The European Chemicals Agency is seeking comments by August 22, 2010 on the harmonized classification and labeling of 4-tert-Butylbenzoic acid and by August 5, 2010 for Leucomalachite Green. The comment request is part of the EU Regulation on Classification, Labeling and Packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP Regulation), which allows individual EU Member States and industry to propose harmonized classification and labeling of substances (e.g. as mutagenic, carcinogenic, etc.).

In the July 16, 2010 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union, the following trade-related notices were posted:

The Canada Border Services Agency revised Memorandum D15-2-49 on July 16, 2010, to reflect the Canadian International Trade Tribunal’s January 2010 decisions continuing the countervailing and antidumping duty orders for certain carbon steel fasteners originating in or exported from China and Chinese Taipei and rescinding them for certain stainless steel fasteners originating in or exported from Chinese Taipei.

The European Commission has announced that a first round of negotiations on an Association Agreement with Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia will take place in the capitals of the three South Caucasus countries in the coming week. The Agreements are based on joint commitments to a set of shared values and will cover a wide range of areas, including Political dialogue, Justice, freedom and security, as well as trade and cooperation in sectoral policies.

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. Sign up for free NIST service here. Notifications for 07/16/10 include:

The European Commission has announced a multi-year agreement with British American Tobacco (BAT) to work together in tackling the illicit trade in tobacco products. Under the legally binding agreement, BAT will provide significant funds (totaling $200 million over the next 20 years) and work with the EC, its anti-fraud office OLAF, and Member States’ law enforcement authorities to help in the fight against contraband and counterfeit cigarettes.

In its recent evaluation of the U.S. economy, the International Monetary Fund states that U.S. recovery from the “Great Recession” has become increasingly well established, but many challenges remain such as restrained private sector spending, high public debt, and the need to increase government revenue.

On July 14, 2010, the ASEAN Secretariat and the European Union began cooperative activities in protecting and promoting intellectual property rights in the ASEAN region. ECAPIII, a co-funded project to the amount of EUR 5.1 million over the period 2010-2013, will support ASEAN cooperation and integration in IPR as a means to further economic development. ECAPIII is envisaged to deepen cooperation between the EU, the European Patent Office and ASEAN and supplement national efforts by individual ASEAN countries to strengthen their IP regime.

In the July 15, 2010 editions of the Official Journal of the European Union, the following trade-related notices were posted:

The European Commission has decided to repeal its decision accepting an undertaking from China regarding imports of certain castings from China, as it has determined that China has breached the terms of the agreement. Accordingly, the AD duties imposed by Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1212/2005 on imports of the product concerned produced by the subject companies will apply effective July 15, 2010.