More Trade News in Brief Week 38 (14 – 20 September 2015)

* WTO – Rise in Global Tourism Continues

International arrivals rose by 5 per cent in Europe, Asia and the Pacific, and the Middle East, and by 4 per cent in the Americas, according to figures released by the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

The most popular regions proved to be the Caribbean and Oceania, which saw a rise of seven per cent, while Central and Eastern Europe and Central America saw a rise of six per cent.

Check for more here and here.

Useful links:

UNWTO World Tourism Barometer

UNWTO Tourism Highlights, 2015 Edition 

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* G20 Labour Markets in 2015

The report G20 Labour Markets 2015: Strengthening the Link between Growth and Employment, compiled by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank Group, reveals that growth among G20 economies averaged 3.2 per cent over the last three years compared to 4.1 per cent from 2000 to 2007.

Read more here.

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* FAO Food Price Index

According to the FAO Food Price Index, which tracks international market prices for five major food commodity groups – cereals, meat, dairy products, vegetable oils and sugar – virtually all food groups registered marked dips in price in August.

Find more here.

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* G7 and BRIICS Merchandise Trade Continues to Slow in Second Quarter of 2015

Total G7 and BRIICS international merchandise trade, in current US dollars, continued to contract in the second quarter of 2015, with exports and imports declining by 0.9% and 1.2% respectively, compared with the previous quarter. 

Download the entire news release (PDF 160KB)

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* Belize, Switzerland ratify Trade Facilitation Agreement

Belize and Switzerland have become the 13th and 14th WTO members to ratify the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The TFA contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit. It also sets out measures for effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues.

More information on trade facilitation and the TFA can be found at: www.wto.org/tradefacilitation.

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* New ICC Dispute Board Rules

New Rules governing ICC Dispute Boards will come into effect on 1 October 2015.

For more information click here.

 

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More Trade News in Brief Week 19 (4 – 10 May 2015)

South Korea, Vietnam Sign FTA

The bilateral FTA upgrades the South Korea – ASEAN agreement by further cutting import duties, more than 90 percent of all their traded goods.

Check here for more.

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Digital Single Market for Europe

The Digital Single Market strategy is made up of three policy areas or ‘pillars’:

Better online access to digital goods and services

An environment where digital networks and services can prosper

Digital as a driver for growth

Please read more here.

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ECB publishes its Euro Money Market Study 2014

The European Central Bank (ECB) is publishing its biennial report entitled “Euro Money Market Study 2014”.

Check it here.

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ICC Revises DOCDEX Rules

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has revised its DOCDEX rules, a dispute resolution mechanism specifically designed to address trade finance concerns.

Check here for more.

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New ICC Cyber Security Guide

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has published a new straight-speaking guide to help companies of all sizes manage their approach to cyber security and mitigate threats posed by cybercrime.

Click here for more.

 

More Trade News in Brief Week 3 (12 – 18 January 2015)

* World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2015

The new ILO report includes a forecast of global unemployment levels and explains the factors behind this trend, including continuing inequality and falling wage shares.

Download the report from here.

Read more here.

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* IMF Downgrades Global Growth Forecast

According to its World Economic Outlook (WEO) update , the IMF lowered growth expectations for this year and the next for most countries due to slowdown in investment, and urged governments and central banks to pursue economic stimulation policies and structural reforms to boost growth.

Download Full-Text PDF: English

 

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* UNCTAD – Latest developments in national and international investment policies

UNCTAD’s latest Investment Policy Monitor shown that the vast majority of new investment policy measures were aimed at creating more favourable investment conditions.

Download: Investment Policy Monitor No. 13

Quick link: Investment Policy Monitor (Series)

More Trade News in Brief Week 42 (13 – 19 October 2014)

 

* Eurostat Regional Yearbook 2014

 

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, published The Regional Yearbook 2014.

 

Check here.

 

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* International Tourism Up by 5% in the First Half of 2014

 

International tourist arrivals grew by 4.6% in the first half of 2014 according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Destinations worldwide received some 517 million international tourists between January and June 2014, 22 million more than in the same period of 2013.

 

Read more about here.

 

 

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* South Africa & Hong Kong – DTA

 

Hong Kong and South Africa signed a comprehensive double taxation agreement (CDTA).

 

See more here.

 

 

OECD Releases First BEPS Recommendations

 

The OECD released its first recommendations for a co-ordinated international approach to combat tax avoidance by multinational enterprises.

 

The recommendations, under the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project, are designed to create a single set of international tax rules to end the erosion of tax bases and the artificial shifting of profits to jurisdictions to avoid paying tax.

 

The first 7 elements of the Action Plan released today focus on helping countries to:

• ensure the coherence of corporate income taxation at the international level, through new model tax and treaty provisions to neutralise hybrid mismatch arrangements (Action 2);
• realign taxation and relevant substance to restore the intended benefits of international standards and to prevent the abuse of tax treaties (Action 6);
• assure that transfer pricing outcomes are in line with value creation, through actions to address transfer pricing issues in the key area of intangibles (Action 8);
• improve transparency for tax administrations and increase certainty and predictability for taxpayers through improved transfer pricing documentation and a template for country-by-country reporting (Action 13);
• address the challenges of the digital economy (Action 1);
• facilitate swift implementation of the BEPS actions through a report on the feasibility of developing a multilateral instrument to amend bilateral tax treaties (Action 15); and
• counter harmful tax practices (Action 5).

 Please find more here.

China to Become World’s Largest Economy in 2024

 

According to a Report from IHS Economics, China will become the world’s largest economy in 2024.

 

IHS is a global information company with world-class experts in the pivotal areas shaping today’s business landscape: energy, economics, geopolitical risk, sustainability and supply chain management.

 

Read more about here.

 

Corporate Income Tax Rates around the World

The key findings of the latest summary of worldwide corporate tax data published by The Tax Foundation are:

• The United States has the third highest general top marginal corporate income tax rate in the world at 39.1 percent, exceeded only by Chad and the United Arab Emirates.
• The worldwide average top corporate income tax rate is 22.6 percent (30.6 percent weighted by GDP).
• By region, Europe has the lowest average corporate tax rate at 18.6 percent (26.3 percent weighted by GDP); Africa has the highest average tax rate at 29.1 percent.
• Larger, more industrialized countries tend to have higher corporate income tax rates than developing countries.
• The worldwide (simple) average top corporate tax rate has declined over the past decade from 29.5 percent to 22.6 percent.
• Every region in the world has seen a decline in their average corporate tax rate in the past decade.

The Tax Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based think tank founded in 1937 that collects data and publishes research studies on tax policies at the federal and state levels.

 

Read more about The Tax Foundation and Summary of Worldwide Corporate Tax Data 2014.

 

 

News from ICC

 

* Revised ICC Statement Advises Against Exit Taxes Regimes

 

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has issued a revised policy statement acknowledging recent developments in the international taxation landscape.

 

More about ‘Exit taxes: Serious obstacles for international business restructurings and movements of capital’ here.

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* New Global Innovation Index

 

ICC launched the 7th edition Global Innovation Index 2014 (GII).

 

New Global Innovation Index recognizes innovation as a driver of economic growth, read more here.

 

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* Guide on Effective Management of Arbitration

 

The ICC guide “Effective Management of Arbitration: A Guide for In-House Counsel and Other Party Representatives” provides a practical toolkit for in-house counsel all around the world.

 

Check here for more.

News from EU

 

 

* EU – Simpler and Fairer VAT System

 

The change in VAT rules will be applied from January 2015.

 

Check here from details.

 

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* EU – International Trade in Services

 

EU28 surplus up to €173 bn in 2013 and United States, Switzerland and China are the main partners.

 

Download the report here.

 

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* EU – Intellectual Property Rights (IPR)

 

The European Commission has today adopted two communications – an Action Plan to address infringements of intellectual property rights in the EU and a Strategy for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) in third countries.

 

Read more about it here.

 

More Trade News in Brief Week 20 (12 – 18 May 2014)

 

* China – Extra Free Trade Zones (FTZ)

 

China will set up a number of new free trade zones to boost foreign trade growth and increase the use of the renminbi.

 

See more here.

 

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* The World’s Biggest Public Companies

 

The Forbes magazine released the 2014 Global 2000. For the first time, China is home to the world’s three biggest companies; it also lands five of the top 10 spots.

 

Check here The 2014 Global 2000.

 

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* 2014 ICT Figures

 

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) released 2014 ICT figures, please check for some of the most important findings:

 

* fixed-telephone subscriptions continue to decline

* mobile-cellular subscriptions to hit nearly 7 billion

* growth in fixed-broadband penetration slowing in developing countries

* mobile-broadband subscriptions will reach 2.3 billion globally

* home internet access approaches saturation levels in developed countries

* three billion people will use the Internet by end of 2014

 

The latest ITU statistics are available here.

 

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* ICAO 2013 Annual Safety Report

 

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) released its annual Safety Report for 2013, reflecting very positive global aviation safety outcomes.

 

Read more here and download The ICAO 2014 Safety Report.