More Trade News in Brief Week 37 (7 – 13 September 2015)

New DTA Protocols

Switzerland has signed protocols to its double taxation agreements (DTAs) with Norway and Albania.

See more following the link.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

EFTA and Georgia Start FTA Talks

The member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and Georgia held a first round of negotiations towards a free trade agreement (FTA).

Check for more here.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

New Zealand Seeks Signature of Gulf FTA

New Zealand is looking for a free trade agreement with the Gulf States.

Check for more here.

Advertisement

More Trade News in Brief Week 26 (22 – 28 June 2015)

* UNCTAD – World Investment Report 2015

The World Investment Report focuses on trends in foreign direct investment (FDI) worldwide.

Check World Investment Report 2015 – Reforming International Investment Governance.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

* New WCO Guide to Customs Valuation and Transfer Pricing

The WCO launched a major new guide on the topic of Customs valuation and transfer pricing.

The guide is available to download via this link.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

* ICC Launches New Tool to Promote Business Sustainability

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) launched the 3^rd and radical update of its respected Business Charter for Sustainable Development.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

* OECD – Government at a Glance 2015

Monday, 6 July, the OECD will publish Government at a Glance 2015.

The biannual report presents more than 50 indicators to compare governments’ performance in everything from public finances (including government spending per person), cuts to staffing and pay in central government and the level of private asset disclosure by government officials to access to and satisfaction with the healthcare, education and the justice systems.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

* The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2015-2024

The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2015-2024 will be published on Wednesday 1 July.

The report analyses agriculture production, discusses how global markets are reacting to price volatility in both food and commodity markets and looks at farm sector trends for the coming decade.

More Trade News in Brief Week 21 (18 – 24 May 2015)

World Employment and Social Outlook 2015

The International Labour Organization (ILO) today warned of widespread insecurity in the global employment market, saying that some 75 per cent of all workers are employed on temporary or short-term contracts in informal jobs often without any contract.

 

 

 

 

 

Check here for more.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

UNCTAD – Global Investment Trends Monitor

Hong Kong (China) and China were the second and the third largest investors in the world, after the United States which remains the largest single source of outward foreign direct investment (FDI).

Countries in developing Asia have, for the first time, collectively invested more money abroad than countries in the North American and European regions.

Download:

Global Investment Trends Monitor

Read more folowing the link.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

FAO Predicts World Food Import Bill to Fall to Five-Year Low

FAO’s first forecast for global cereal production in 2015 amounts to 2.509 billion tonnes, a bit down from last year’s record but nearly 5 percent above the average of the past five years.

Several years of solid harvests and stockpiling mean most basic food commodities are in surplus.

Check here for more.

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is an international financial institution proposed by the government of China.

At least 47 countries and territories from five continents have applied to join the Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank as founding members.

Sweden and Kyrgyzstan were among the last to apply before the deadline, 31 March 2015, adding further weight to the regional financing body, which has seen its influence grow even before it officially starts operation.

Check here for more.

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.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

* 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.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

* 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.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

* 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.

 

News from UNCTAD

* Global Investment Trends in 2014 and Prospects for 2015

Global foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows declined by 8% in 2014. A solid FDI rise remains distant, reports the latest UNCTAD Global Investment Trends.

 Download: Global Investment Trends Monitor No. 18.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

* UNCTAD and WTO launch partnership on Integrated Trade Database

UNCTAD and the WTO agreed to cooperate in assisting the WTO members in implementing notification requirements for the WTO Integrated Data Base (IDB).

UNCTAD Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA).

An integrated customs management system for international trade and transport operations in a modern automated environment.

More Trade News in Brief Week 51 (15 – 21 Dicember 2014)

* US and Cuba to Normalize Relations

The leaders of the United States and Cuba agreed to restore full diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Check here for more.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

* Russia to Launch Alternative to SWIFT Bank Transaction System

Russia plans to launch its own international inter-bank system by May 2015. The national payment system department of the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) will be in charge of the new project.

Find more here.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

 * The 2014 edition of the World Intellectual Property Indicators

WIPO’s World Intellectual Property Indicators 2014 provides a wide range of indicators covering the following areas of intellectual property: patents, utility models, trademarks, industrial designs, microorganisms and plant variety protection.

It draws on data from national and regional IP offices, WIPO and the World Bank.

Download the full report.

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

* World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 (WESP) Report

The UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2015 (WESP) report, which was launched today, estimates growth in 2015 of 3.1 per cent and in 2016 of 3.3 per cent.

Read more about it here.

 

News from BIS

 

* Capital Requirements for Bank Exposures to Central Counterparties

 

Bank for International Settlements (BIS), in collaboration with BCBS, the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS), and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) completed its work on the capital treatment of bank exposures to central counterparties.

 

The final standard will take effect on 1 January 2017.

 

Check here for more.

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

* Supervisory Framework for Measuring and Controlling Large Exposures

 

Bank for International Settlements (BIS) sets out a supervisory framework for measuring and controlling large exposures.

 

The framework is scheduled to take effect from 1 January 2019.

 

Check here for more.

 

News from UNCTAD

 

* The ICTPR Framework

 

 

UNCTAD has developed a model framework and methodology for conducting information and communications technologies (ICTs) policy reviews: The ICTPR Framework.

 

 

Find the publication here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

 

* Bilateral FDI Statistics

 

The UNCTAD’s Bilateral FDI Statistics provides up-to-date and systematic FDI data for 206 economies around the world, covering inflows (table 1), outflows (table 2), inward stock (table 3) and outward stock (table 4) by region and economy.

 

Read more about following the link.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

 

* Review of Investor-State Dispute Settlement Cases

 

UNCTAD publishes its annual review of investor-State dispute settlement cases (ISDS).

 

You can download it from here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

 

 

* 2013 Trade Statistics

 

According to UNCTAD and WTO estimates, world merchandise exports grew by 2%, while services trade recorded 5% increase in 2013.

 

For more details, check here.

 

Access to data:

• Volume index and growth rates of merchandise exports and imports, quarterly, Q1 2005-Q4 2013
• Values and shares of merchandise exports and imports, annual, 1948-2013
• Merchandise trade balance, annual, 1948-2013
• Value growth rates of merchandise exports and imports, annual, 1950-2013
• Value, shares and growth of services exports and imports by service-category, annual, 1980-2013
• Values, shares and growth of exports and imports of total services, annual, 1980-2013

 

 

More Trade News in Brief Week 11 (10 – 16 March 2014)

 

* International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2014

 

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) published the International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2014.

 

The statistical publication presents detailed, country-specific, business structure statistics, which provide empirical evidence for formulating industrial policy and carrying out comparative analysis of structural change and productivity.

 

Follow the link for more.

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

 

* US and China Drive International Patent Filing Growth

 

The United States of America and China drove record-level patent-filing activity via WIPO.

 

Please read more here.

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

 

* The Revised WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA)

 

The revised WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) will come into force on 6 April 2014. The revised WTO Agreement on Government Procurement will open markets and promote good governance in the participating Member economies.

 

Follow the link for more.

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

 

* Canada & South Korea successful conclusion of the FTA

 

Canada and South Korea inked a free trade agreement (FTA) after more than six year of negotiations.

 

Check here for more.

 

——————————————————————————————————————————————–—

 

* Finland, Chile Sign US FATCA

 

The United States signed intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) with Finland and Chile to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), bringing the total of such agreements that have been signed to 24.

 

Check here.