Search Results for: World Trade Organisation

Tunisia’s textile and clothing sector may have expanded sales in 2022, notably through an export increase from January to September, up 11.9% year-on-year, according to the Tunis-based Technical Textile Center (CETTEX – Centre Technique du Textile). But its companies remain concerned about the stability of the national economy and potential long-term weaknesses.…

The UK’s law enforcement and prosecuting authorities have been striving to mitigate the loss of automatic collaborative relationships with European Union (EU) member states, following Brexit. Keith Nuthall reports

A key priority of the talks forging the 2020 EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), (1) which underpinned Britain’s full Brexit form the EU on January 1, 2021, was salvaging the close relationship between UK and EU police and prosecutors.…

Disgraced former crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried is facing years in jail and huge fines after being charged with multiple fraud offences following the collapse of crypto-trading platform FTX and its associated hedge fund Alameda Research. He is accused of illegally funnelling FTX customer funds for his own personal gain and for Alameda investments.…

A cost-of-living crisis in Tunisia, where annual inflation rose to 9.8% in November is pushing Tunisian academics to emigrate, with Saudi Arabian universities being a significant draw – offering better salaries and research opportunities.

The country has been suffering from political turmoil and related economic disruption since President Kais Saied dissolved parliament and started ruling by decree in July 2021.…

The European Parliament is reeling from the so-called ‘Qatargate’ cash-for-influence corruption and money laundering scandal that broke December 9 when Belgian police found over EUR1.5 million (USD1.6 million) cash in raids on locations across Brussels. In a December 15 resolution (1) on the suspicions of corruption by Qatar, passed by 541 votes in favour, two against, and three abstentions, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) agreed to suspend all work related to Qatar, notably on visa liberalisation and an aviation agreement, as well as to deny access to the Parliament for Qatari representatives.…

The UK and European Union (EU) textile and clothing sectors are still working out how to deal with the complex challenges brought by Brexit, with experts saying the industry has been suffering as a result. Work thus far has focused on dealing with the trading difficulties created rather than exploiting any theoretical opportunities created by increased UK regulatory autonomy since full Brexit came into being on December 31, 2020.…

With the Bank of England predicting Britain will be mired in recession until 2024 H2, the country’s clothing industry has been left considering how much worse this UK slump will be because of Brexit. The central bank has been focusing on more recent challenges – saying that “high energy prices and materially tighter financial conditions” (through interest rate increases fighting inflation) “will weigh on spending”.…

European textile companies are working to ensure that future water scarcity problems will not affect their operations, notably by cutting water consumption and installing high quality waste treatment facilities, European Union (EU) experts have told World Textile Information Network (WTiN).                               

According to EU statistical agency Eurostat’s regional yearbook 2022 (1), EU water scarcity – chiefly seen in southern Europe, with Portugal’s textile industry particularly affected – is primarily driven by climate change and excessive water consumption.…

Canada and the USA may have one of the world’s most integrated auto sectors, with 2021 passenger vehicle imports into Canada from the USA worth USD27.8 billion and exports to the USA worth USD26.5 billion, yet trims and models can differ in either market.…

The United Nations has let its authorisation for foreign actors to fight maritime piracy in Somalia’s territorial waters lapse, because its government and backers have become more effective in fighting this criminality. Ramadhan Rajab reports.

The UN Security Council’s decision to let Somalia take care of its own piracy problem does not mean shipping companies can rest easy about attacks off Somalia, but it does indicate its government is taking control of the problem.…