experts predicting growth thanks to a resilient US economy, a strong performance by the manufacturing industry, and notable new trade agreements.

According to IBISWorld, a global market research company, the US paints and coatings industry bounced back quickly from the financial economic crisis beginning in 2008.…

China’s leaders are fond of aphorisms and extended metaphors, the pithier the better. Witness Mao Zedong’s ‘Hundred Flowers’ movement in 1956, which encouraged citizens to express their criticism of the communist party, and Deng Xiaoping’s much-quoted ‘To Get Rich is Glorious’.…

WHILE international clothing buyers today have a lot of sourcing choices, this multiplicity of options can bring its own management headaches, making it important that brands make subtle, complex and fluid purchasing decisions to keep ahead of the competition, Global research firm McKinsey’s biannual sourcing survey – last published in 2015 – of chief procurement officers (CPOs) at leading apparel companies is an interesting window onto today’s complex sourcing landscape.…

With fast fashion demands growing and China’s costs rising, sourcing closer to home is certainly becoming a more commonly considered option for brands, speeding up clothing and textile supply chains, being particularly beneficial for smaller producers, according to experts. Companies sourcing locally can have faster turnaround times, potentially better relationships with suppliers, and greater quality control.…

AT a time when the world is regularly sickened by the web-cast beheadings and civilian bombings by Islamic State (IS), it is perhaps hard to recall when Lebanon Shia militant Hizbullah group was regarded as maybe the world’s most notorious international terror group.…

India plans to infuse USD440 million every year into its nuclear power sector to finance an ongoing programme of new projects, according to Arun Jaitley, the country’s finance minister.

“[The] government is drawing up a comprehensive plan, spanning next 15 to 20 years, to augment the investment in nuclear power generation,” Jaitley told the Indian parliament on February 29.…

Uranium suppliers are increasing their focus on India’s rapid nuclear power development programme and plans to build a nuclear fuel stockpile. The Indian government has set an expansion target of generating 14,600 megawatts (MW) a year from nuclear power plants in India by 2024.…

THE ONGOING legalisation of marijuana in the United States and Canada offers the tobacco industry some significant opportunities. This includes both increased consumption and also investment in tobacco sector suppliers such as vaporiser manufacturers.

As of this March, the US states of Colombia, Washington and Alaska had also legalised recreational use of marijuana and Oregon is well on its way to full legalisation.…

EUROPEAN confectionery manufacturers have urged caution over the impending end of food export subsidies, which will be scrapped after a World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Nairobi, Kenya. Developed country members have promised to remove export subsidies immediately for basic food products, with a slower phase-out for many processed foods.…

NORTH American confectioners are closely monitoring the growing wave in legalisation of marijuana across the USA and Canada, offering them the opportunity to sell new product, with a particularly edgy and certainly special ingredient.

The new Liberal government in Canada, was elected in October on a promise to legalise marijuana, while in the US, the transition is happening state by state.…

Australian and New Zealand confectionery and ice cream manufacturers have been broadly supportive of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement that was finalised towards the end of 2015, recognising the potential for securing export sales in lucrative Asian markets. That said, there is some caution, given the TPP delivers more potential for America’s juggernaut of a confectionery sector to roll into local stores.…

A report released yesterday (Mar 10) by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) has advised textile manufacturers to support government efforts to tighten environmental rules, saying they are unlikely to cause a loss of business.

The report is an attempt to dispel the widely-held view that tighter environmental rules increase costs and damages business – especially in emerging market manufacturing hubs.…

A new bid by the European Union (EU) to open up public procurement contracts in world markets to all competitors has run into immediate trouble in the textiles sector where the US industry has launched a swift and forceful (though hardly unexpected) rejection of the idea.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission is incorporating the latest guidance from the European auto industry into its plan for rolling-out connected cars across the European Union (EU), drawing on advice from manufacturers favouring swift, coordinated deployment. A key, stressed a report published in January by the Commission, the EU’s executive, is for the installation of ‘cooperative intelligent transport systems’ (C-ITS) allowing vehicles to communicate with other vehicles, other road users, traffic signals and roadside infrastructure.…

CHINA’S central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBC), has issued a new anti-money laundering and terror finance reporting requirements for all financial institutions inside the country. The rules come into force July 1. They cover banks, brokers, foreign exchange, online and mobile payment systems and insurance companies, who will have to file reports to the central bank, via their headquarters or via representative institutions, if a client requires daily cash transactions exceeding Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY50,000 (USD7,261) or a larger amount of USD10,000’s worth in foreign currency.…

THE CEO of American aeronautics company Aireon has welcomed the allocation by the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) of radiofrequency band (1,087.7-1,092.3 MHz) to aeronautical mobile-satellite services (Earth-to-space). The earmarking by this International Telecommunication Union (ITU) body is designed to ensure space stations can receive automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) emissions from aircraft transmitters, namely AMS(R)S – Earth-to-space systems.…

Companies are turning to more aggressive cyber security tactics to protect themselves against attackers. After a flourish of data breaches and cyber attacks against big global companies such as Fiat Chrysler and Target in 2015, traditional security strategies of building a virtual wall or perimeter around a network are increasingly being replaced with ‘proactive’ defence methods, which use technologies to detect and respond to breaches in progress.…

The European Union’s (EU) Energy Roadmap 2050 project is certainly ambitious – looking to decarbonise Europe’s energy sector – and it anticipates that carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology will play an important role. Yet, it is clear that this technology is far from ubiquitous and significant efforts will be required to enable CCS to play a key part in Europe’s CCS future.…

PRIVATE label brands for cosmetics and personal care products are attracting consumers with an increasingly wide range of offerings that stress their value-added nature, as well as affordable prices. Reflecting private labels’ innate reliance on quality and function rather than image, manufacturers supplying these products have been especially focusing on using scents to add value, from traditional florals to more adventurous notes.…

India’s market for male grooming products will grow at an annual rate of 22% in the next five years, with social pressure for men to look good increasing, along with rising per capita income and rapid urbanization. So says ‘Men’s Grooming Market in India 2015-2020’, a report by Research and Markets, released in September (2015).…

Flushable wipes range from adult moist toilet tissue to feminine hygiene wipes, and the sector has been steadily growing for years. According to UK-based market researcher Euromonitor International, the global retail volume for personal care wipes nearly doubled between 2003 and 2013, from 93 billion units to almost 170 billion units sold, respectively.…

Innovative protective coatings have always been marked on their ability to deliver a function with excellence. However, there is real marketing gold where companies can demonstrate that coatings deliver a range of protective functions at the same time, such as waterproofing, insulating, and protecting aesthetics.…

The Money Laundering Bulletin has assessed the impact of western financial sanctions on Russia – looking at the impact on anti-money laundering regulation – but what of the compliance demands on financial institutions?

These sanctions are complex, showing how governments can increase the risk of making honest citizens and organisations break the law by imposing complex financial regulations.…

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.…

THE OIL and gas industry is preparing itself for regulatory challenges following the agreement on limiting climate change struck in Paris on December 12. In comments following the deal, industry organisations stressed the key role the oil and gas industry will continue to play as a key energy and product ingredient source, even as the world moves towards a lower carbon economy.…

The rise of hipsters and the appeal of the bearded lumberjack look, dubbed ‘lumbersexual’, in recent years has led to a rapid growth in beard and moustache care products sector worldwide. Specialty products such as beard oil and conditioners, as well as tools such as beard brushes, have become necessities for many men with facial hair.…

CANADIAN meat industry officials and politicians have redoubled their calls for the US to liberalise its country of origin labelling (COOL) rules for meat and livestock, now the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has delivered a final negative ruling on the American system.…

Mexico has commenced negotiations with the European Union (EU) that could boost its production and export of barytes, quartz, granite and silica sand – on average, say Mexican government mining officials, two thirds Mexico’s deposits of these minerals remain unexploited.
The talks, which started on the June 12 during the 7th EU-Mexico Summit in Brussels, set benchmarks for negotiations to upgrade a 15-year old free trade agreement (FTA) by tackling non-tariff barriers, extending intellectual property rights to more products and revising investor protection provisions.…

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.…

The conflict in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s annexation of Crimea has had significant ramifications for both countries’ oils and fats industries. These are sizeable sectors in Russia and Ukraine, and the industries – and consumers – have certainly felt the impacts of these often traumatic geopolitical events.…

While solar power-generating roads may sound like a futuristic idea, the technology could soon become reality. SolaRoad, a 70-metre-long concrete bicycle path embedded with solar panels located in Krommenie, the Netherlands, has delivered promising results as a prototype. And the project’s developers are hopeful a commercially-viable product with widespread application is just around the corner.…

The European Commission has launched a review of whether subsidies promoting electricity generating and distributing capacity breaks European Union (EU) state aid rules. These are designed to make sure member states do not give their industries an unfair advantage in the EU’s single market.…

Good sourcing practice at the Indonesian mill of India-based viscose fibre giant Aditya Birla has paved the way to the company’s commitment this month to a global policy to eliminate sourcing materials from ancient and endangered forests, according to the international environmental group that helped develop the policy.…

AUTOMAKERS in Europe are looking at what potential benefits they could draw from a future upgrade of a 15 years’ old free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and Mexico.
The two sides announced on Monday (May 11) that they are planning to start negotiations later this year, making it more comprehensive involving more regulatory harmonization than the existing deal that largely focused on tariff reduction: “We are aiming for an EU-Mexico deal that is comparable to the one with Canada and to the one to be concluded with the US”, the EU trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said, speaking in Brussels.…

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).…

Although the final details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement have yet to be agreed, it is all but certain that the TPP’s free-tariff treatment for Vietnamese garments will see substantial amounts of yarn being shipped from US textile mills to garment factories in Vietnam, with the resulting clothing returning to the USA as finished ‘Made in Vietnam’ products.…

AFTER a difficult few years brought about by a global economic recession, Portugal’s footwear and clothing industries is growing and underpinning the country’s business recovery.
Last year (2014) the country’s shoe exports hit a record high of around 89 million pairs sold overseas, bringing in EUR1.8 billion (USD2.06 billion) in receipts according to the Portuguese Association of Industrial Footwear, Accessories, Leather Goods and Substitutes (APICCAPS), helping a country still recovering from crippling government austerity measures.…

AN ORGANISATION for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) report has said that increasing alcohol prices through taxes and minimum prices may help “tackle the heavy cost of harmful drinking”. The OECD’s ‘Tackling Harmful Alcohol Use Economics and Public Health Policy’ report added that initiatives tackling alcohol abuse promoted by the drinks industry may also be useful, but more independent evidence is needed before the OECD can make recommendations about their use.…

Fort McMurray Airport, the primary air transportation hub of Canada’s economically important oil sands sector, is to be expanded in a Canadian dollar CAD75.5 million (USD62.5 million) project.
The project, slated to finish by December 31, 2019, includes an extension of the main terminal building and apron, plus an extension of the main runway.…

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), an increasingly dynamic and affluent 10-member bloc with a population half the size if China’s, plans to achieve a single aviation market (SAM) by the end of 2015 as a part of its broader ambition to launch its ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).…

EUROPEAN dairy producers are keen participants in the European Union (EU) protective systems that prevent competitors from claiming to sell products made using traditional production methods and ingredients. The systems: PDO (protected designation of origin); PGI (protected geographical indication); and TSG (traditional speciality guaranteed) promote and protect names of quality agricultural products and foodstuffs.…

Online sales of unbranded personal care products that are either clearly counterfeit or sold in a way that alludes to an established brand are legion, as the industry well knows.
But how easy is it to spot such products on the internet?…

Following a period of recession-induced stagnation, business in the US body care product industry is back with a vengeance. Driven by a combination of seasonal and demographic factors, Americans spent just over USD2.9 billion, USD9.23 per person, on body care products in 2014.…

Bangladesh’s top auditor understands only too well the key role strong auditing can play in an emerging economy such as his own country – for good or ill. Indeed, he does not mince his words when he recalls the role auditors played in Bangladesh’s 2011 capital market collapse that ruined millions of small investors.…

The UK may still be a world-beating performer for developing offshore wind energy, but more still can be done onshore, as demonstrated by China’s wind-power growth, the Global Wind Energy Council’s (GWEC’s) secretary general Steve Sawyer has argued. Indeed, unveiling GWEC’s, Global Wind Report: Annual Market Update 2014, in a webinar April 1 from Istanbul, Sawyer noted that the UK at 813 megawatts (MW) of installed capacity produces more offshore wind energy than the rest of the world combined, with Denmark “a distant second”.…

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.…

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 NORTH American technical textiles industry has always been at the cutting edge of the global sector and today, companies are creating innovative products that offer high performance for less cost, integrating electronic capabilities, and offering greater durability.
For instance, New York-based V Technical Textiles Inc is delivering to its customers a new line of technical textiles called VTT Etchtex, announced last year.…

THE PERSONAL care product sector in the European Union (EU) has had to work hard to comply with the 2012 biocidal products regulation, which will have significant implications for the use of preservatives in cosmetics. Manufacturers of biocidal products need to be have their active ingredients registered for assessment by September 1 (2015) for them to be used in the EU.…

Canada’s beef sector organisations have told globalmeatnews.com that they are optimistic about a national programme connecting all key players in Canada’s beef sector for the first time, whose goal is increasing production efficiency by 15% by 2020.
“This is the first time that all of the [Canadian beef sector] organisations have come together and supported as a whole” under a formal strategy  although there have been isolated efforts before, Kevin Boon, general manager of the  British Columbia (BC) Cattlemen’s Association told globalmeatnews.com.…

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.…

Australians have some of the highest meat per capita consumption rates in the world and consume 121.2kg of meat per capita/year according to data from the Food & Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). This is nearly three times the global average of 42.2kg per capita/year and slightly higher than countries with similar demographics and culinary traditions like the United States, Canada and Britain.…

China’s approval of meat imports from eight Mexican production plants has been welcomed by the Mexican and Chinese meat sectors. According to reports from China’s ministry of commerce, six exporters given the green light produce pork meat: Sonora Agropecuaria, Frigorifico Agropecuaria Sonorense (slaughter facility), Frigorifico Agropecuaria Sonorense (packhouse), Frigorifico Kowi, Alimentos Grole, and Grupo Porcicola Mexicano.…

SEAL meat from Canada produced by Inuit communities could soon be sold in the European Union (EU) after the EU reported progress was being made on resolving the long-running dispute over these imports. Seal meat sales were largely banned in the EU on ethical grounds under a 2009 regulation, but the rule was challenged by the Canadian government at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).…

AMERICA’S chances of promoting pigmeat exports by striking trade agreements under discussion such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) or the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are slim, if President Barack Obama is not given authority to present deals to Congress for simple yes or no votes.…

There were high hopes that Egypt was embarking on a new clean financial era following mass protests in January 2011 that ousted President Hosni Mubarak. Popular calls for an end to the corruption and cronyism that had characterised Mubarak’s 30 year rule appeared to be heeded.…

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.…

GERMAN-made automobiles were the largest source of reports regarding potentially dangerous motor vehicles made to the European Union’s (EU) RAPEX consumer alert network in 2014, analysis of its data shows.
There were 194 notifications to the system relating to automobiles and parts last year, the fourth largest category following toys (650), clothing and textiles (530) and electrical appliances (217).…

AIR navigation officials from around the world have gathered to discuss how to better control pilot-less aircraft, while companies and governments ponder the benefits and risks of drones. The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) staged the first global Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) Symposium, at its headquarters in Montréal, Canada, between March 23 and 25.…

Taiwan is easing its 11-year-old import ban on offal and by-products sourced from United States and Canada-reared cattle over Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) concerns, by planning to classify six types of beef byproducts as “non-internal organs”, effectively clearing the way for their import.…

QUALITY suspicious transaction reports (STRs) and suspicious activity reports (SARs) around the world are crucial to identifying and combatting money laundering – but a lack of feedback from law enforcement and financial intelligence units (FIUs) can discourage reporting entities from working to improve their reports.…

The emergence of synthetic fuels continues to raise hopes that low-carbon alternatives to fossil fuels will be developed, offering the prospect of long-term sustainable production. And with synthetic liquid fuel and synthetic gas chemical composition reflecting fossil fuels’ conversion of hydrogen and atmospheric CO2 into methane, experts are openly enthused about their avoidance of intermittency associated with renewable energy.…

AN INTERNATIONAL regulatory cooperation pilot involving medicine regulators sharing real time assessments about generic medicines is now in full flow. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is leading the initiative, building on the European Union’s (EU) experience of cooperation between national regulators.…

The possibility of a global paediatric research network has taken firmer shape in recent months with European Union (EU) industry representatives and medical regulators expressing support for a tie-up with their US colleagues and those from other countries. The issue is being taken up by a working group set up by the European Network of Paediatric Research (Enpr-EMA) in the European Medicines Agency (EMA).…

THE RE-EXAMINATION of European Union (EU) market authorisations following concerns over clinical trials conducted by GVK Biosciences in Hyderabad, India, has sparked intense debate in Brussels.

A European Parliament hearing has heard comment and details about the recommendation from the European Medicine Agency’s committee for medicinal products for human use (CHMP) that some 800 forms and dosages of medicines approved in the EU be suspended.…

AN INTERNATIONAL Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Task Force on Risks to Civil Aviation arising from Conflict Zones (TF RCZ) has made progress in developing information sharing systems on keeping civil airliners safe when they fly above conflict zones.

It started work swiftly following the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over the contested Dnipropetrovsk region of Ukraine – in August.…

IN the highly competitive cosmetics and personal care market, producers of secondary packaging are creating ever more advanced, innovative shapes and decorations to attract consumers. Whether it conveys a message of sustainability, luxury, or simplicity – secondary packaging continues to play a crucial role, often communicating multiple ideas and emotions to consumers in an instant.…

EGYPT’S USD1 billion cosmetics and perfume market – regulated and unregulated – has still to recover from the country’s 2011 revolution. Ongoing instability and weak economic growth has stymied a hoped-for robust rebound in sales. That said, demand is starting to pick up and the country’s large population of 85.5 million is making significant purchases of mass market toiletries.…

PLASTIC banknotes have been in circulation since their introduction in Australia in 1988 and their use is expanding. Counterfeiters beware. Alan Osborn, in London; Kitty So, in Ottawa; and Lee Adendorff, in Byron Bay, Australia, report.

FAKING banknotes is considerably more difficult on plastic than on cotton-based paper, and while printing technology improvements may aid forgers, central banks seem happy to avail themselves of the competitive advantage.

The recent moves towards loosening trade and diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba has provided a source of cautious optimism within the American auto industry.
President Barack Obama has been loosening the 54-year trade restrictions after announcing a policy u-turn on December 17 last year, but only Congress, controlled by Republicans, can actually lift the economic embargo entirely.…

Japan’s pork industry remains resolutely opposed to its national government watering down tariffs in discussions with the United States on the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade deal, warning that revising the existing system will “destroy” the domestic industry.

A spokesman for the Japan Pork Producers’ Association confirmed that the industry will continue to lobby the government to retain the protective tariffs that domestically raised pork enjoys at present.…

INTELLECTUAL property regulations proposed during the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations could hinder access to medicine in developing countries, a law professor at the University of Sydney, Australia, who specialises in trade agreements and intellectual property (IP) issues has told Manufacturing Chemist.…

CANADIAN booksellers are expressing optimism about the national book market after a positive experience during this year’s festive sales period.
“Sales were good, they had good community support, and everyone I’ve talked to has also said they started seeing things pick up and get a little busier a little earlier in the season,” Lesley Fletcher, the manager of the MySTORE Book Industry division of the Retail Council of Canada, told The Bookseller.…

IN another sign that the economic and social divisions wrought by Europe’s 1945-1989 ideological division continue to ease, Czech accountant Petr Kříž will serve as president of the Federation of European Accountants (FEE) for the next two years. It is the first time in the history of this professional organisation that its president comes from a former eastern bloc country.…

THE MANILA-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has urged Cambodia to upgrade its manufacturing sector, including by developing textile production and finishing, to successfully transition from a low-income to a middle-income country, according to the bank’s November report.

In its ‘Cambodia: Diversifying beyond garments and tourism – country diagnostic study’, the bank noted the key challenge in the survival of the country’s garment sector was the country’s focus on low-value, labour-intensive cut-make-trim activities.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has extended health controls on imports of live pigs from the USA and Canada until October 31 next year (2015) because of concerns about continued cases of porcine epidemic diarrhoea (PED).

Brussels imposed rules in July that live exports – for breeding and production – must be accompanied with certificates saying that the pigs were PED-free and had not been anywhere near an infection.…

Plastic banknotes have been in circulation since their introduction in Australia in 1988 and the consensus so far seems to be that they do an excellent job of a key requirement – reducing counterfeiting. It may be that forgers will gain more expertise in time – faking is considerably more difficult on plastic than on cotton-based paper – but the initial reports from larger countries that have taken this route, such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, have persuaded the UK’s Bank of England to follow them.

THE EUROPEAN Medicines Agency (EMA) has released guidance on the maximum amount of three phthalates that should be allowed in pharmaceuticals, because of safety concerns. These plasticisers – diethyl phthalate (DEP), polyvinyl acetate phthalate (PVAP), and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) – can be used to make medicine capsules.…

Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the continuing conflict in the east of Ukraine overshadowed international events last year. But Russia’s cosmetics industry has proved resilient and even maintained ties with Ukraine.

Despite the concerns and challenges, the forecasts for the calendar year 2014 are buoyant.…

Plastic banknotes have been in circulation since their introduction in Australia in 1988 and the consensus so far seems to be that they do an excellent job of a key requirement – reducing counterfeiting. It may be that forgers will gain more expertise in time – faking is considerably more difficult on plastic than on cotton-based paper – but the initial reports from larger countries that have taken this route, such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand, have persuaded the UK’s Bank of England to follow them.

CHINESE President Xi Jinping’s prominent ongoing anti-corruption, anti-money laundering campaign has been worrying mainland Chinese citizens who seek to move ill-gotten wealth from mainland China to China’s Special Administrative Regions Macau and Hong Kong. These two jurisdictions are China’s major conduits for dirty money because, once the money has been moved there, there are no limits on outbound money transfers.…

Rising incomes and a continued tightening of food safety enforcement is boosting demand in China for commercial packaged oils, with consumers moving away from the bulk oils that have dominated past markets.

Overall, while year-on-year growth in global oils and fats production has averaged 3% in each of the past two years vegetable oils sales in China will rise an average 16% per year in the period 2014-2018.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) seems to have sparked a regulatory trend with its REACH chemical control system, with more and more countries in Asia adopting REACH-inspired chemical management laws. Thus textile finishing units, companies and suppliers will have to pay increasingly close attention to chemical regulations in Asia-Pacific countries such as China and South Korea.…

DOCUMENTS obtained by Confectionery Production from the European Union (EU) indicate that Ukraine has lost up to USD126 million’s worth of confectionery export sales to Russia this year, because of Russian trade restrictions.
EU briefing papers note that Ukraine has been complaining to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) since October 2013 about alleged “unjustified barriers to trade caused by the measures of the Russian Federation, in particular, on Ukrainian confectionery products.”…

THE WRITER’S Union of Canada is calling for a number of tax breaks for authors in its submission to the Canadian government’s consultation for framing a federal budget, to ease what it regards as instability and increased industry pressure on writers.…

THE ALCOHOL industry should withdraw its court case against Scotland’s plan to introduce minimum pricing per alcohol unit and allow five years for it to be trialled, said Donald Henderson, head of public health at the Scottish government.

“Let us do it for five years and if we fail, so be it,” he said, speaking at the European Alcohol Policy Conference in Brussels today.…

The request was highly unusual. But, when the ambassador of Haiti to Canada heard that Montreal’s Mirabel airport was to be demolished, his thoughts turned to his country’s Cap Haïtien airport, which was undergoing large-scale renovation. The doomed airport’s equipment, he figured, would be of more use in Haiti than on the scrap-heap.…

AS companies and government organisations implement more stringent fraud detection programmes, they are recruiting the best and brightest anti-fraud experts. Universities in North America, Australia, Europe and Asia are responding to demand for anti-fraud expertise by offering fraud prevention classes in accounting, criminology, and business degrees.…

AMERICAN pigmeat analysts have conformed to globalmeatnews.com that the recovery in US pork production will be sustained, with the pigmeat industry recovering strongly from the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) outbreak.

The comments come after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasted earlier this month that American commercial pork production was set to reach 23.9 billion pounds for the year ending September 2015, exceeding the country’s beef output for the first time after 62 years.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission will once more try to persuade European Union (EU) member states to approve a technical formula for assessing how member states reduce by 6% carbon emissions associated with transport fuel production and use. Under the EU’s 2009 fuel quality directive, this is supposed to be achieved by 2020, but agreement has not been secured on measuring this reduction.…

THE COMPREHENSIVE Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union (EU) will make it easier for both jurisdictions to recognise each other’s nursing certifications. Political leaders celebrated the end of negotiations in September in Ottawa, Canada (Sept 26).…

Mexico, South America, and the United States are usually the focus of discussions about money laundering, drug-trafficking and transnational crime in the Western Hemisphere. However, as countries like Mexico and Colombia have upped their security game, criminals have taken advantage of their small Central American neighbours as weaker links for both the transport of drugs and the laundering of illicit funds associated with the trade.…

THE AMERICAN government has complained of delays by the outgoing European Commission that leaves office on November 1 regarding the authorisation of new bio-tech food products and ingredients for use in the European Union (EU). In a strongly worded message to the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) disputes settlement body, the US said that the EU had failed to leave decisions to regulatory committees acting on European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) advice.…

ANTIMICROBIAL textile manufacturers face an ever increasing number of mandatory and voluntary standards around the world that clarify and specify how they can ensure safety, quality, and proper testing of their products. With bacteria becoming more resistant to anti-microbial treatments, this is of special importance to cleanroom managers in hospitals, laboratories, food research, military and other sectors.…

The US, Germany, Britain and Switzerland are the only countries among 41 signatories to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development’s (OECD) 1997 Anti-Bribery Convention to vigorously investigate and prosecute firms that bribe foreign officials.

So says anti-corruption organisation Transparency International in the latest update of Exporting Corruption, its tenth such annual report, covering the years 2010 through 2013.…

WORKWEAR producers know that their products must be reliable. And one excellent way to demonstrate that is ensuring and declaring that their production and materials are in line with those recommended by national and international standards organisations.

In the competitive American market, development organisations such as the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colourists (AATCC) constantly update workwear-related safety and testing standards. …

DETAILS of the agreement to mutually open the groundhandling markets of the European Union (EU) and Canada have been revealed upon the end of negotiations over a major trade deal. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between them goes much further than standard trade deals, offering mutual investment protection, movement of skilled workers and access to service markets.…

As the global apparel sector searches for more eco-friendly fibres and fabrics, innovative developments are increasingly focusing on more sustainable and often unusual alternative feedstocks.
Companies are being encouraged to innovate also by recent high cotton prices and a growing awareness that tighter control of supply chains can help keep costs down in general.…

THE NEWLY finalised European Union (EU)-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will give European knitwear manufacturers an advantage over Canadian producers and could encourage European brands to set up operations in Canada, an industry leader in Ottawa has argued.

CETA includes mutual investment protection clauses for EU and Canada companies wanting to establish themselves or finance manufacturing in the other signatory jurisdiction.…

Pharmaceuticals are at the heart of the ambitious trade agreement whose final details have just been agreed between the European Union (EU) and Canada, with both sides agreeing that it will improve market access and facilitate innovation for drug companies on both sides of the Atlantic.…

CANADA will start developing capacity to produce hormone-free meat for the European Union (EU) market following the conclusion of an EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a senior European Commission official has said. The end of technical negotiations was formally announced on Friday (September 26) during an EU-Canada summit in Ottawa.…

THE EUROPEAN meat and livestock industry is anticipating the imminent lifting of BSE-related restrictions on European Union (EU) beef exports to Canada, as work on drafting an EU-Canada free trade agreement has concluded.

EU trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht told the European Parliament last week that the EU and Canada had completed their Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), which will be unveiled on Friday in Ottawa.…

EURATEX, the Brussels-based European Apparel and Textile Confederation, yesterday hailed the completion of negotiations for a European Union (EU)-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, (CETA) adding however that it regrets that origin rules have been weakened for 15 garment clothing products under the deal.…

ARMENIA is trying to increase its garment and textile market share locally and internationally, with the Russian government trying to help with a USD1 million grant. This will fund a project ‘Improving Competitiveness of Export-Oriented Industries in Armenia through Modernisation and Market Access’, which will be implemented by the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).…

EUROPE is suffering economically from commercial aviation flights diverting to the Middle East and Turkey, where airports have far more spare capacity, Angela Gittens, the director general of Airports Council International World (ACI World) has claimed. Highlighting growth at Dubai and Istanbul airports at ICAO’s first Global Aviation Cooperation Symposium (GACS), she said: “Internal constraints in Europe [on airport capacity] are allowing more traffic to be carried to other areas – especially in the Middle East, where they have kept up with capacity, and Istanbul where they have a national public-private approach towards aviation – their economies benefit.…

Two years ago Brazil was so worried that its main airports would not be ready for the 2014 World Cup that its government froze plans to build and renovate 270 airfields nationwide. Now that the football fiesta is over and the concessions running key hubs has delivered good results, South America’s powerhouse looked set to start focusing on airports and airfields in smaller cities, especially those that are not state capitals.…

An international Joint Cybercrime Action Taskforce (J-CAT) was launched September 1 to step up the fight against online fraudsters in the European Union (EU) and beyond.

Housed in the Netherlands-based European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), J-CAT is a six-month pilot scheme to coordinate international investigations.…

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 EUROPEAN meat market is not in crisis following the embargo imposed by Russia on meat from the European Union (EU), a European Commission expert has told globalmeatnews.com.

Looking at price levels and producers’ margins, Dr Kai-Uwe Sprenger, market officer for animal products at the European Commission’s directorate general (DG) for agriculture, said that there are no significant variations in these two areas so far.…

Canadian non-ferrous metal producers will be aided in accessing profitable European Union (EU) markets following Friday’s release of an EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) text in Ottawa, its industry leaders say. 

“Certainly we would welcome the opening of markets,” David Butler, executive director and general counsel at the Nickel Institute, told Metal Bulletin, underscoring the importance of the removal of tariffs and access to European markets for Canadian metal products and ores.…

THE UNITED States is trying to come up with a tailor-made international marketing strategy to tap a bigger share of pork sales, now growing at an estimated 12% between 2013- 2018 globally, the country’s National Pork Board (NPB) vice president for strategic communication Kevin Waetke said.…

THE CANADIAN auto industry has welcomed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) now negotiated between the European Union (EU) and Canada, but it may become more significant, if a trade deal is struck between the EU and the USA.

“The biggest issues with CETA, and what we’re excited about, is the removal of the EU 10% tariff,” said Jeffrey Pierce, policy analyst at Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, an industry association, whose members include Canada-based automotive manufacturers.…

THE END of European Union (EU) deliberations over whether to label Canadian oil sands as more polluting than conventional oil sources helped the EU and Canada agree a Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), including energy policy, the Petroleum Review has been told.…

AS TECHNOLOGICAL security features in cosmetics and personal care products packaging become increasingly sophisticated and harder to beat, they will offer more intelligent and multi-functional security. From authentication, to tracking and tracing products during distribution, and preventing and detecting tampering, these systems help brands access their global distribution network, ensuring products move smoothly from production to consumer.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) is currently assessing the impact of Russia’s ban of beef, pork and poultry meat imports from the bloc, which was announced today by the Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in response to sanctions over the situation in Ukraine.…

THE COMPREHENSIVE Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) concluded between the European Union (EU) and Canada in September is expected to significantly promote trade and investment between the EU and Canada. The agreement will scrap tariffs, open service sectors, and guarantee investment.…

The European Commission is poised to intervene in Europe’s fruit and vegetable markets following Moscow’s food embargo and may withdraw supplies of vegetables to avoid a collapse in prices, a Commission spokesman told just-food.com

Roger Waite, a spokesman for the Commission, said the measures would be proposed within days and could also include free distribution of vegetables to charitable groups.…

IN the search for ways to extract energy from a reliable and efficient source to power heat pumps, the water lapping the shores of our continents is increasingly being viewed as a key resource. “Sea water, like any water, has the ability to retain heat for a long period of time.…

THE BAN imposed by Russia at the beginning of August on dairy products from the European Union (EU), US, Canada, Norway and Australia will cause disturbances on the European and world markets, the European Dairy Association (EDA) warned the European Commission on August 13.…

THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) oil refining industry is looking at September as the time when the European Commission may propose a new way to implement the bloc’s fuel quality directive (FQD). This would break a deadlock of almost three years, with Brussels tabling its last proposed technical rules on how the 2009 law should work in October 2011.…

INDIAN confectionery and sweet bakery producers are struggling to gain lucrative export markets due to the lack of proper domestic food regulations, the country’s poor infrastructure and the high cost of borrowing money. 

“Not much is exported to the developed world from India because our laws are not harmonised with that of other countries,” said Harsh Arora, president of the Indian Confectionery Manufacturers’ Association.…

For nurses coming to work in Britain from overseas, a key requirement is always going to be proficiency in English. A Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) spokesperson noted that under European legislation the NMC “is not allowed to ask EU [European Union]-trained EU nationals to demonstrate language competency as a requirement for registration in the UK.”…

Market dynamics are shifting east to west for the Canadian steel industry as demand from the country’s flourishing oil and gas industry outstrips traditional manufacturing.

Requiring CAD4 billion’s (USD3.76 billion) worth of steel annually, the country’s energy industry, overwhelmingly based in western Canada, currently represents more than a quarter of country’s demand for steel, which totals CAD14 billion (USD13.17 billion) annually, according to the Canadian Steel Producers Association (CPSA).…

Regulators participating in the International Cooperation on Cosmetics Regulation (ICCR) met in Ottawa, Canada for their annual meeting (July 8 – 10) to discuss how member countries could better harmonise regulatory requirements and standards, promoting trade, among their cosmetics and personal care industries.…

WHEN American personal care product giant Johnson & Johnson opened its shared-services centre in Prague during 2006, it employed 12 people and provided only in-group procure-to-pay services. Currently this Johnson & Johnson finance centre is the largest of the five centres the company operates worldwide in terms of staff numbers as well as the scope of services it provides to internal business partners.…

The Canadian book industry’s increasing reliance on best-selling “blockbuster” titles is causing significant rise and fall in yearly sales, according to the CEO of Canadian book sales service not-for-profit group BookNet Canada.

Noah Genner was speaking after Canada’s largest book retail chain Indigo felt the effects of there being no major selling title in 2013 – the company recently reported a significant net loss of CAD31 million in 2013, compared to profits of CAD4.3 million the year before.…

THE COMPREHENSIVE Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union (EU) and Canada has prompted hopes within the Canadian personal care industry that it can seize more future sales in Europe’s huge market. Industry figures told Soap Perfumery & Cosmetics that while they welcomed the duty reductions arising from the deal which was agreed in principle last October, what really encourages them is the prospect of regulatory harmonisation between the EU and Canada.…

White-collar professionals involved in UK organised crime will face up to five years in jail under a new offence promised in the Queen’s Speech, detailing the last legislative programme before a 2015 general election. Ministers hope to prosecute up to 200 lawyers, accountants and other professionals every year as a result of provisions in a serious crime bill unveiled today.…

The value of European Union (EU) exports of spirits and liqueurs dropped 1.6% in value last year after being the fastest-growing product group in 2012, according to the European Commission’s ‘Agricultural trade in 2013: EU Gains in Commodity Exports’ report. Whisky exports in particular dropped steeply – by EUR131 million.…

AN INDIAN pharmaceutical manufacturer is borrowing USD147.5 million from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to boost production of affordable generic medicines, especially for poorer India consumers. Jubilant Pharma Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of India-based international pharma company Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd, manufactures in India, USA, and Canada.…

LIVE pigs imported from the USA and Canada will henceforth be tested for porcine epidemic diarrhoea (PED) to prevent the disease being introduced to Europe from north America.

The controls have been approved by the European Union’s (EU) standing committee on the food chain and animal health (SCOFCAH).…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has released a new European Energy Security Strategy, aimed at further reducing Europe’s reliance on energy imports, notably on politically unreliable trading partners such as Russia.

Its new policy plan was to be debated at the next European Union (EU) summit (European Council) on June 26-27, in Brussels.…

A European Commission investigation into Fiat’s tax arrangements in Luxembourg has put the spotlight on alleged backdoor subsidies received by Europe’s automobile manufacturers and comes at a difficult time for the sector.

At the heart of the probe is the suggestion that Luxembourg authorities gave Fiat finance and trade an unfair advantage over other companies in a 2012  “tax ruling” that calculated the company’s taxable profits.…

US-based Baker & Taylor and Canada-based Whitehots Inc have agreed to cooperate in offering Canadian libraries and schools a one-stop, cloud-based platform to acquire and distribute print and digital material. “What was missing in the [Canadian] market was a Canadian company that was able to sell both print and digital materials to Canadian public and school libraries,” said Russ Culver, CEO of Whitehots.…

CANADA’S Torstar Corp has told the Bookseller that it was not looking to sell its stake in romance novel publisher Harlequin Enterprises Limited, but the offer from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp was too good to pass up.

Torstar spokesman Bob Hepburn said yesterday (Tuesday): “Torstar had not been looking to sell (Harlequin), it has been and remains profitable.”…

WHEN it comes to subsidies in the European Union (EU), the representatives of the fossil fuels industries and those of the renewable energy sources have long pointed the finger at each other about who receives more support from the public purse.…

Law enforcement authorities in South Africa, the USA and Canada have arrested 15 people in connection with transnational internet scams allegedly run by members of the Yahoo Boys, a west African gang.

According to charges filed in Mississippi, US, the mass marketing frauds concerned include obtaining financial cooperation from bogus dating and social networking website exchanges; requests to re-ship goods that had actually been stolen; fraudulent cheque scams; and fake work-at-home schemes (sometimes including advanced fees); along with the hijacking of bank, financial and credit card accounts.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Civil Avition Organisation (ICAO) is pushing hard for a global aircraft tracking system in the wake of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370. But, while recommendations on aircraft tracking solutions will be issued later this year, binding standards may still be some way off.…

Global technology analysts Gartner Inc is well known for its articulated predictions. An announcement in January 2014 to accompany its report on ‘Predicts 2014: The Rise of the Postmodern ERP and Enterprise Applications World’, highlighted the complex, and at times conflicting scenario facing companies considering moving their enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems to the cloud.…

DANISH companies are gearing up to export sausages, salami and other heat-treated pork products to China after the two countries struck a bilateral agreement on access to Chinese markets. Denmark, Germany, Canada and the US are China’s biggest pork trade partners but currently can export only live pigs, frozen and fresh pork to one of the world’s fastest growing consumer markets for meat and meat products.…

Compliance experts believe the sanctions imposed thus far by the USA and European Union (EU) on Russia over the Ukraine crisis will have a mixed effect. One of the biggest criticisms is that the sanctions were publicly discussed before being implemented giving targeted individuals time to get their finances to a safe haven.…

Compliance experts believe the sanctions imposed thus far by the USA and European Union (EU) on Russia over the Ukraine crisis will have a mixed effect. One of the biggest criticisms is that the sanctions were publicly discussed before being implemented giving targeted individuals time to get their finances to a safe haven.…

NORTH American researchers have discovered a way to genetically engineer trees to make their wood easier to break down in industrial processing, requiring fewer chemicals and less energy to produce paper and biofuels. The project, a collaboration between researchers at Canada’s University of British Columbia (UBC) and the USA’s University of Wisconsin-Madison and Michigan State University, has potentially significant implications for the commercial use of wood by-products and how they relate to forestry management and the environment.…

A FREE trade agreement signed between Canada and South Korea could see increased investment by the nuclear fuel hungry Korea in Canada’s abundant uranium resources.

The agreement – inked on March 11, and Canada’s first with an Asian country – lays down rules on how South Korean investments should be made in Canada, with a focus on boosting transparency and predictability, according to a note from the Canadian government Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).…

PORCINE epidemic diarrhoea (PED) killed around 150,000 young pigs in Taiwan from October last year to this February, causing pork prices to reach a 10-year high in the country. With local elections due in November, the government has been speaking out about alleged price gouging, while at the same time loosening import controls for European pork; after approval in March, a first shipment of 400 tonnes of frozen pork from France is expected to arrive in late May.…

CHINA has announced that it will re-admit pork and poultry imports from Chile, having suspended them last July (2013) over concerns about dioxin contamination.

China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has however posted a statement insisting that importers submit animal health documents and no–doxin-contamination test reports from Chile’s Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG).…

ONE of the warmest fibres used in knitwear across the world is also – unsurprisingly – one of the rarest and most expensive, making the manufacturing of ‘qiviuk’ garments from musk ox wool a true art. Harvested from the soft underfur of this High Arctic musk ox, qiviuk fibre is long, does not shrink when washed and lacks the scales that makes sheep wool itchy.…

Apparel and textile companies must consider a variety of complex factors when looking to switch suppliers, especially to a new manufacturer, such as assessing the risk of delivery delays and receiving products of poor quality.

Software specifically geared towards apparel and textile production can now help companies track these changes, anticipate issues caused by the shift, and help integrate new suppliers within the supply chain, while tracking their progress.…

EUROPEAN and Canadian groundhandlers stand to benefit from the free trade agreement concluded between the European Union (EU) and Canada last October (2013).

While some technical details are still being ironed out, the European Commission, which handles trade negotiations on behalf of the 28 EU countries, announced that the EU had managed to boost access for EU groundhandlers to the Canadian airport market by opening up the country’s public procurement procedures to EU bidders.…

THE ROLE of secondary packaging in cosmetics and personal care products is growing. In addition to protecting and presenting the product, companies are expecting these packages to interact with consumers and engage the senses. Innovators in the industry are therefore developing packaging with multiple uses – from displaying textures and scents to playing music and even rotating automatically.  …

The European Union (EU) has ended nearly four years of speculation and uncertainty for auditors by agreeing a package of audit reforms that reflects major signs of compromise but which nevertheless will bring about big changes in the profession. The clear hope is that the changes will lead to a more competitive and effective audit profession, thereby helping prevent a repeat of the financial crisis of the last few years.…

An official at the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) has predicted to Steel First that the trade agreement struck between Canada and South Korea on Tuesday could increase demand for Korean-made steel.

The official, who had worked on the trade deal talks, explained that there were currently “no fixed plans” to create Korean car plants in Canada and also that any increased demand for Korean cars in Canada arising from the deal would probably not be met by the two Korean-owned plants in the USA (in Georgia and Alabama.)…

A TRADE agreement struck between Canada and South Korea this week (Tuesday March 11) has raised fears in the Canadian automobile about a potential increase in South Korean automotive exports.

Upon the agreement’s ratification (which may happen within a year), South Korea will remove all existing tariffs, including on all passenger cars and light trucks (8%) and all automotive parts (3% to 8%) exported from Canada.…

THE CARIBBEAN is maybe the most culturally diverse region in the world and this has been reflected in its colourful, tasty and varied cuisine. So it is no surprise that the region’s confectionery sector is innovative, drawing on unusual combinations of ingredients that create tasty products that could serve as inspiration for companies around the world.…

THE HEALTH minister in British Columbia (BC), Canada, has proposed a Laboratory Services Act, the first phase of the provincial government’s three-year plan to standardise the province’s medical laboratory services.  The act would give the provincial government greater control in coordinating clinical laboratory systems, (including auditing and billing), for the 125 laboratories in BC that currently provide medical laboratory services.…

EDUCATION institutions in Canada have interpreted changes to the nation’s copyright laws with impunity, threatening the sustainability of the publishing and creating industry, charges publishing and author representatives. Universities, colleges and schools are taking the inclusion of “short excerpts” in 2012 amendments to the Canada Copyright Act as allowing 10% of published material to be copied without licence, noted Carolyn Wood, executive director of the Association of Canadian Publishers.…

CANADIAN industrial mineral producers look set to benefit from a new free trade deal signed by their government with South Korea. Canada’s key potash sector is welcoming the agreement.

With South Korea being a key developed target market, lacking many mineral resources and needing to fertilize a strong agricultural sector, Canada already has a healthy industrial mineral trade with South Korea.…

The Aluminium Association of Canada has welcomed the striking of a Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement, saying it will help its industry boost sales to South Korea.

Once the deal has been ratified (probably within a year), 98.7% of tariffs levied on metal and minerals traded between the two countries will be eliminated.…

THE NICARAGUAN government has raised fears that the planned reopening of the US market to Brazilian beef could risk spreading foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) to north and central America. Its representatives spoke out at a meeting this week (Thursday March 26) of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) sanitary and phytosanitary committee, in Geneva.…

CANADIAN meat exporters have welcomed a Canada-South Korea free trade agreement announced yesterday (March 11), saying it will boost trade and help them compete for sales in South Korea’s often wealthy markets.

“The absence of an FTA [free trade agreement] with Korea was causing substantial and growing prejudice to the Canadian pork industry due to the tariff rates since all of our key competitors in South Korea have FTAs in place,” said Jean-Guy Vincent, chair of the Canadian Pork Council.…

PHARMACEUTICAL manufacturers in the European Union (EU) can only protect their active ingredients against exploitation by generic manufacturers for 15 years, even when securing patent protection expiring at a later date. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that the maximum combined duration of protection gained from patents and supplementary protection certificates approved during patent applications is 15 years.…

A EUROPEAN Union (EU) scientific committee has sounded an alarm about potential health concerns regarding the use of nano-silver in clothing – the substance often used as an antibacterial in knitted socks.

The EU’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks has noted studies indicating that “nanosilver exposure leads possibly to genotoxicity, changes in activity of the immune system and an accumulation of silver in spleen, liver and testes.”…

MONEY laundering through global shell companies could be better tackled with simple and inexpensive measures rather than revisions of complex anti-money laundering (AML) procedures, according to a senior Australian academic. “We don’t need more rules, we need better enforcement of existing rules,” said Prof Jason Sharman, co-author of ‘Global Shell Games: Experiments in Transnational Relations, Crime, and Terrorism’, due for release in April 2014.…

NEGOTIATIONS for a renewed International Agreement on Olive Oil are intensifying in Madrid. The agreement runs out at the end of this year and its member jurisdictions, of which the European Union (EU) is the biggest, are working to forge a new agreement by December.…

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.…

THE CIVIL conflict and political tension that has wracked South Sudan since December has delayed already difficult discussions about building a new oil pipeline to this troubled, oil-rich and landlocked country. As it stands, South Sudan – the world’s newest country – has only one option for exporting its crude: a pipeline cutting through Sudan – the country from which it seceded in 2011, following a decades-long civil war.…

THE WORLD’S tobacco trade is not always a straightforward affair, being held up by export and import licence applications, port dues, quality checks, corruption and unusual red tape. A new World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation, struck last December, is designed to ease some of these difficulties.…

THE SECRETARY general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia (GMAC) has predicted that his country’s beleaguered clothing industry will continue to grow exports to key target markets, despite the industrial unrest currently threatening production.

Speaking to just-style.com, Ken Loo stressed that the capacity of Cambodia’s garment sector had continued to grow last year, which was why the southeast Asian country’s apparel products hit USD5.53 billion last year (2013), up 20% from the USD4.61 billion exported in 2012, according to figures from Cambodia’s ministry of commerce.…

THE BEST packaging always seems to be an integral part of a product – indeed for personal care product consumers, the appearance of a container can be why they make a purchase. So for brands, making packaging decorations and finishing seem to melt into a product can be or critical importance.…

SOURCING in Asia has been a merry-go-round for many buyers in recent years. As the era of low-cost Chinese manufacturing draws more or less to a close, several countries have leveraged their low cost labour to capture a significant volume of the world’s lower end knitwear manufacturing, while others have sought to extend their reach into higher value-added manufacturing by investing in infrastructure and training.…

SOURCING in Asia has been a merry-go-round for many buyers in recent years. As the era of low-cost Chinese manufacturing draws more or less to a close, several countries have leveraged their low cost labour to capture a significant volume of the world’s lower end knitwear manufacturing, while others have sought to extend their reach into higher value-added manufacturing by investing in infrastructure and training.…

POOR building construction and inadequate fire safety infrastructure are still putting Bangladesh garment factory workers at risk, according to initial inspections led by Brad Loewen, chief safety inspector for the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh. Mr Loewen, a Canadian, is set to lead a team to inspect 1,500 factories this year, identifying ways that brands and factory owners can improve workplace safety in an industry plagued with factory fires and collapses.…

Canada’s higher education sector has welcomed a comprehensive strategy released by the Canadian government for recruiting more foreign students into its institutions.

Announcing a new International Education Strategy on Wednesday (Jan 15), the country’s international trade minister Ed Fast accepted that Canada could profit more from the lucrative global international student market.…

INDIA’s Amul Dairy is now producing in the USA under an exclusive manufacturing and packaging arrangement with Summit Milk Products based in Waterloo, New York State.

“We are already supplying ghee (clarified butter) and paneer (cottage cheese) to bulk consumers like Indian restaurants and temples,” Rahul Kumar, managing director of Anand, Gujarat-headquartered Amul, told just-food.…

THE EUROPEAN Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has concluded that the sweetener aspartame is safe for human consumption at current recommended levels of consumption. Following a review of evidence provided both by animal and human studies, EFSA experts have ruled out a potential risk of aspartame causing damage to genes and inducing cancer for most consumers.…

WITH the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) agreeing that all Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) it holds on its ELMER database will be deleted once they are older than six years, a long British debate balancing the needs of law enforcement and privacy has come to an end (at least temporarily).…

CANADIAN beef exporters are applauding Taiwan’s announcement last week that it will accept more Canadian beef imports, a decade after an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) – mad cow disease – sparked health concerns and closed markets to Canada. 

“We’re very happy to have this step.…

CANADA is making it easier for foreign nurses, including from Britain, to apply for licences by harmonising diverse requirements from its 10 provinces and three territories. This is the key goal of a National Nursing Assessment Service (NNAS) (http://www.nnas.ca/), set to launch August.…

Most of north India’s steel mills are running at less than 50% capacity due to poor power supply and rising input costs, according to a report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Accenture management consultants.

The ‘Indian Steel Industry – An overview and growth prospects in north India’ report said the power outages “are resulting in production losses and forcing many mills to work only single shifts.”…

WITH Canada and the European Union (EU) fleshing out details of a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), announced in October, paints and coatings trade between the two could experience long-term growth thorough the removal of key trade barriers – both tariff and regulatory measures.…

WITH Canada and the European Union (EU) fleshing out details of a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), announced in October, paints and coatings trade between the two could experience long-term growth thorough the removal of key trade barriers – both tariff and regulatory measures.…

IT has not happened yet but the outlook for effective world-wide action to expose the beneficial ownership of shell companies and other kinds of suspect corporate vehicles is probably better today than it has been for many years, perhaps ever. That’s the word from Robert Palmer of Global Witness, the campaign group which has played a leading part in pressing for action on the matter.…

THE INTERNATIONAL Meat Trade Association (IMTA) has welcomed the striking of a new global trade deal by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which should ease import and customs procedures that can slow the delivery of meat and livestock to export customers.…

BRANDS and environmental groups are calling on the apparel and textile industry to use alternatives to wood pulp-based fibres such as rayon and viscose sourced from endangered forests as demand for these fibres is expected to explode.

Forest-based fabrics make up about 5% of total textile industry inputs, but demand is expected to increase by 112% in the next 40 years, said Nicole Rycroft, executive director of Canada-based non-profit organisation, Canopy.…

BANGLADESH’S garment makers face a drought of summer 2014 orders as western retailers have begun fleeing the South Asian nation after recent political violence and a physical attack on Spanish buyers.

Top industry leaders said that global buyers, seeking stable alternatives, have already diverted 30%-35% of orders to Bangladesh’s rivals, with India, Indonesia and Vietnam emerging as winners.…

MALAWI’S government is working furiously to win back international donor support suspended over a multi-million euro corruption scandal involving dozens of officials and ministers close to the country’s leader, Joyce Banda, southern Africa’s first female president. Bill Corcoran reports from Lilongwe.…

THE GOVERNMENT of Québec has confirmed it will table legislation in the New Year expected to limit discounts on new books to 10%. And while the move would address an important challenge facing independent booksellers, it would hurt the sector in general, said the Canadian bookselling industry.…

THE EXPLOITATION of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Peercoin and Namecoin, to name but a few, by money launderers is an emerging concern amongst anti-money laundering (AML) regulators. They may not be legal tender, but they are convertible if owners can find institutions or people willing to turn them into fiat currency.…

Cameco – Canada’s leading uranium producer – has given a cautious welcome to the prospect of eased restrictions on European investment in Canada’s uranium industry as part of the recently agreed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union (EU).…

THE RECENTLY concluded Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union (EU) and Canada may bring opportunities for European producers of Oriental tobacco, Antonio Abrunhosa, chief executive of the International Tobacco Growers’ Association (ITGA) has told Tobacco Journal International.…

LEADING law associations worldwide are joining forces to publish in-depth case studies of how lawyers and other legal professionals become unwittingly enmeshed in money laundering by clients.

The Money Laundering Bulletin has learned that the London-based International Bar Association (IBA) is to produce such a report amid disgruntlement over a June 2013 study in which the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published typologies of money laundering methods in which lawyers were involved.…

International trade agreements might seem of little importance to the world of nursing – think again. The European Union (EU) has recently struck a comprehensive deal with Canada and is negotiating one with the USA that goes far beyond the usual scope of reducing tariffs on goods.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) and Canadian paints and coatings 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 good traded between the parties being scrapped.…

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.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) pharma companies are set to benefit from a new free trade deal struck between the EU and Canada, with Canada liberalising its patent protection rules. Once the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) has been ratified (probably in 2015), Canada will lock its practice of providing eight years’ market exclusivity, with a six year block on applications for generic drugs, and a two-year ‘no-marketing’ period when generic manufacturers can prepare medicines for sale.…

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.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) and Canadian plastics 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 good traded between the parties being scrapped.…

The executive director of Uruguay’s intensive cattle producers’ association, AUPCIN, has said that he expects the rapid growth in sales of Uruguayan beef to China to continue over the next few years, due to a number of significant competitive advantages and an aggressive promotional strategy.…

CANADA and the European Union (EU) have agreed on a scheme to recognise each other’s professional qualifications for accountants and other regulated professions as part of a new Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). *http://www.actionplan.gc.ca/en/page/ceta-aecg/technical-summary…

CANADA’S international environmental reputation has taken a beating in the past decade, dropping out of the Kyoto Protocol and developing emissions-rich production oil sands for a world that is hungry for its energy products. But Canada’s Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) is seeking to address that problem by encouraging environmental reporting, helping to set fiscal terms of reference for the country’s emerging clean energy economy.…

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 Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has provisionally recommended that exposure levels to food consumers from the plastic packaging chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) be lowered sharply. This follows a review of more than 450 studies, which identified “likely” damage to consumers’ livers, kidneys and potential harm to mammary glands “linked to exposure to the chemical.”…

A major international survey of education standards has found serious weaknesses in the EU countries when compared to levels in other parts of the world. In spite of the heavy investment in higher education in recent years in the EU, the study suggests that a fifth of the working age population has worrying low literacy and numeracy skills and a quarter of adults lack the digital skills needed to effectively use ICT.…

The European and Canadian steel industries have welcomed the recently agreed free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union (EU). Senior officials from both sides say their steel exports should rise as a result, especially from the mutual liberalisation of public procurement contracts.…

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.…

MEXICO’S new president Enrique Peña Nieto, who came to office in December 2012, promised a less militaristic fight against the country’s increasingly violent drug trade, so his government’s implementation of a new anti-money laundering (AML) law will be watched closely.

Past president Felipe Calderón launched a severe military-led crackdown against the country’s drug cartels towards the end of 2006, around 80,000 people have since been killed in drug-related violence since.…

Canadian mineral products exporters are optimistic that the free trade agreement struck between Canada and the European Union (EU) last Friday will increase sales of Canadian minerals to Europe. The Mining Association of Canada supports the deal in principle, said its spokesperson Johanne Senécal.…

One of the world’s largest antimony metal and tri-oxide manufacturing facilities, with a 20,000 tonnes per annum capacity, is to open in Oman. At an estimated investment cost of USD60 million, London-listed integrated antimony development company Tri-Star Resources has entered into a joint venture with the Oman Investment Fund (OIF), the Arabian Gulf country’s sovereign wealth fund, and Dubai Transport Company affiliate Castell Investments Ltd to build and operate the antimony roasting facility.…

Canadian non-ferrous metal and metal product exporters are optimistic that the free trade agreement struck between Canada and the European Union (EU) last Friday will increase sales of Canadian metal to Europe.

Jeffrey Pierce, policy analyst for the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters organisation told Metal Bulletin: “To be able to remove tariffs and open a market of 500 million new consumers for Canadian mining and mineral organisations, that’s a tremendous opportunity,” he added.                                                                                                     …

Any market and industry benefits from supply diversification, so major textile and clothing companies can take heart from continued innovation amongst fibre and fabric producers over sourcing. This extends, for instance, to sourcing material from unusual places such as milk and fishing nets, while creating more opportunities for traditional sources such as flax.…

THE RECENTLY agreed free trade agreement between Canada and the European Union (EU) could spark a major increase in European apparel exports to Canada competitors, Bob Kirke, executive director of the Canadian Apparel Federation, has told just-style. “It could have a significant impact,” he said.…

The free trade agreement struck between the EU and Canada will remove a requirement that Canadian spirits companies only import bulk spirits from the EU for blending with domestic spirits. The Canadian government yesterday (Wednesday) announced “the removal of the federal blending requirement for imported distilled spirits,” would be part of the agreement, announced October 18.…

A GLOBAL market-based system controlling civil aviation greenhouse gas emissions will be developed by 2016, the ruling assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has agreed. Member states, meeting in Montréal, Canada, said the new system should be up and running by 2020.…

THE FREE trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Canada concluded last week (CETA) will open the Canadian market for airport groundhandling services to European providers, according to an EU source participating in the negotiations.

“We have not only regained a level-playing field with Canada’s NAFTA [North American Free Trade Agreement] partners, but we have also been able to exceed that in some areas, such as groundhandling services in airports,” the official explained to Jane’s Airport Review at a background briefing in Brussels.…

THE SCALE of the European Union (EU) market access secured for Canadian meat exporters within the free trade agreement struck between the EU and Canada has been made clear by the the Canadian government. It yesterday (Wednesday) revealed details of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), announced October 18.…

EUROPEAN AND Canadian meat traders are looking to boost overseas sales after today’s formal announcement of the widely anticipated Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

Speaking in Brussels, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said: “We were able to strike a very good balance between our offensive and defensive interests [in agriculture],” while noting that this area was particularly sensitive during the negotiations.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) regulators are tangling with the difficulty of tightening rules-of-origin for meat products, given the potentially significant number of manufacturing stages required. The European Commission and European Parliament have been considering their response to the horse meat labelling scandal.…

TECHNICAL and security experts have gathered at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to consider how to roll-out developing automated border control (ABC) systems, which offer hard-pressed airports the ability to better process surging passenger numbers.

Staged at ICAO’s headquarters, in Montréal, Canada, from October 22 to 24, the agency’s ninth symposium and exhibition on MRTDs [machine readable travel documents] biometrics and border security debated ABC developments such as newly-emerging technologies; trust issues; reliability; non-intrusiveness; biometrics; effective inspections tools; trusted traveller programmes; challenges to border integrity and ways to address them.…

THE DEMAND for lithium will increase dramatically in Europe over the next five years, according to the vice-president of the Interparliamentary Raw Minerals Group at the European Parliament. Also a leading liberal democrat MEP, Vladko Panayotov, of Bulgaria, was speaking during a European Parliament meeting on critical raw minerals organised yesterday (Tuesday) by the Beryllium Science and Technology Association (BeST).…

TWO of the world’s largest fertilizer suppliers will face investment cuts after Sweden’s four largest national pension funds decided to sell their holdings over purchases of phosphate rock in the disputed Western Sahara region.

The decision to sell stock in Canada-based PotashCorp and Australia-based mining company Incitec Pivot came on the recommendation of the funds’ joint Ethical Council, which keeps tabs on allegations of environmental and human rights violations among the portfolios of the A1, A2, A3 and A4 funds.…

In an operation of almost military-like ruthless efficiency, labourers from the public works department ripped down the comfortable wooden straw-padded home of Canada’s national kitties and abducted the occupants, dumping them with unnamed volunteers to live a comfortable exile somewhere in Ottawa.…

British universities have been partnering with the University of Hargeisa (UoH), of breakaway state Somaliland, to boost the institution’s international credibility.

Although international recognition has yet to be conferred on Somaliland since it separated from Somalia in 1991, its largest university with 6,500 students, located in the capital city of Hargeisa, been seeking foreign partners to supply a higher educational system to Somaliland students.…

More academic papers are now available for free than in paid-for peer reviewed journals, according to a study released yesterday (Wednesday) by the European Commission’s directorate general for research and innovation.

“This new research suggests that open access is reaching the tipping point, with around 50% of scientific papers published in 2011 now available for free,” Brussels said in a statement.…

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.…

The 9.5MW J920 FleXtra gas engine formally installed in May this year by the municipal utility Stadtwerke Rosenheim, in Bavaria, Germany, ticks off a number of important innovations. The largest gas engine yet developed by the Austrian company GE Jenbacher, the unit is seen by the company as an illustration of the role distributed energy is now playing in Germany’s ‘Energiewende’ – the country’s policy to halt all nuclear power by 2022 and replace it with natural gas, renewable energy, and greater use of energy efficient technologies.…

JAPAN’S paint and coatings industry has enjoyed steady growth over the last couple of years, with demand growing both at home and abroad, although some of the biggest names in the industry here remain concerned about the longer-term outlook for the sector.…

IT is common sense that for really fast fashion, sourcing should be made as close to a home market as costs will allow. And for the world’s two largest fast fashion markets – the European Union (EU) and the United States – geography does provide some useful neighbours able to offer lower cost out-sourcing, albeit not as cheap as in east and south Asia.…

To meet apparel and textile brands’ desire to move into fast fashion, manufacturers have begun to embrace new production processes that improve efficiency and performance. Apparel and textile manufacturers have been slower than many other manufacturing industries to embrace supply chain improvements in speed, but are now succumbing to pressure from brands moving into fast fashion retail.…

APPAREL and textile manufacturers looking to streamline their supply chains can benefit from product lifecycle management software, which can make communications and risk management processes linking suppliers and retailers more efficient and accurate.

“There’s a lot of new technology that’s been introduced in the last few years that helps manage that supply chain – everything from the finances, the logistics, quality, design, right through into merchandising,” said Robert Cammilleri, senior account executive of business development at US-based safety consulting company, UL (Underwriters Laboratories Inc).…

MOBILE communication services have become a significant focus for airports worldwide regarding improving passenger experience, especially as the use of interconnected smart devices has boomed. Airports have been building on previous services, such as improving and expanding their wireless internet coverage and working with airlines to allow for flight check-ins via mobile communication devices.…

‘LA TORRE PUIG,’ the 22-storey Puig Tower now being fitted out in the Plaza de Europa, of the Catalan capital, Barcelona, for Puig SL, the family owned fragrances and fashion firm, will be yet another landmark building for one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.…

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 NEGOTIATIONS for a free trade agreement (FTA) between the European Union (EU) and the United States, which started this month in Washington DC (July 8), could push the world towards a truly global vehicle regulatory system for the first time, according to EU sources close to the negotiations.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has released documents showing that it wants the US to ban future export restrictions on selling energy products raw materials to the European Union (EU), during negotiations for the planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. This would be the world’s largest bilateral trade deal.…

GREENLAND has taken another step towards strengthening its mining regulatory controls by agreeing to participate in the Kimberley Process for certifying diamonds as untainted by war and civil strife. But the autonomous island – part of the Danish kingdom – will not handle this work alone.…

a nervous Afghanistan ponders its future after 2014, when NATO forces are scheduled to withdraw, its banking authorities have started to overhaul the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) laws to align them with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations and best international standards.…

China in April successfully conducted a maiden test flight of the first aviation biofuel entirely processed on its shores, joining the US, Finland and France as only the fourth country in the world to independently research and develop a bio-jet fuel production technology.…

THE CHANGES made in 2012 by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to global anti-money laundering and terror finance guidance might have been agreed by consensus, but governments are responding in a wide variety of ways. Some jurisdictions considered to be leaders in anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT) practice are taking time to respond, while others have taken advantage of the new recommendations to revamp their AML laws and regulations.…

A PUSH by the G8 group of the world’s seven most industrialised nations plus Russia to improve extractive industry transparency and openness can help industrial minerals companies manage the payments they make in developing counties, as they will only have to follow one set of rules, according to Rio Tinto chief executive Sam Walsh.…

THE CANADIAN industrial minerals sector has told its government how it wants upcoming extractive industry transparency rules to be written. Its advice follows a promise by the country’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper to table legislation fighting mining industry corruption, made at the recent G8 summit in Northern Ireland.…