Search Results for: United Nations

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE UNITED States is claiming victory in a trade dispute with China, after Beijing announced it would scrap subsidies for products including body lotion, liquid detergent, soap and fancy soap. Washington had argued these China-christened ‘famous brands’ handouts were export subsidies banned by the World Trade Organisation (WTO).…

BY ALAN OSBORN

While many had hoped December’s Copenhagen Conference would be the necessary first step in the global fight against climate change, in the wake of the signed partial accord, we are left with many more questions than answers. Now, 2010 is the new deadline for whether the world can agree a practical response to the dangers of global warming.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA

A SWIFT rise in the price of south Asian cotton yarn has forced closures in Bangladesh’s US$6.43 billion knitwear export sector and pushed some manufacturers to the brink as the whole industry struggles to overcome the costing problem.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

FRANCE’S appointee as European Union (EU) internal market Commissioner could face tough questioning this Wednesday appearing before a panel of MEPs at the European Parliament in Brussels. The nomination of Michel Barnier, a close ally of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has raised criticism in the UK especially, over fears that he could burden The City of London and its financial institutions with red tape.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A WORLD Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel has told the USA that it should reform its assessment of anti-dumping duties on Thai exports to America of Polyethylene retail carrier bags. Concluding that the USA had "acted inconsistently with [the WTO’s] Anti-Dumping Agreement" by rounding down valuations of Thai exports or ‘zeroing’.…

BY PAUL COCHRANE and KEITH NUTHALL

SYRIA is such a staple of Middle East political turmoil, it is easy to forget that it is a near neighbour of Europe: less than 200 miles of sea separate it from Cyprus and it borders Turkey, which could be a European Union (EU) member by 2020.…

BY MITCH

As the international community converges on Haiti, many are fearful that the small Caribbean country will become another victim of promised international aid that falters amongst bickering and petty squabbles between donor countries and agencies.

But, in truth, this disaster could serve as a model for international aid done right, with large scale cooperation and organisation that not only relieves the immediate suffering of the Haitian people, but reestablishes the shattered remains of their infrastructure and society.…

BY ANCA GURZU, MARK ROWE, PAUL COCHRANE AND KARRYN MILLER

THE COPENHAGEN conference on global warming may failed to have delivered a comprehensive global warming deal, but it did at least highlight an international consensus on the need to fight climate change and conserve energy: as a result, the global sales of paints and coatings that reflect heat and hence reduce the need for air conditioning are likely to rise.…

BY PHILIPPA JONES

WITH so much competition in design and price within the apparel and textile sector, manufacturers are always looking for an edge. One way in which they can steal a march on competitors is with fibre innovation. And with new technology allowing the incorporation of increasingly complex arrays of chemicals and particles, even on the nano-scale, the opportunities to develop a revolutionary new fibre or mix of fibres are maybe greater today than ever before.…

BY MARK GODFREY

A SLUMP in exports dented China’s economic growth in 2008, but a strong recovery which lifted GDP growth to 10% in the second half of 2009 appears to have ensured strong retail sales across all fronts. That is why growth of cosmetics sales in China remained strong at 10% in 2009, according to the China Association of Fragrance Flavour and Cosmetic Industries (CAFFCI).…