China may calculate the yuan's exchange rate against a basket of currencies, instead of only against the greenback, a Chinese central bank official said July 22, 2010. The People's Bank of China, or the Central Bank, may publish the nominal effective exchange rate on a regular basis, Hu Xiaolian, deputy governor of the PBOC, said in a signed article published on the PBOC website.
The World Trade Organization announces that the European Union has notified the Dispute Settlement Body of its decision to appeal to the Appellate Body certain issues of law covered in the Panel Report and certain legal interpretations developed by the Panel in the dispute European Union - Measures Affecting Trade in Large Civil Aircraft (WT/DS316).
The World Customs Organization visited Bangladesh on July 20 and 21, 2010 for the Customs-Business Partnership Conference, where he met the management team of Bangladesh Customs as well as senior political and business leaders to discuss Customs modernization and the Customs-business partnership. At the conference, the Minister of Finance announced that Bangladesh would sign a letter of intent to implement the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards and would work with the WCO on Customs reform. He also announced that his country would start the process of acceding to the WCO Revised Kyoto Convention.
The European Commission has proposed to simplify European Union law on agricultural and forestry vehicles (tractors, trailers and towed equipment) so that 50 Directives and the related implementing legislation of 27 Member States would be replaced by just five Regulations. The proposal also foresees increased safety for these vehicles.
According to the Office of Textiles and Apparel, Ecuador has implemented a system of mixed tariffs on more than 300 products, including certain textile, apparel, and footwear articles, effective June 1, 2010.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology posts drafts and changes to foreign technical regulations for manufactured products which may be considered technical barriers to trade and are therefore required to be reported to the World Trade Organization, which distributes the information to WTO Member countries.
The European Commission has published its Annual Report on EU Customs actions to enforce intellectual property rights. In 2009, EU Customs took action in 43,500 cases involving several million products suspected of being counterfeited or pirated. Cigarettes, clothing and brand labels were among the main articles stopped by customs on suspicion of IPR infringements. However, shampoos, toothpaste, toys, medicines and household appliances also accounted for a significant part. FAQ on EU IPR customs actions is available here.
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, merchandise trade volumes for the G7 countries as a whole continued to grow in the first quarter of 2010, but at a slower pace than in the fourth quarter of 2009.