In the April 29, 2010 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union, the following trade-related notices were posted:

Officials from China's AQSIQ met with French officials on April 12, 2010 to exchange views on issues of mutual concern during the Sino-French Forum on Food Safety Cooperation held in Beijing. Nearly 50 delegates from the relevant government agencies, research institutes and industrial organizations of both countries attended. (News release, dated 04/27/10, available at http://english.aqsiq.gov.cn/NewsRelease/PhotoGallery/201004/t20100427_142451.htm)

To commemorate the tenth anniversary of World Intellectual Property Day on April 26, 2010, the American Apparel & Footwear Association released a new fact sheet, “Facts on Fashion Fakes”, identifying the impact counterfeiting has on the U.S. apparel and footwear industry. (Fact sheet, dated 04/26/10, available at https://www.apparelandfootwear.org/userfiles/file/pressreleases/2010/042610factsonfakes.pdf)

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) reports that the Supreme People's Court of China has opened a website for intellectual property rights, www.court.gov.cn/zscq. Information such as judicial interpretations, court notices and decisions, surveys and research on intellectual property rights protection will be available on the website. (News release, posted 04/27/10, available at http://english.mofcom.gov.cn/aarticle/newsrelease/commonnews/201004/20100406886787.html)

The World Trade Organization has posted highlights from the Committee on Safeguards' April 26, 2010 meeting in which India announced it had terminated 8 safeguard actions, and other countries such as Brazil, Chile, Vietnam, etc. said they had terminated 1-2. Members expressed concern about the number of safeguard actions taken recently as they should be reserved for special circumstances. (Notice, posted 04/26/10, available at http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news10_e/safe_26apr10_e.htm)

The European Union has notified World Trade Organization members that effective May 1, 2010, it will add 19 products classified under 19 codes of the European Union's tariff and statistical nomenclature to the list of products subject to an ad valorem additional duty of 15% when originating in the U.S, due to increased U.S. "Byrd Amendment" payouts. (Notice, posted 04/27/10, available at http://docsonline.wto.org/DDFDocuments/t/wt/ds/217-57.doc)

The European Commission has issued statistics estimating the impact of the recent volcanic ash air ban on EU trade. The report states that 27% of EU goods exports use air transport and 19% of EU imports come in by air. That is about 5 billion euros of trade each way, per week. (Notice, posted 04/22/10, available at http://ec.europa.eu/trade/statistics/)

The World Trade Organization has circulated Thailand's responses to U.S. questions on amendments to its Customs Law. Thailand states that details regarding customs valuation methods will be provided under a Ministerial regulation, similar to Regulation 132; that its law provides for different penalties, depending on the severity of the infringement; etc. (Responses, posted 04/27/10, available at http://docsonline.wto.org/DDFDocuments/t/g/val/W190.doc)

In the April 28, 2010 edition of the Official Journal of the European Union, the following trade-related notices were posted:

China’s Ministry of Health has issued new regulations, effective April 22, 2010, which set more stringent requirements on the use and the approval of food additives.