Search Results for: America

BY KARRYN MILLER AND JEN SWANSON, IN YANGON

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

BY ROBERT STOKES

SWITZERLAND just signed a so-called ‘Rubik deal’ with Austria to safeguard Swiss banking secrecy in return for it levying withholding taxes anonymously on undeclared savings and investments held in Switzerland by Austrian nationals.

The bilateral treaty with Austria, start date 2013, follows those with Britain and Germany, and has raised the hackles of the European Commission, which has questioned these agreements’ legality under the European Union (EU) Savings Tax Directive, which tries to erase loopholes allowing depositors to squirrel money away from tax assessors.…

BY MJ DESCHAMPS

FAIR trade labels are no longer something consumers are spotting solely in food stores: many different industries are integrating ethical practices into their supply chain, with personal care products leading the pack. Consumers worldwide have been adding fair trade products to their beauty routines, with fairly traded natural ingredients such as Shea butter, cocoa butter, olive oil, honey, sugar and plant extracts cropping up in body and hair moisturisers, balms, scrubs, cleansers, masks and more.…

BY EDWARD WILSON, IN CANCUN

AMIDST an increasingly complex war on drug trafficking, large overseas businesses in Mexico are at risk not only from the escalating violence but also from a growing range of commercial crimes. Employees who continue to suffer from the recent economic downturn also pose a major threat to employers.…

BY JONATHAN DYSON, IN CANCÚN

SIGNS are emerging that Mexico’s textile and apparel industry is reclaiming a growing proportion of the US market as it benefits from an increasing focus on higher-value products and greater diversification. Mexico’s share of the US market, which accounts for around 55% of its textile exports and 95% of its apparel exports, dropped sharply following China’s entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001 and its subsequent domination of the global textile and apparel market.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE PHARMACEUTICAL Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) organisation has called on the South Korean government to make its system of reimbursing patients for medicines more transparent now the US-South Korea free trade agreement is in force (from March 15).…

BY KARRYN MILLER

A STROLL through Myeong-dong, one of Seoul’s busiest shopping districts, gives a good idea of the magnitude of the popularity of South Korea’s cosmetics and skincare industry: according to the Korea Tourism Organisation there are approximately 1,000 cosmetic shops and hundreds of skincare stores within this small quadrant, alone.…

BY STEPHEN EISENHAMMER, IN RIO DE JANEIRO

INTERNATIONAL talent solutions company Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH) (which acquired Drake Beam Morin) in September of last year, is currently in the process of being commissioned to offer coaching solutions to Brazil’s 2016 Olympic Games Committee, on the back of LHH’s pioneering success offering coaching to Brazil’s 2007 Pan American Games Committee.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

CHINA is again facing another disputes proceeding at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over its export restrictions on non-ferrous metals – this time on molybdenum and tungsten. The United States, Japan and the European Union (EU) today announced they had formally requested consultations with Beijing over its trade controls on these important metals.…

BY DAVID HAWORTH, IN BRUSSELS

‘CELEBRITY’ fragrances have become such a huge industry that even the Pope now has his own eau de cologne – according to Italian perfumer Silvana Casoli, (whose clients include Madonna and the King of Spain), this unique blend reflects the German pontiff’s love of Bavarian forests and their flora and fauna, creating an aura of "peace and tranquility".…