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BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has tried to make up for its failure to strike fishing access deal with Morocco by forging an improved agreement with its north African neighbour Mauritania which Brussels claims its “the most important with a third country” that it has made.…

BY SWINEETHA DIAS WICKRAMANAYAKE
A REVIEW of additional protective duties erected against spirits imported into India is not to be held by the government in New Delhi, the Press Trust of India has reported.

Instead, the central government has defended the imposition of extra customs duty on imported liquor, saying it was necessary to protect the domestic production industry and has added that it was considering imposing a 24 per cent flat rate on imported spirits kept in warehouses for more than 30 days.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
SWEDEN has been told by the European Commission to end its favourable tax treatment of beer compared to wine or face legal action at the European Court of Justice.

Under the Swedish alcohol tax regime, wine in the 8.5 per cent to 15 per cent abv band bears tax at about four times the rate for beer in the three per cent to five per cent range, even though it has only three times as much alcohol.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A GROUP of developing countries has said that progress towards creating differential pricing arrangements for pharmaceuticals should not undermine the right of their governments to authorise the emergency production of drugs, as well as parallel imports of low cost lines.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE European Union’s Council of Ministers has failed to agree the latest proposals from the European Commission to tighten Europe’s cosmetics animal testing regulations, while abiding by free trade commitments at the World Trade Organisation. Ministers have referred the proposal to the Council’s permanent representatives committee of officials, who have been asked to draw up an alternative compromise.…

Keith Nuthall
DEVELOPING countries that export textiles and clothing, have rejectred calls by their rich trading partners, that they should open their domestic markets in return for further import concessions being offered by developed countries.

Meeting in Guatemala, the International Textiles and Clothing Bureau’s Council of Representatives “categorically rejected” bids by the European Union and the United States “to demand additional market access concessions from developing countries as a condition to fully comply with their obligations under the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing of the World Trade Organization.”…

BY ALAN OSBORN
DEFINITIVE anti-dumping duties have been imposed by the European Union on aluminium foil exported by China and Russia. The EU Council of Ministers said that the duties would apply on imports of aluminium foil of a thickness of not less than 0.009 mm and not more than 0.018 mm, not backed, not further worked than rolled and in reels of a width not exceeding 650 mm.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE RIGHTS of cosmetic and perfume retailers to sell re-exported products cheaply on the grey parallel market – against the wish of a manufacturer – are likely to be strengthened by an oncoming European Court of Justice ruling.…

Keith Nuthall
A REPORT from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) calling for liberalisation is a little like a report from the Pope suggesting more prayer, but the world’s premier international think tank has refined its arguments regarding utilities in a recent formal recommendation to its member governments.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE ORGANISATION of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), has called on developed countries to consider splitting their utilities into separate functional units, maybe allowing one group to concentrate on networks and others on operations.

Its governing Council has issued a recommendation to member governments, on Structural Separation of Regulated Industries.…