Search Results for: Switzerland

THE FRENCH paint and varnishes industry saw sales decline for the third consecutive year in 2016, contracting by 1.6% year-on-year to EUR2.9 billion, according to market research company Euromonitor International. It believes, however, that business should pick up in the coming years due to rising construction of homes.…

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

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

IN the USA alone, USD1.4 billion in counterfeit consumer products were seized in 2016 by the United States Customs and Border Protection, including 2,000 shipments of counterfeit cosmetics products. This, according to a note from USA-based Clarkston Consulting, cost the beauty industry at least USD75 million, which said: “Counterfeiting of consumer products remains on the rise” – see https://clarkstonconsulting.com/insights/counterfeit-cosmetics/counterfeit.…

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.…

The European Commission has proposed new European Union (EU) company law procedures saying how a company should move from one EU country to another; companies from different countries can merge; or one company can divide into two or more new units in more than one EU country.…

AS China’s retreat from mass market clothing production continues, Bangladesh knitters are eyeing another added value knitwear niche – sportswear. Following the industry’s success in boosting sales within the profitable lingerie segment, Bangladesh manufacturers are ramping up production in sports apparels, although some experts say that work is needed on boosting its supply chain, particularly of manmade fibres.…

EUROPEAN Union (EU) food and drink exporters could be major beneficiaries of a revised EU-Mexico trade agreement which will remove almost all bilateral tariffs left by a year 2000 deal. Under a new agreement struck in principle, Mexican import duties on EU exports of cheeses, such as gorgonzola and roquefort, and pasta (of up to 20%), will be removed, along with duties on chocolate and confectionery, (that can exceed 20%).…

Switzerland’s significant foreign bribery enforcement should be accompanied by harsher penalties and private sector whistleblower protection, according to the latest report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) Working Group on Bribery. A statement said that the working group welcomed “the significant level of enforcement” by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG), noting that “Switzerland has cracked down on the bribery of foreign public officials in recent years.”…

Green and European Free Alliance (EFA) members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are calling on the Spanish government to block a requested extradition to Switzerland of a French-Italian whistleblower arrested in Spain on April 4.  Hervé Falciani revealed details of 100,000 accounts held by French nationals, including politicians and celebrities, to France’s then finance minister Christine Lagarde (now managing director of the International Monetary Fund – IMF) in 2006 and 2007 when working as a computer scientist at HSBC’s Swiss affiliate.…

THE ORGANISERS of Italy’s premier beauty trade fair, Cosmoprof Worldwide Bologna, are claiming a record number of visitors and international buyers attending this year’s 51st edition of the event from March 15-19. Exceeding the 250,000 visitors from last year’s Cosmoprof, attending foreign buyers, distributors and retail representatives grew 11% in 2018, year-on-year.…