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BY MONICA DOBIE
THE UNITED States’ Distilled Spirits Council has congratulated the US Congress for approving the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) for opening central American markets to USA spirit exports. Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and the Dominican Republic will immediately abolish tariffs on US-produced whiskey and gin.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A THIRD interim report from the Paul Volcker panel into the United Nations Oil-for-Food scandal has bluntly accused its former director of receiving bribes linked to his job worth US$147,184 from 1998-2002. The former US Federal Reserve chairman’s independent inquiry has recommended UN secretary general Kofi Annan lift the diplomatic immunity currently protecting Benon Sevan from criminal investigations.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
UNUSUAL public hearings are being staged at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva, over the long-running dispute between the European Union (EU), the United States and Canada over whether hormones should be allowed in beef. Closed-circuit television will carry proceedings to the media and the public between September 12 and 15.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
A WHOLE slew of activities is covered by people calling themselves brokers in the US but here we’re concerned with those who buy and sell securities in the straightforward way on behalf of others (brokers) or for themselves (dealers) and those who deal in options for future delivery of a range of items like agricultural commodities, oil, precious metals, equities, bonds and foreign currencies (futures commission merchants or FCMs).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE COMMITTEE of European Securities Regulators is about to launch a database giving authorities around the world information on securities regulatory decisions made within the European Union (EU), to encourage harmonised approaches. A symbol of the more hands-off approach now favoured by the European Commission, communications officer Victoria Powell said securities regulators could check a scenario they are facing, see if it had been processed in the past, and if so, apply the same reasoning.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
MEXICO has appealed against a refusal by a World Trade Organisation (WTO) disputes panel to order the United States to immediately scrap anti-dumping duties on Mexican oil country tubular goods (OCTG). It wants a WTO appellate body to make such a decision, even though the panel did order the US government to review the duties because of errors made in their imposition.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
EXPOSING teens to anti-tobacco advertising in the United States has been proved to reduce smoking rates and increased anti-smoking attitudes, according to a study published in the USA’s Archives of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Research indicated that 18.6% of students in states where anti-smoking ads were frequently shown reported having smoked in the past 30 days compared with 26.7% of those in markets with no exposure to anti-tobacco advertisements.…

BY JONATHAN THOMSON
CARMAKERS have experienced tremendous growth in the Asia Pacific region recently, as China and India in particular generate new sales and manufacturing opportunities. General Motors recently announced that its 2005 first quarter production figures for the region were up by around 14% compared with 2004, with Ford and other leading manufacturers predicting similar growth.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
THE USA launch of a new “safer” cigarette called Fact that sports a filter cutting out harmful chemicals has been delayed because of fears the marketing of the product could mislead consumers into thinking it was “safe”. The cigarette referred to as a PREP, (potentially reduced-exposure product), was to be manufactured by an independent tobacco company in North Carolina, US, called the Flue-Cured Tobacco Cooperative Stabilization Corporation.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A SECOND attempt is being made by the European Commission to criminalise counterfeiting and piracy across the European Union (EU), following the rejection of similar plans by the European Parliament last year. The Commission has re-tabled legislation insisting EU member states impose jail terms or significant fines on offenders, whilst ensuring their police and customs officers can confiscate fake goods and close businesses involved in their manufacture.…