More Trade News in Brief Week 12 (16 – 22 March 2015)

* Switzerland, EU Ink New Savings Tax Pact

Switzerland and the European Union (EU) have initialled an agreement on the automatic exchange of tax information (AEOI). Account data will be collected from 2017, with the first exchange scheduled for 2018.

See more clicking here.

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* EU: Combatting Corporate Tax Avoidance

The European Commission presented a package of tax transparency measures as part of its ambitious agenda to tackle corporate tax avoidance and harmful tax competition in the EU. A key element of this Tax Transparency Package is a proposal to introduce the automatic exchange of information between Member States on their tax rulings

Read more here.

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* China and US Telecoms Giants Lead Global Patent Activity in 2014

According to the UN World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) annual review of international patent filings, a leading Chinese telecoms giant overtook a Japanese firm as the largest applicant last year, and China and the US together accounted for 87 per cent of the total growth in filings under WIPO’s Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Under that system, some 215,000 applications were filed in 2014, a 4.5 per cent increase over the previous year, WIPO said in a news release.

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* WTO: Assistance in Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health

Five agencies and their partners operating a programme to help developing countries meet international standards on food safety and animal and plant health have approved plans for 2015–2019 designed to further strengthen safe trade.

The decision will allow the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) to continue to provide assistance to developing countries,

The STDF was set up in 2004 by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO) and World Trade Organization (WTO), and is run by the five partners together with donor countries and representatives of developing countries.

Check here and here for more.

 

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News from EU

 

* Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)

 

The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is fully operational in all eurozone countries on 1st August 2014.

 

Check here and here for more.

 

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* Lithuania to Join Euro Area

 

EU Council formally approved the accession of Lithuania to the euro area and single supervisory mechanism (SSM) on 1 January 2015.

 

Read more here.

 

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* Southern African Region and the EU – EPA

 

The European Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) EPA Group (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland) concluded negotiations for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).

 

For more information click here.

 

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.

 

News from EU

 

* Stronger Rules to Defend the EU’s Rights under Trade Agreements

 

The new legal framework will allow for a more effective EU response to illegal measures taken by its trading partners.

 

Read the Press Release.

 

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* EU’s first ‘Partnership Agreement’ for Growth and Jobs in 2014-2020

 

The European Commission has adopted the first of 28 “Partnership Agreements” that set down the strategies in EU member states and regions for European Structural and Investment Funds.

 

Check here for more.

 

 

News from EU

 

* Labour Force Survey 2013

 

Eurostat Commission published the EU’s statistics on the labour market for 2013.

 

Find the report here.

 

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* First EU Transport Scoreboard

 

EU Transport Scoreboard compares Member State performance in 22 transport-relevant categories.

 

Check the EU Transport Scoreboard.

 

Please find the related Memo and the Press release.

 

 

 

More Trade News in Brief Week 7 (10 – 16 February 2014)

 

* First EU Anti-Corruption Report

 

The European Commission published the first ever EU Anti-Corruption Report. The EU Anti-Corruption Report covers all 28 EU Member States.

 

Please find more here and here.

 

 

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* Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Market

 

According to the latest data released by UNCTAD, the ICT goods such as mobile phones, smartphones, laptops, tablets, integrated circuits and other components at 11 per cent of world merchandise trade and among the top products traded globally – exceeding trade in agricultural products (9.2 per cent) and motor vehicles (7.2 per cent).

 

Please follow the link for more.

 

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* 2014 World Press Freedom Index

 

Reports Without Borders published the 2014 World Press Freedom Index, the Index spotlights the negative impact of conflicts on freedom of information and its protagonists.

 

Please find more about Reports Without Borders and World Press Freedom Index.

More Trade News in Brief Week 51 (16 – 22 December 2013)

 

* Switzerland Joins GNSS

 

Switzerland signed a cooperation agreement to participate in the Galileo and EGNOS programmes, the EU’s Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).

 

Check here for more.

 

 

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* Netherlands Signs IGA FATCA Agreement

 

Netherlands signed an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA), implementing the US Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

 

Please follow the link.

 

 

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* US & Libya Signed TIFA

 

The United States and Libya today signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).

 

Click here for more.

 

 

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* EU’s GSP Updated

 

The EU’s “Generalised Scheme of Preferences” (GSP) will change on 1 January 2014.

 

Please find more details here.

 

More Trade News in Brief Week 44 (28 October – 3 November 2013)

 

* EU Extend Sanctions to Belarus

 

The European Union has extended its sanctions against Belarus by another 12 months.

 

Check here for more.

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* Global Investment Trends Monitor

 

UNCTAD published the Global Investment Trends Monitor.

 

Check for findings and details here.

 

News from the EU

 

* EU – Barriers Restricting Access to Regulated Professions

 

The European Commission announced the start of an evaluation of national regulations on access to professions across Europe.

 

Check here for more.

 

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* EU & Arab Maghreb Union

 

The first informal political dialogue between countries of the Arab Maghreb Union (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania and Libya) and the EU to discuss developments in the region has been hold .

 

Read more following the link.

 

News from the European Union

 

* EU & Georgia Sign DCFTA

 

The European Union and Georgia concluded negotiations for a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA).

 

Check here and here for more.

 

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* EU Re-opens Its Market to Myanmar/Burma

 

The trade preferences for Myanmar/Burma will be applied retroactively as of 13 June 2012.

 

Check here for details.

 

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* European Social Statistics

 

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, published the 1st edition of the European Social Statistics.

 

You can find it here.