Search Results for: japan

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced plans to spend Euro 702,993 over three years on promoting Portuguese Madeira wine in the USA, Canada, Brazil and Japan. The money will be funelled to the

Instituto do Vinho da Madeira (IVM), and will be matched by funding from the Portugal government and private sources.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE EUROPEAN Court of Justice (ECJ) has cut fines imposed by the European Commission on Germany’s BASF for participating in vitamin cartels, from Euro 296.16 million to Euro 236.84 million, with judges saying Brussels made some errors in calculating the penalty.…

BY RAGHAVENDRA VERMA, in New Delhi

THE INDIAN economy is booming and so, as a result, is the country’s US$1.8 billion paint and coating industry, which registered a 10 to 12% annual growth for third consecutive year, taking 2002-03, 2003-04, and 2004-05 into account.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A SUCCESSOR treaty to the 1994 International Tropical Timber Agreement (ITTA) has been approved that includes commitments to promote the sustainable management of tropical forests, disappearing at 15 million hectares annually. The Japan-based International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) will monitor compliance with reforesting and other promises.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE MULTILATERAL Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), of the World Bank, has issued US$313 million in guarantees to an international consortium wanting to develop a gold mine in remote, desolate Chukotka, Siberia. The money has been pledged to developer Canada’s Bema Gold Corporation and backers Société Générale, of France: Bayerische Hypo-Und Vereinsbank, of Germany; and Mitsubishi, of Japan.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

BY KEITH NUTHALL

UNEP – RISK MANAGEMENT

A BOOK detailing practical ways in which governments can reduce the costs of dealing with major challenges such bird flu, terrorism and climate change has been released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE PRESIDENT of Canadian auto manufacturer supplies giant Magna International has welcomed the European Commission’s approval of its purchase of German roof system manufacturer CTS Fahrzeug-Dachsysteme GmbH (CTS) from sports car maker Porsche. Brussels has imposed no conditions on the deal, which it concluded would not harm competition in the European Union (EU).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

JAPAN and South Korea have struck a deal solving a long-running World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute over Japanese restrictions on imports of South Korean laver seaweed. Seoul has argued that Japan’s import quotas of this product break Tokyo’s WTO commitments under the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).…

BY DEIRDRE MASON, in London

THE POLITICAL institutions of the European Union (EU) are debating how to join an international system that would protect EU manufacturers’ design rights across a wide range of non-European countries in one simple operation. In an initiative that could help auto manufacturers secure the creative aspects of their vehicle design from plagiarism, the European Commission wants to link the EU’s existing Community Design system, (which protects manufacturers’ designs within the 25 EU member states), to a global design registration system run by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), a UN agency.…

BY MARK ROWE

EXPORTS of Lithuanian beer rose by 51.4% in 2005, according to the Lithuanian Breweries Association, to 1.518 million dekalitres – exceeding the combined volumes of the neighbouring Estonian and Latvian beer markets. Domestic consumption was more modest but still saw a healthy growth of 4.5% – though according to a spokesman for brewer Gubernija, the domestic market is loyal, with up to 97% of the domestic market divided between Lithuanian breweries.…