The Chairman of the World Trade Organization panel examining "China - Measures Related to the Exportation of Various Raw Materials' brought by the U.S. (D/S394), European Union (DS/395), and Mexico (DS398) has informed WTO members that the panel cannot issue its report on time. The panel now expects to finalize its report by April 2011. (May have to open source document twice for proper viewing.)

The World Customs Organization states that during the October 19-20, 2010 Silk Road Conference in Iran, the 24 participant countries shared their experience on streamlined border procedures to facilitate trade, and explored ways to enhance cooperation in their efforts to revive the traditional Silk Road trade route which served as a gateway between Europe and the Far East.

On October 21, 2010, the European Union adopted a resolution calling for expanded trade with Latin America, including welcoming the conclusion of an EU-Central America association agreement and calling for the resumption of negotiations with Mercosur, subject to a prior assessment of the impact of such an agreement.

The World Customs Organization has announced that the 2010 WCO Partnership in Customs Academic Research and Development (PICARD) Conference will be held in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) from November 23-25, 2010. The conference will focus on customs business partnerships, performance measurement, customs and revenue collections, the impact of climate change on international trade, etc.

Members of European Parliament are proposing to allow the country of origin to be indicated in English (i.e, "Made in") on labels of goods sold anywhere in the European Union. It would also like to see harmonized penalties for breaching the rules. The draft law still needs to be approved by the European Council, where some Member States are still opposed to the idea of a European "Made in" law.

The World Trade Organization has posted a proposed agenda for its October 25, 2010 Dispute Settlement Body meeting. Among other things, the DSB will discuss U.S. compliance with various WTO rulings and recommendations, the European Union's tariff treatment of certain information technology products, and U.S. measures affecting poultry imports from China. (May have to open source document twice for proper viewing.)

On October 21, 2010, the European Commission and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed a declaration to launch the negotiations for a voluntary partnership agreement on the export of legal timber to the EU, named Forest Law Enforcement, Government and Trade agreement (FLEGT). This is the first step in the negotiation process, which is expected to be finalized by mid-2013. The EC also issued a frequently asked questions document on illegal logging.

In the October 21 and October 22, 2010 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union, the following trade-related notices were posted:

At the recent meeting of the United Nations General Assembly Second Committee (Economic and Financial), many speakers underscored the importance of the UN Convention against corruption. One delegate cited corruption, the trade in small arms, human-trafficking, money-laundering and the narcotics trade as part of the “ugly underbelly of globalization and interdependence.”

World Trade Organization Director-General Lamy has stated that the focus of the Third Global Review of Aid for Trade in July 2011 would be a consideration of whether "Aid for Trade" is working. He added that “if the global crisis had made Aid for Trade imperative for developing countries, it has also made the need to show results essential in donor countries.”