China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine states that new Stipulations on Supervision and Administration of Food Additive Production, the first of its kind in China, went into effect as of June 1, 2010.

The Australian Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has responded to a March 2010 letter from 15 U.S. apparel retailers and associations regarding Australia's progress on phasing out the animal husbandry practice known as mulesing. According to the Minister, Australia is making progress on finding alternatives to mulesing, but immediately banning the practice without alternatives in place would lead to an animal welfare problem. He urges retailers who want Australian non-mulesed wool to advise their buyers to source wool through the National Wool Declaration, which requires weekly audits to confirm information on mulesing is correct, including the use of pain relief.

The World Trade Organization has circulated a communication from Kenya expressing its concern about the WTO-consistency of Canada's Tobacco Act. According to Kenya, the law bans the use of additives, in any amount, even if they do not impart a candy or fruity flavor to the tobacco product, effectively banning "traditional blended" cigarettes.

World Customs Organization Secretary General Mikuriya is to sign the Cotonou Declaration on June 24, 2010, as a symbolic gesture of the Organization’s commitment to combating the increasing trade in fake medicines which have harmful and sometimes lethal consequences for vulnerable communities around the world.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has announced that it is no longer issuing or amending import permits for any live insect that is a "pest" as defined by the Plant Protection Act. This policy applies to insects which are plant pests and are intended for use as feed or bait; as a pet; or any other similar or related use.

Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Promotion and Director General of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service Suresh Kumar discussed the importance of the U.S. -- Canada trade relationship at the Representation Canada (RepCAN) Conference in Montreal on June 18, 2010. RepCAN, a multi-sector matchmaker/exhibit, is designed to provide U.S. export-ready, small-to-medium sized companies opportunities to meet with potential customers in Canada’s three primary regional markets.

The People’s Bank of China announced on June 19, 2010, that it will further reform the renminbi (RMB or yuan) exchange rate regime and enhance its exchange rate flexibility.

In the June 18, 2010 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union, the following trade-related notices were posted:

The World Trade Organization reports that during the June 8-9, 2010 meeting of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Council, members discussed intellectual property enforcement trends, including concerns about a group of countries negotiating an anti-counterfeiting agreement; whether life forms should be eligible for patenting; and plans to beef up the annual review of a 2003 decision on access to medicines.

China's Ministry of Commerce reports that Taiwan experts and local officials expect a cross-Strait economic pact with China, likely to be reached soon, to redistribute resources and restructure Taiwan's economy. The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, or ECFA, will send the signal that economic relations across the Strait to China will steadily develop.