Search Results for: World Trade Organisation

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A GLITZY mobile anti-smoking campaign has been launched by the European Commission, using a campaign truck to stage events such as karaoke, quizzes, competitions and even auditions for appearances on MTV as a backdrop to anti-cigarette propaganda. The EU-roadshow will rumble into a series of youth events this summer, such as the Edinburgh Funfest in August and the FIFA under-17’s world cup in Finland, also in August, having graced April’s Paganello Frisbee Party/World Beach Ultimate Cup in Rimini, Italy.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL AND PHILIP FINE

AMERICAN companies that commit accounting fraud are willing to pay millions of dollars in additional income taxes on phony earnings to continue their charade, according to a University of Michigan Business School researcher.

In a new study that examines the negative tax consequences of allegedly fraudulent earnings overstatements, Michelle Hanlon of the university’s business school and colleagues Merle Erickson of the University of Chicago and Edward Maydew of the University of North Carolina found that, on average, firms sacrifice 11 cents in additional income taxes per dollar of inflated pre-tax earnings.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has released detailed information about pharmaceutical industry mutual recognition agreements struck between the European Union and the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. These trade-enabling regulations are available at http://pharmacos.eudra.org/F2/mra/doc/mraeccan.pdf;

http://pharmacos.eudra.org/F2/mra/doc/mraecus.pdf;

http://pharmacos.eudra.org/F2/mra/doc/mraeccau.pdf; and

http://pharmacos.eudra.org/F2/mra/doc/mraecnz.pdf…

BY ALAN OSBORN
CANADIAN wine producers have welcomed a draft agreement on a wide-ranging wine and spirits industry deal with the EU, believing that once formally signed, it will put Canadian wines “on the world stage.” EU agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler said earlier this month (April) that for the EU the deal “presented certain advantages, (particularly) the ending by Canada of the use of certain names, the protection of geographical names, a positive list of oenological practices and a list of prohibited practices.”…

BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAYAKA
ASIAN Paints, the Indian colour multinational has been rated the best “small” company in India in 2002 by the financial magazine Asiamoney; (‘small’ companies are those with market capitalisation under US$500 million). Ashwin Dani, Asian Paints (India) managing director said: “This is reflection of our continuous process of being transparent and maintaining high standards of corporate governance.”…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has agreed to extend until December 2004 an existing agreement with Vietnam on preventing fraud in the international trade in footwear products. The deal in effect extends this Memorandum of Understanding agreement by two years, allowing time for the two sides to review the controls, if necessary.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE MEXICAN government is has launched formal disputes talks at the World Trade Organisation, over claims that the United States’ reimposition of anti-dumping duties on its exports of ‘oil country tubular goods’ broke global trading regulations. Mexico City says Washington’s erred during its 2001 sunset review of the duties, assessing whether abolition might attract cut-priced Mexican pipelines.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
CONCERN has been raised by the European Commission about a fall in European investment into biotechnology, which has matched the declining confidence of EU consumers in genetically modified products in general. Brussels’ first progress report on its action plan for European life sciences says that “urgent action” is needed to reverse this trend, especially as EU legislation has now been agreed regulating the development of GM technology and its potential adverse effects.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
IMPROVEMENTS to Afghanistan’s air traffic control systems are to be made with a US$19.3 million World Bank credit. It said that “deterioration of air traffic control equipment and a shortage of qualified operators has reduced the safety and availability of flights, Afghanistan’s most practical means for long-range domestic as well as international travel.”…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union has launched disputes proceedings at the World Trade Organisation, claiming that Australian quarantine proceedings for food import, especially meat, break WTO free trade rules. Brussels is particularly concerned about the “extremely long and complex risk assessment procedures” imposed on exports to Australia.…