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 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.
On June 17, 2010, Secretary of State Clinton welcomed a European Council declaration announcing that the European Union will adopt strong measures to implement and accompany UN Security Council Resolution 1929, including in the trade, financial, banking and insurance, transport, and gas and oil sectors, in addition to new visa bans and asset freezes. Clinton also welcomed Australia’s announcement that it is taking additional steps against key targets in Iran consistent with UN Security Council resolutions. These new autonomous sanctions will apply to Bank Mellat; the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL); and General Rostam Qasem of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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.
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 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.
In the June 18, 2010 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union, the following trade-related notices were posted:
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.
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.
Xinhuanet.com reports that China appears to have won in a dispute against the U.S. over the latter's ban on poultry imports, according to an interim report by the World Trade Organization. "We think the US will not try to impose a similar ban in the next fiscal year, since it would be regarded as open defiance of the latest WTO ruling," a Ministry of Commerce official said.