EU Government Notices for Feb 17
The European Union issued the following trade-related releases on February 17, 2011:
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
- EU-Korea FTA. The European Parliament passed its final hurdle to the EU-South Korea free trade agreement, which will take effect July 1, 2011. The agreement aims to eliminate about 98% of import duties and other trade barriers in manufactured goods, agricultural products and services over the next five years.(here)
- 6 REACH chemicals moved to authorization list. Six substances of very high concern have been moved from the candidate list to the authorization list, known as Annex XIV, under the EU's REACH regulation. Substances in Annex XIV cannot be placed on the market or used unless authorization has been granted for a specific use. (here)
- EU-Japan trade. The EU has released contributions to its public consultation on future trade relations with Japan. The majority of respondents favored strengthened trade ties in the form of an FTA, but argued that before entering into negotiations, Japan should make progress on existing trade barriers. (here)
- Food security. The European Parliament adopted a resolution stating that climate change and commodity speculation are among the main factors threatening food security. MEPs call for urgent measures to combat food price manipulation and ensure that food production is maintained in the EU. (here)
- Suspension of cereal import duties. Import duties on certain cereals imported into the EU will be suspended until the end of June 2011 in order to ease the pressure on the EU market, especially for animal feed. The suspension relates to existing tariff rate quotas for low & medium quality soft wheat and for feed barley. (here)