Search Results for: World Trade Organisation

BY ALAN OSBORN
A POTENTIALLY vast new market for international insurers has been opened up in China following agreement by that country on the terms of its accession to the World Trade Organisation this week. “It will mean that this market, which accounts for more than a sixth of the world’s population and is set to be one of the largest economies in the world, will basically become open for insurers from other countries to set up branches and joint ventures on a steadily growing scale,” says John Cooke, head of international relations at the Association of British Insurers, in the key London insurance market.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
PRACTICAL guidelines on steps that governments should take to fight digital piracy have been released by the Council of Europe, an organisation whose members include Russia and other eastern European countries, and where such crimes are known to have taken place in the past.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
CANADA’S Northwest Territories new found wealth in the diamond industry has fuelled concern amongst authorities in the region, as well as the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). They fear that organised crime may be on an upswing as a result of an influx of money and people that the region has not seen since the Yukon gold rush of the Nineteenth Century.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
MOST governments are keenly concerned about the quality of food their people eat, and quite rightly so. They pass laws to ensure food purity and safety and that’s all very commendable – but it can be overdone.

Regulations can, sometimes deliberately, be drawn up so tightly that they effectively bar the sale of food produced in other countries, thus constituting an impediment to free trade.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
DETAILS on the agreement reached by China on the terms of its accession to the World Trade Organisation, thereby opening up the world’s potentially largest consumer market to international drinks manufacturers, distributors and retailers, have been revealed in a briefing paper.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
WORLD Trade Organisation officials are still optimistic that China’s accession to the WTO will be approved this Thursday, despite continuing wrangles between the US and EU over their respective access to the Chinese life insurance market. Preparations for an announcement at 12 noon are still being made, as is a public statement the following day, for the accession of Taiwan, which was always going to follow on the heels of a decision on mainland China.…

Keith Nuthall
TIGHTER security measures are to be introduced in airports across the European Union in the wake of the terrorist destruction of New York’s World Trade Centre. The reforms were ordered by the European Union Council of Ministers for transport, sitting in emergency session, and will inevitably lead to some inconvenience and additional delays for business travellers.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
SIGNIFICANT opportunities for British and other law firms to practise in China have been opened up following agreement by the Chinese government on the terms of its accession to the World Trade Organisation. The European Commission said there was “great demand” for legal services from western firms as China enters international markets on an unrestricted basis for the first time.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
FOLLOWING last week’s (19/9/01) agreement on the terms of China’s accession to the World Trade Organisation, the way has been opened for British and other retailers to set up wholly owned enterprises in the world’s most populous country.…

KEITH NUTHALL
AN EAST Asia Ministerial Conference on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance has accepted an unprecedented declaration committing their countries to combat illegal logging, associated illegal trade, and other forest crimes. The comminique said that this was the first ever international commitment by governments to combat corruption in the forestry sector.…