China's Ministry of Commerce began accepting Chinese firms' applications for 2011 rare earth export quotas on November 11, 2010. The ministry said only applications from firms that have ISO 9000 certification and meet national standards will be accepted.
The Japan Patent Office (JPO) will organize the "Asian Symposium on IP Protection and Cooperation" on December 3, 2010 in Nara City. The aim of such gatherings is to bring together senior officials from the patent offices of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, in addition those of Japan, China and Korea, to exchange information on each office’s measures to enhance intellectual property (IP) protection and cooperation in Asia.
The European Chemicals Agency has announced a November 15, 2010 webinar to assist companies who may still be unfamiliar with the REACH registration process. The webinar will focus on the key technical steps to follow to ensure the successful submission of a member registration dossier by the November 30, 2010 deadline.
The World Customs Organization states that a joint global Customs enforcement operation initiated by WCO and the United Nations Environment Program and code-named "Sky-hole Patching II" led to the confiscation of more than 7,500 cylinders of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons), HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) and other ozone depleting substances.
London's Metropolitan Police Service stated that a forensic examination of the bomb (a printer cartridge in a printer) aboard the cargo plane that had arrived at East Midlands Airport from Cologne on October 29, 2010, indicated that if the device had activated before it had been removed from the aircraft the activation could have occurred over the eastern seaboard of the US. However, the November 11, 2010 Washington Post stated that the UPS route had slightly altered that day, and the explosion would have occurred over a largely unpopulated part of Canada.
On November 11, 2010, Xinhuanet reported that China has launched a half-year campaign to crack down on the violation of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and the production and distribution of fake merchandise.The campaign focuses on 14 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions including Beijing, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Shanghai.
On November 9, 2010, the European Commission laid out its five-year blueprint for a European Union trade policy to help revitalize Europe's economy, reduce trade barriers, and to take a more assertive approach to ensure the benefits of trade reach European citizens.
On November 5, 2010, the United Nations legal committee approved four trade-related draft resolutions relating to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
Xinhuanet.com reports that Japan could begin consultations with the United States and other countries trying to build a regional free trade agreement known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership as the Cabinet approved the government's latest policy on free trade.
GOV.cn reported on November 9, 2010 that China's central government has closed 625 of the 971 local government liaison offices in Beijing after the public criticized the offices for allegedly bribing central government officials and wasting public funds.