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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.…

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. …

THE CHINA Coatings Industry Association on September 14 published a draft standard for the manufacture and sale of antibacterial and anti-viral coatings – a key growth segment during the Covid-19 pandemic. The draft specifies the terms, definitions, requirements, test methods, inspection rules, labelling, marking, packaging and storage of coating products with antibacterial and antiviral properties.…

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.…

Growing Asian dairy markets are increasingly regulating the health claims that could be made on packs of food, a trend that is impacting international dairy exporters from Europe as much as local dairy producers.

A key example is Taiwan, that will in 2022 forbid the word ‘healthy’ on food items except foods that have received special health food permits.…

TEXT fraud is maybe more dangerous that email fraud, given the tendency for mobile phone users to respond to texts swiftly and without careful thought, cyber-security experts warn.

The Covid-19 pandemic has also created opportunities for fraudsters using texts and messaging services such as WhatsApp to launch fishing and other attacks on the unwary.…

The China National Coatings Industry Association (NCIA) on July 31 informed members that it has been told by the ministry of ecology and environment to investigate the production, treatment and disposal of hazardous waste in the coating industry and compile a management guide based on the investigation’s findings.…

THE ASIA-Pacific region, even one-party states such as China, have developed legal protections for whistleblowers, although the comprehensive protection more commonly found in Europe is still usually absent.

South Korea is one jurisdiction leading the pack on developing robust whistleblower protections.…

THE ASIA nonwovens sector has been reaping the benefits of booming demand for protective medical materials during the Covid-19 crisis. But like the pandemic, this roaring demand will end, and nonwovens producers need to ready to a post-Covid-19 market.

This will mean reining in growth, but as David Price, founding partner of US-based management consultancy specialising in nonwovens Price Hanna Consultants, said, with regional nonwovens sales per person still low in global terms, the “market penetration for disposable and durable nonwovens in southeast Asia and China” is likely to grow regardless.…

THE EGMONT Group, the international network of financial intelligence units (FIU), is focusing on improving how its central resources and members use and interact with new technology. Interim Egmont Group chair, Hennie Verbeek-Kusters, told MLB that the group is reviewing its IT systems, of critical importance regarding the safe and encrypted exchange between its 164 member FIUs (there were 22,538 such exchanges in 2017, the most recent available data).…