China's Ministry of Commerce reports that on September 16, 2010, the European Union (EU) launched an investigation on data cards imported from China involving $ 4.1 billion in products. MOFCOM states that this is the first time for the EU to begin antidumping and safeguard investigations simultaneously against Chinese-made products. The lengthy article states that nowadays, a new trend has emerged: in addition to low-end products, China's high-tech exports are encountering increasing trade friction.
On December 13, 2010, World Customs Organization Secretary General Mikuriya met with Japan’s Minister of Finance Noda in Tokyo to discuss the WCO’s support of Minister Noda’s initiative to facilitate trade in the Asia Pacific region. WCO is ready to work with Japan and the Asian Development Bank on this initiative, which will complement ADB programs on hard infrastructure, such as building ports and transnational roads, and on more efficient soft infrastructure, particularly Customs and other border procedures.
The International Organization for Standardization has released two new videos, one for the general public and the other for business and government, that provide answers to how ISO standards help solve everyday problems for the general public and provide practical tools to assist business and government leaders in tackling challenges and achieving their objectives. ISO will be following up with a series of videos on its standards for specific challenges, such as food safety, health care and the environment.
On December 13, 2010, the International Air Transport Association announced the official release of EasyDGR, a complete online integrated application for shipping dangerous goods by air in compliance with industry regulations. This customizable solution allows shippers of hazardous materials to create an electronically validated Dangerous Goods Declaration (DGD), increasing safety, saving time, streamlining operations and reducing the chance that the shipment will be rejected by the carrier.
According to China's Ministry of Finance, China will raise export tariffs on certain rare earths in 2011. From January 1, 2011, China will adjust tariff rates on certain exports and imports and the changes have been approved by the State Council. The Ministry of Finance did not specify what types of rare earth products would be included in the readjustment. The Ministry added that China will continue with the tariff rates for most-favored nations in 2011.
The World Trade Organization posted the following notices for December 14, 2010 (may have to click twice on source documents for proper viewing):
The European Union issued the following trade-related releases on December 14, 2010:
In the December 14, 2010 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union, the following trade-related notices were posted:
The Government of Canada issued the following releases on December 10, 2010:
On December 14, 2010, the Canadian Parliament passed the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA), which upon Royal Assent, will become law.