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The European anti-fraud office (OLAF) and European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) have struck a cooperation agreement to ensure their future work dovetails. They have agreed to exchange information; set guidelines on reporting and transferring potential cases; and deciding how to mutually support each other’s investigations.…

SWITZERLAND and the European Union (EU) will gain nothing by throwing away existing trade rules after long-term negotiations to create a new comprehensive EU-Swiss ‘Institutional Framework Agreement’ collapsed, dairy industry experts have told Dairy Industries International (DII).

Talks ended on May 26, when Switzerland’s Federal Council announced it would not pursue its discussions with the EU, over concerns that a major EU deal would undermine Swiss wages, give EU immigrants social benefit rights and reduce Swiss government powers to subsidise particular chosen industries.…

For evidence that China’s nationalistic ‘guochao’ consumer trend is gathering pace in the personal care product sector, look at the country’s powerful e-commerce sector. In February 2021, the turnover of cosmetics on China’s Taobao platform was Chinese Yuan Renminbi CNY14.7 billion (USD2.3 billion), a year-on-year increase of 11%, with the top brand in sales being the guochao-oriented personal care product brand Hangzhou-based Florasis Hua Xizi.…

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.…

Turkey is struggling to recover its position as an important supplier of high-end and luxury fabrics, recouping sales lost on cost to Chinese rivals. The industry retains great potential strength, being the world’s fifth largest supplier of textiles selling USD12 billion exported annually, according to Istanbul Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Association (İTHİB – İstanbul Tekstil ve Hammaddeleri İhracatcilari Birlig).…

President Joe Biden may think he has three main foreign policy priorities this year – China, Russia and Iran – but the truth is, as far as the Middle East is concerned, all these challenges roll into one.

That is because both China and Russia are seeking increased influence in the Middle East, and hoping for potential missteps from the USA over the Iran file to leverage their diplomatic positions.…

With the United Nations security council backing the reappointment of António Guterres as UN secretary general for another five years, it is time to ask whether the global body’s political leadership needs a major overhaul.

The answer surely has to be ‘yes’.…

EUROPE’S FATF-style body Moneyval has raised serious concerns about AML/CFT standards among 19 of its members, with its 2020 annual report concluding their average compliance is “below satisfactory”. The jurisdictions assessed were Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Georgia, Gibraltar, Hungary, Israel, the Isle of Man, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.…

China’s ‘guochao’ trend is picking up ever more steam, and observers warn that it might push foreign clothing brands’ China sales out of the comfort zone before long.

Guochao, which literately translates into ‘national tide’, is mainly captivating China’s Generation Z, whose expenditure accounts for 13% of average household income, compared with 4% in France and Germany, according to a survey cited by the South China Morning Post in April.…

The May (2021) acquisition by Irish animal health products firm Bimeda, of Seattle, USA-based AquaTactics Fish Health was low profile, but significant in highlighting Irish ambitions in the global aquaculture industry. The sector is growing globally, with production increasing to replace declining wild fishery stocks, in many cases fished to their maximum sustainable levels.…