The Government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices on February 22, 2011:
The Government of Canada issued the following trade-related notices on February 18-20, 2011:
The European Union issued the following trade-related releases on February 23, 2011:
The European Chemicals Agency is seeking comments on proposals submitted by five European Union member countries to identify seven chemicals as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC), which could make them subject to the "authorization" component of the EU’s REACH1 program.
The European Union issued the following trade-related releases on February 22, 2011:
The Chinese Government has announced that it will continue its fight against illegal practices in food safety this year, tightening supervision and combating unsafe food products in key sectors, including dairy products, edible oil, meat, health food, food additives, liquors and wines. China's Food Safety Commission states that food manufacturer operations will be strictly regulated and regulations strictly enforced to ensure food safety compliance from producers. The Commission also called for a system to identify and punish responsible parties for food safety accidents.
On February 17, 2011, the European Parliament approved the European Union's free trade agreement with South Korea, which will come into effect in July 2011. The vote came after Parliament approved a safeguard clause to protect EU industry from import surges and after receiving guarantees from Seoul that the new Korean legislation on car CO2 emission limits would not be detrimental to EU car makers. The FTA aims to eliminate about 98% of import duties and other trade barriers in manufactured goods, agricultural products and services over the next five years.
Mexico's Diario Oficial of February 22, 2011 lists notices from the Secretary of the Economy as follows:
Gov.cn reports that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao stated that China will strive to streamline its rare earth industry within five years, at a recent executive meeting of the State Council. China plans to establish and improve the supervision framework of laws and rules on the industry, impose stricter mining policies to protect the environment and resources and protection standards for the environment, and make reasonable plans for mining and exports.
On February 17, 2011, the European Commission placed the first six substances on the “authorization list,” known as Annex XIV under the European Union’s REACH1 regulation (No 1907/206). This means that these six substances (including 3 phthalates) cannot be used or placed in the European Union market after certain dates, unless an authorization has been granted for their use.