Dear International Trade and Investment Committee Members,
Here are the international trade and investment articles and publications of interest for the week of December 8 to 14. Daniel Hohnstein has curated this week’s edition. Dan is an associate at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP in Ottawa, practicing primarily in the International Trade and Commercial Litigation Groups.
News
- An investigation now under way to see if Chinese solar panels are being dumped in this country is causing a split in the nascent solar industry in Canada. … After getting complaints from four Ontario-based solar-panel-making firms that said they are getting hurt by competition from cut-price imports, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) launched a complex process that will eventually decide if Chinese-made solar panels are being unfairly subsidized or dumped in Canada.
- Solar products from China and Taiwan do not compete with U.S.-made goods, foreign producers told the U.S. International Trade Commission on Monday, as they sought to avert import duties. … The U.S. arm of German solar manufacturer SolarWorld AG SWVG.DE complained Chinese solar producers were able to sidestep duties imposed in 2012 by sourcing cells used in solar panels from Taiwan, and the U.S. Commerce department has already set preliminary duties on products from both countries.
- China’s steel-product exports rose to a record as the economy cools while iron ore imports slid with prices. … Shipments in November increased 14 percent from the previous month to 9.72 million metric tons, according to data from the country’s customs administration today. Total exports in the first 11 months of 2014 are 47 percent higher than the same period last year at 83.6 million tons. Imports of iron ore, the main material for steel making, fell 15 percent last month to the lowest since
- Almost two-thirds of commodity market participants say that benchmarks used to set the price of everything from crude oil to ethanol to zinc are vulnerable to manipulation, according to a new study. … The report, to be published today by U.K. law firm Clyde & Co., shows that 64 percent of 170 respondents are concerned methods used by price reporting agencies to set commodity benchmarks could be manipulated. Reasons given in the survey include sample groups that are too small, a lack of independent oversight and the fact price creators are also traders who can benefit from influencing prices.
- The cost of a trade dispute between steel producers in Central Canada and their offshore competitors is being felt by new home buyers in Metro Vancouver’s already super-heated condominium market. … Neil Chrystal, president and CEO of Polygon Homes, only learned about the international scrap over alleged dumping of reinforcing steel rods – known as rebar – when he saw a significant spike in construction material costs about two months ago. He discovered that an interim duty has been applied to Canadian imports of steel rebar from China, South Korea and Turkey. U.S. rebar imports are not targeted in this trade dispute.
- Turkish electronics and domestic appliances maker Vestel has asked the government to impose emergency import tariffs on mobile phones, according to a filing from Turkey published by the World Trade Organization on Monday. … Such “safeguard tariffs” are permitted if a country can show that a surge in imports is damaging domestic producers, but they may be challenged by other WTO members. Turkey said in the filing that it would examine the case and invited interested parties to apply to have their comments taken into account.
- An appeals board of the World Trade Organization reversed much of an earlier ruling against the United States on Monday, but it said U.S. duties on Indian steel broke WTO rules and asked the United States to bring them into line with its regulation.
- The World Trade Organization's Appellate Body issued a mixed ruling on Monday in a trade dispute brought by India to challenge U.S. anti-subsidy duties on Indian steel. … In one of the most complicated appeals decisions ever handled by the 19-year-old trade watchdog, the Appellate Body reversed much of a ruling by a three-person panel in July, which said the U.S. duties had wrongly penalised India for subsidising steel exports from Tata Steel.
- Australia cut its forecast for 2014/15 wheat exports and increased its beef export forecast as dry weather hits crops and drives up slaughter rates, taking the national herd to at least a 17-year low. … The forecasts come as Australia’s weather bureau warned last week that an El Nino weather event - linked to hot, dry weather - is likely over the next three months, darkening the outlook for agricultural producers.
- The United States confirmed steep import duties on Chinese chemicals used in sanitizing water on Tuesday after a complaint the products were unfairly subsidized and sold too cheaply in U.S. markets. … In its final decision, the Department of Commerce set anti-dumping duties of 210.52 percent on imports from China of calcium hypochlorite, used in chlorinating and sanitizing water, and anti-subsidy duties of 65.85 percent.
- Premier Paul Davis cast Newfoundland and Labrador's support for a European free trade deal in doubt Tuesday over an escalating fishery dispute with the federal government. … Davis said he'll reconsider backing the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement if Ottawa insists on adding what he says are new conditions to a promised fishery fund for his province.
- The federal government will tackle the persistent price gap between goods in Canada and the U.S. with new legislation that was unveiled on Tuesday. … Retailers support the proposed bill, but some observers are skeptical about the approach, which would investigate and publicly call out firms that set prices unfairly high in Canada.
- The federal government may be pushing ahead with a promised crackdown on retailers who jack up their prices — and viewed as widening the gap between Canada and the United States — but a weaker dollar may have already resolved much of that disparity. … Industry Minister James Moore said Tuesday that new legislation will tackle the so-called “geographic price discrimination” between the two countries — a practice he prefers to call “price gouging.”
- China's Hainan Rubber Industry Group is in talks with the Thai government about buying a further 200,000 tonnes of rubber, a source with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday, but no deal has been done yet. … Thailand's deputy agriculture minister, Amnuay Patisse, told Reuters on Monday that the rubber had already been sold, the second large sale to the Chinese group in as many months.
- Farmers in New Zealand, the world’s largest dairy exporter, are reining in milk production as a flood of supply from Europe and the United States pummels prices, a sign the “white gold” rush that has fuelled the New Zealand economy for years is over. … Last season’s record-high prices have fallen well out of reach as the supply glut and a slowdown in buying from China and Russia batter New Zealand’s largest export industry.
- Spurred by the demise of Russia's South Stream gas pipeline project, Croatia has revived a decade-old idea of building a liquefied natural gas import terminal at the deepwater oil port of Omisalj on the island of Krk.
- Australia could export coal and uranium to Ukraine to help ease Kiev’s over reliance on Russian energy exports, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday.
- Bunge Ltd., one of the world's largest agricultural trading houses, sees no signs that Russia will limit wheat exports as some traders have feared, the company's managing director of global agribusiness said on Wednesday. … “Today we have not seen any intervention and we have no signs that anything is about to happen,” Brian Thomsen, who leads Bunge’s agribusiness operations, said in a webcast of a company presentation.
- Stephen Harper is meeting Friday with Newfoundland Premier Paul Davis, who’s threatened to withdraw support for the Canada-European Union trade agreement if Ottawa doesn’t meet his terms for a compensation fund related to the deal. … Mr. Davis, however, is facing pressure from business interests in Newfoundland and Labrador who are now voicing concern over the prospect of the province refusing to comply with the deal.
- A trillion dollar deal at the World Trade Organization to reduce tariffs in the vast information technology sector will stand or fall in the next 24 hours, trade diplomats said on Thursday. … But late on Thursday one trade official involved with the talks said a deal would be very unlikely because of a stand-off between South Korea and China, which was refusing all attempts to broker a compromise.
- President Barack Obama expressed caution on Thursday about the possibility of the United States adding more sanctions against Russia for its incursion into Ukraine because it could cause divide Washington and Europe.
- Russian oil production could reach between 526 and 528 million tonnes (10.56-10.60 million barrels per day) next year and the country will export according to demand, Deputy Energy Minister Kirill Molodtsov said. … Russia, the world's top oil producer, pumped an average 10.63 million barrels per day (bpd) in November, equalling a post-Soviet high.
- Chances that U.S. negotiators can bring home a strong trade deal with Asia-Pacific countries are now much better than 50-50, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday. … Obama said he was also confident the administration could make a "strong case" in Congress for a Trans-Pacific Partnership deal covering nearly 40 percent of the world economy.
- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin got straight down to talks on Thursday on boosting nuclear and defense cooperation at a summit aimed at reviving an old friendship that has faded over the years. … Putin's one-day visit to India, at which a raft of agreements were signed, comes at a time when Russia is at odds with the West over Ukraine, and its economy is stalling as oil prices tumble to their lowest in five years.
- U.S. lawmakers gave a preview on Thursday of a looming fight next year on lifting the ban on crude exports with supporters saying it would sustain the drilling boom and others questioning its impacts on industry and fuel prices. … In a House of Representatives hearing on the ban, Texas Republican Joe Barton said exporting oil would boost the economy, lower gas prices, and help give allies alternative oil supplies to Russia.
- Crippling cargo backups at U.S. West Coast ports dragged on into a third month amid industry reports on Thursday of prolonged shipment delays for goods ranging from yoga apparel and rice to NBA bobblehead collectibles and frozen french fries. … Cargo that normally takes two to three days to flow through the affected ports, accounting for nearly half of U.S. maritime trade and over 70 percent of imports from Asia, now faces lag times of up to two weeks, the National Retail Federation.
- At the global trade body’s last General Council meeting of the year, WTO Director-General Roberto AzevĂȘdo urged members to work on regaining their negotiating momentum going into 2015, following a tumultuous few months at the global trade body.
- African countries should translate their regional integration projects into real action on the ground, especially given today’s rapidly evolving landscape of international trade regulation, African Union (AU) trade ministers said following a 4-5 December conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- Countries involved in negotiating a deal to liberalise trade in select environmental goods are making progress on a possible “wish list” of products, sources confirmed following last week’s third round of talks in Geneva, Switzerland. At the current rate, officials say, these initial technical discussions could pave the way for the launch of full tariff negotiations early next year.
- The European Council and Parliament have clinched a political agreement to allow EU member states to either restrict – or ban outright – the cultivation of crops containing genetically modified organisms (GMO) in their own countries, even in cases where the product has been approved at the EU level.
- The EU recently agreed on a law requiring the shipping sector to monitor its carbon emissions from 2018 onward, in a move that has been greeted as a first step toward addressing the issue of emissions produced by that sector.
- The WTO Appellate Body ruled on Monday that the US’ anti-subsidy duties on imports of certain Indian steel products violated global trade rules, in a complicated decision that is expected to have implications for India’s booming steel trade. (DS436).
- Newfoundland and Labrador’s premier says the prime minister has changed the rules mid-game for a fishery fund to compensate for Canada’s free trade deal with Europe. … Paul Davis emerged from a 45 minute meeting on Friday with Stephen Harper in Ottawa to accuse the federal government of reneging on agreed terms.
- Talks on cutting trade tariffs on hundreds of information technology goods failed to reach agreement on Friday, diplomats at the World Trade Organization said. … "We don't have a deal," one trade ambassador told Reuters as he entered the meeting.
- Talks on cutting trade tariffs on hundreds of information technology products collapsed on Friday, delaying and potentially scuppering a deal estimated to be worth $1 trillion to global trade. … "We are disappointed not to be celebrating a deal this week. We missed a big opportunity," U.S. Ambassador Michael Punke said at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
- Negotiations on a trillion-dollar global agreement to abolish tariffs on information technology fell short after South Korea demanded that China eliminate duties on flat-panel displays, Bloomberg BNA reports. … Officials meeting in Geneva, the headquarters of the World Trade Organization, had spent about a week trying to narrow differences among the 54 countries participating in the talks. China refused to bow to the South Korean demand today.
- Two United States senators have threatened to try to block South Africa from a lucrative U.S.-Africa trade agreement if Pretoria doesn't lift import duties on cheaper cuts of chicken. … South Africa has imposed “anti-dumping” tariffs since 2000 of above 100 percent on certain products derived from the chicken carcass.
- The European Commission has issued warnings to four Pacific and Caribbean countries for failing to crack down on illegal fishing, exposing them to a possible trade ban. Since 2010 the EU - the world's biggest fish importer - has taken action against countries that do not follow international standards to prevent over-fishing, such as policing their waters for unlicensed fishing vessels and imposing penalties to deter illegal fishing.
- European Union governments agreed on Friday to ban the export of jet fuel to Syria from Sunday, saying it was being used by the Syrian air force for indiscriminate attacks against civilians. … The ban also covers finance and insurance related to jet fuel exports to Syria.
- Rejections of U.S. distillers’ dried grain (DDGs) shipments, first by China and then by Turkey, are isolated events and not a sign of broader trade disruptions to come, U.S. traders and industry sources said on Friday. … The U.S. Grains Council on Thursday confirmed that Turkey has rejected three shipments of the feed ingredient and ethanol byproduct as it steps up enforcement of rules on imports of genetically modified corn. A fourth cargo was diverted from the No. 6 buyer of U.S. DDGs.
- Ukraine is struggling to honor corn contracts signed with China in October and may default on about 20 percent of the volumes because of a shortage caused in part by the political turmoil engulfing the country, industry sources said.
- Exporters of Russian wheat have cut prices to try to speed up sales abroad before the government possibly introduces curbs to replenish its own stocks and prevent rises in the cost of bread, traders and analysts said on Friday. … Russia's grain exports are running at a record high, buoyed by a large crop and a sinking rouble which after dropping 40 percent this year against the dollar has made exports more profitable than domestic sales.
- Russia’s trade surplus widened in October for the first time in three months as imports shrank the most since 2009 after a retaliatory ban on some foreign food shipments and a weaker ruble crimped demand. … The surplus expanded 6.3 percent from a year earlier to $13.6 billion after plunging 20 percent last month, the central bank in Moscow said today on its website. The median estimate of 16 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a $11.6 billion surplus. Imports fell 12 percent, offsetting a 6.9 percent decline in exports.
- Japan's exports are expected to have risen for the third straight month in November thanks to solid demand from the United States, an encouraging sign for shipments and the broader economy's recovery from a recession. … Exports are forecast to have increased 7.0 percent in November from a year earlier, according to a Reuters poll of 24 economists, following a 9.6 percent gain in October and 6.9 percent rise in September.
- U.S. businesses are hoping for a pledge from American and Chinese officials at talks in Chicago next week to move ahead quickly on a planned investment pact between the two countries. … Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade meetings on Dec. 16 through 18 are aimed at smoothing out snags ranging from beef exports to currency manipulation in a trade relationship worth more than $600 billion a year.
- Syngenta AG expects to win Chinese government approval soon for imports of a type of genetically modified corn at the center of lawsuits over U.S. grain shipments rejected by Beijing, a company spokesman said on Friday. … Syngenta, one of the world's largest seed companies, will make an announcement when it receives official documentation from China that Agrisure Viptera corn, known as MIR 162, has been cleared for import, spokesman Paul Minehart said. He declined further comment.
- The Thai government is buying rubber from the market through a 6 billion baht ($183 million) buffer fund to support prices, the deputy farm minister said on Friday, while another fund will support domestic rubber futures with help from private firms.
- Russia will take counter measures if Washington imposes new sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Saturday. … The U.S. Congress has readied new sanctions on Russian weapons companies and investors in the country's high-tech oil projects, but U.S. President Barack Obama has yet to sign a corresponding bill into law.
- The falling price of oil and what to do about it, the Keystone XL pipeline, and Mexico’s major oil and gas shakeup will be on the table as North American energy ministers meet Monday. … Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford is set to meet with his counterparts Ernest Moniz and Pedro Joaquin Coldwell from the U.S. and Mexico respectively in Washington, D.C.
- China is expected to sign 30 cooperative agreements worth $10 billion with Kazakhstan as Premier Li Keqiang begins his first official visit to the country, the official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday. … Xinhua did not give details, but quoted Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping as highlighting a joint-venture logistics base and urging interconnectivity with highways, railways, ports, air routes, oil and gas pipelines.
- Premier Li Keqiang is on the road, the Silk Road, to Kazakhstan this week as China seeks to increase its sway in a region long dominated by Russia. … China surpassed Russia as Kazakhstan’s biggest trading partner in 2010 and is seeking to build on an expanding commercial relationship with a nation with which it shares a 1,700-kilometer (1,000 mile) border. While Chinese influence in Central Asia is set to swell further with the Silk Road plan on top of its national agenda, China has repeatedly reassured Russia it has no intention to seek the upper hand in the region.
- Kazakhstan aims to become an important player in the world's potash fertilizer market after securing billions of dollars in financing from China on Sunday, a senior Kazakh official said. … The central Asian country is better known internationally for its vast reserves of oil and metals, but is keen to expand its presence in other areas, while China wants to tap global resources such as fertilisers.
- The U.S. Congress has sent President Barack Obama legislation setting out tougher sanctions to punish Russia for its intervention in Ukraine, while giving him leeway in applying most of the provisions. ... The Senate gave final approval by unanimous consent late last night to the measure that authorizes – but doesn’t require – providing lethal assistance to Ukraine’s military as well as sweeping sanctions on Russia’s energy sector. Those steps go beyond what the White House and European Union have been willing to do so far.
Government Announcements/Press Releases
- The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, today met with key business associations and organizations on Parliament Hill to review the historic achievements in 2014 under Canada’s Global Markets Action Plan (GMAP). Under this pro-export, pro-jobs plan, the Government of Canada delivered on its commitment to eliminate tariffs, provide preferential market access for Canadian businesses and protect Canadian investment ….
- The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (the Tribunal) today initiated a preliminary injury inquiry into a complaint by Eclipsall Energy Corporation, of Toronto, Ontario, Heliene Inc., of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Silfab Ontario Inc., of Mississauga, Ontario, and Solgate Inc., of Woodbridge, Ontario, that they have suffered injury as a result of the dumping and subsidizing of certain photovoltaic modules and laminates from the People’s Republic of China. The Tribunal’s inquiry is conducted pursuant to the Special Import Measures Act as a result of the initiation of dumping and subsidizing investigations by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
- On 8 December 2014, the WTO Appellate Body issued its report in the case “United States – Countervailing Measures on Certain Hot-Rolled Carbon Steel Flat Products from India” (DS436).
- Director-General Roberto AzevĂȘdo, on 8 December, opened the week-long “Geneva Week” for WTO members and observers who do not have permanent missions in Geneva. He briefed participants on recent WTO developments, including the breakthrough in the General Council on Bali issues. “We will all be here to listen to you and support you in any appropriate way that we can,” he said.
- Director-General Roberto AzevĂȘdo, in introducing his annual report “Developments in the International Trading Environment” to the Trade Policy Review Body on 8 December, said that “the stock of trade restrictions introduced by WTO members since 2008 continues to rise”. He said that “in a climate of economic uncertainty the continued accumulation of trade-restrictive measures poses a clear risk”.
- Corruption in all its forms robs citizens of their rights, undermines the rule of law and reduces economic growth. It deprives the poor of the economic opportunities, government services and financial resources they need to improve the well-being of their families. If left unaddressed, it can seriously harm the future prosperity of any nation.
- As part of the International Anti-Corruption Day, the OECD has joined Member and Partner countries and other International Organisations in raising awareness about the costs and detrimental effects of corruption. … The OECD recently released its Foreign Bribery Report, which analyses more than 400 cases worldwide, registered between February 1999 and June 2014, involving companies or individuals from the 41 signatory countries to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. During the launch, the OECD Secretary-General Angel GurrĂa highlighted how corruption undermines growth and development
- Today, the EU Task Force on Investment published a report showing that there is significant potential for investment in Europe. It identifies around 2,000 projects across Europe worth some €1.3 trillion of potential investments, out of which over €500 billion worth of projects could potentially be implemented over the next three years. Many of these projects are currently not being realised due to financial, regulatory or other barriers.
- Today representatives of Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Romania and Slovenia (hereinafter as: Member States) as well as European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union MaroĆĄ Ć efÄoviÄ have met to discuss gas infrastructure priorities for Central- and South-Eastern Europe.
- Developing economies ran a combined merchandise and services trade surplus for 2013 of $177.6 billion, the UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics 2014 reveals, representing a fall of 40 per cent as measured in current prices compared with 2012 and 63 per cent compared with the peak in 2007. Transition economies also ran a trade surplus in 2013 of $128.6 billion. This represented a fall compared with the previous year (21 per cent) and with the peak in 2011 (33 per cent). Developed economies ran a trade deficit of $65.3 billion in 2013, down from almost $400 billion the previous year; a reduction of 84 per cent (current prices).
- WTO members adopted Seychelles’ WTO terms of entry at the General Council meeting on 10 December 2014. Seychelles will have until 1 June 2015 to ratify the deal to formally become a WTO member 30 days after it notifies the ratification to the WTO Director-General.
- The General Council, on 10 December, agreed that the 10th Ministerial Conference be held in Nairobi, Kenya from 15 to 18 December 2015. The chair, Ambassador Jonathan Fried, warmly thanked and congratulated Foreign Minister Amina Mohamed and the Government of Kenya for their successful offer. He noted that he had previously informed delegations of Turkey’s decision to withdraw its offer to host the Conference in favour of Kenya, and thanked Turkey for its constructive spirit during the whole process.
- Director-General Roberto AzevĂȘdo , in introducing his annual report on WTO accessions to the General Council on 10 December, said that through accessions, the WTO has expanded its world trade coverage from just under 91% in 1995 to about 98% in 2013. “Evidence shows that the results from the WTO accessions have strengthened our system, supported domestic reforms and contributed to global growth, development and prosperity,” he said.
- Hong Kong, China has become the first WTO member to formally ratify the WTO’s new Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Hong Kong officials informed the WTO’s General Council on 10 December 2014 that the territory deposited its instrument of acceptance for the TFA Protocol with the WTO Secretariat on 8 December.
- Director-General Roberto AzevĂȘdo told the General Council on 10 December that “2015 is going to be a big year for the WTO” with the celebration of its 20th anniversary and the holding of its 10th Ministerial Conference. He also said that “we have real deadlines to meet”, including developing the work programme on the remaining Doha Round issues by the end of July 2015. Negotiating chairs, he said, are convening the first round of meetings towards meeting this goal.
- The government of Japan has contributed USD 76,742 (CHF 74,034) to the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) for 2014. The objective is to help developing countries and least-developed countries establish and implement sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) for health protection and expand their ability to gain or maintain access to global markets.
- Canada’s leadership promotes inclusive economic growth, support for the most vulnerable and the advancement of democratic principles in the Americas region. … Today, at a Clinton Foundation event commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Summit of the Americas, Lois Brown, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development, the Honourable Christian Paradis, emphasized Canada’s leadership in stimulating inclusive sustainable economic growth, helping those in greatest need, and advancing democracy in the Americas region.
- This customs notice announces regulatory amendments proposed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) following extensive consultations with external stakeholders. These amendments are designed to streamline the CBSA’s Duty Free Shop (DFS) program, as well as reduce costs and the administrative burden on both the duty free shop industry and the CBSA. It is further proposed that these regulatory amendments come into force on December 11, 2014, on the condition that the Governor in Council makes them.
- Export Development Canada (EDC) announced today its participation as lead arranger in a USD 3.3 billion dollar debt financing consortium to STAR Rafineri A.S., majority owned by the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). … EDC financed USD 150 million within the bank consortium. This financing is for the development of the SOCAR Turkey Aegean Refinery (STAR) project. This is the largest project financing deal ever done in Turkey.
- Canadian companies that sell abroad are feeling somewhat less bullish about near-term prospects, according to a semi-annual report by Export Development Canada (EDC). … EDC is Canada’s trade bank, and the leading provider of financing for small Canadian companies that sell to customers outside of Canada.
- Export Development Canada (EDC) today announced a USD 50 M financing deal with Navistar Financial Mexico (NFCx), the financial arm of Navistar Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V. (Navimex), a wholly owned subsidiary of Navistar International Corporation (Navistar) in Mexico. … Navimex is a leading manufacturer of commercial trucks and buses sold in Latin America, Canada, and the U.S., with one of its principal manufacturing facilities located in Monterrey, Mexico.
- As a follow-up to the meeting on Tuesday 9 December between Vice-President Ć efÄoviÄ and representatives from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Romania and Slovenia, Vice-President has today contacted Russian Minister for Energy, Alexander Novak to discuss with him the Russian plans as regards the South Stream Project. Minister Novak confirmed to Vice-President Ć efÄoviÄ that the South Stream Project would no longer be pursued by Russia.
- As of 13 December 2014, new EU food labelling rules, adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in 2011, will ensure that consumers receive clearer, more comprehensive and accurate information on food content, and help them make informed choices about what they eat.
- The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, and the Honourable Greg Rickford, Minister of Natural Resources, today underlined how well over a million Canadian-grown Christmas trees are bringing joy into homes around the world. … Christmas trees represent a key export for Canada. Following a decrease in demand for Canadian Christmas trees during the recession in the United States in 2008 and 2009, Canadian tree exports are on the rise, especially due to a Christmas tree shortage in the United States.
- At this very moment, thousands of Canadian grown Christmas trees are making their way to destinations all over the world, including the United States, Russia, El Salvador, Japan, even Trinidad and Tobago. … In fact, when it comes to exporting Christmas trees, Canadians are at the top of the game. As the number one Christmas tree exporter in the world, Canada exported over 1.5 million trees in 2013, culminating in a value of almost CAD 28 million.
- Excess capacity in steel as growth in investment projects outpaces demand will pose risks for the sector for the foreseeable future, according to industry and government officials at the OECD’s Steel Committee meeting in Cape Town on 12 December 2014. The risk of trade conflicts in the industry also appears to have increased of late, they said, and Committee members discussed options for closer co-operation to try and prevent disputes.
- In reaction to developments in negotiations on the expansion of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), Director-General Roberto AzevĂȘdo said on 12 December 2014: “The participants have significantly reduced the gaps on expanding the coverage of the ITA in recent days but unfortunately it has not been possible to finalise the negotiations this week. I urge members to remain actively and constructively engaged as we try to bridge the gaps in these negotiations.”
- The European Commission has today approved the first three of 118 Rural Development Programmes (RDPs) aimed at improving the competitiveness of the EU farming sector, caring for the countryside and climate, and strengthening the economic and social fabric of rural communities in the period until 2020. Operating at either national or regional level, the 118 multi-annual programmes are backed by EUR 95.6 billion of total EU funding over the period 2014-2020 through the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and will draw in additional national, regional and private finance. In addition to today’s programmes – the national RDPs for Denmark, Poland and Austria – a further 6 programme will be adopted before the end of the year, meaning that programmes worth more than 20 billion EURO will have been cleared.
- The European Union welcomes the outcome of the United Nations climate conference in Lima as a step forward on the road to a global climate deal in Paris next year. The conference agreed on two deliverables, the Lima Call for Climate Action and the draft elements text for the 2015 Agreement. As countries come forward with proposed emissions reduction targets in the coming months, the Lima Call requires all countries to describe their proposed target in a clear, transparent and understandable way.
Commentaries
- … At first glance, the Conservative government would appear to have backed some way away from its lunatic plan, announced in the last budget, to regulate every price in Canada into line with its American counterpart. Legislation unveiled Tuesday by the Industry minister, James Moore, would not directly set prices, but rather would force businesses operating in Canadian to hand over confidential information on pricing at the Competition Bureau’s behest, the better “to expose cross-border price discrimination that is not justified by higher costs in Canada.” Businesses unable to “justify” their pricing to the Bureau would presumably be exposed to some sort of public shaming.
- The oil-importing world has long hoped that the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries — a union of countries often at odds with each other — will fall apart and usher in an era of free-market oil.
- Price movements have grabbed the headlines in recent weeks. Commodity prices are falling, and as always, there are various arguments about the reasons this time. The implications are serious, so the debates are warranted. But the more pressing issue is recent movement in the general price level. Overall price growth has weakened lately, and there is renewed worry about disinflation and deflation. Five years beyond the crisis, and we are still worried about this? What’s going on?
- In the high-stakes contest between the United States, the biggest shale oil producer, and Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil exporter, America has blinked first. … The OPEC refusal to cut production at its November meeting was widely seen as the declaration of a price war against booming U.S. shale oil producers, which had sent their country’s oil production soaring.
- … Whether or not the sanctions are lifted, Russia is already undergoing an economic transformation. … With oil prices and the ruble collapsing, Russia’s political and business leaders are realizing that the post-Soviet economic model of full-scale financial liberalization and integration with the global economy has condemned them to overdependence on energy exports and industrial imports from Western Europe. Partly as a result, Russia has succumbed to the classic symptoms of the “natural resource curse”: an overvalued currency, deindustrialization, conspicuous consumption, excessive government spending, weak domestic tax collection and extreme vulnerability to international capital flows.
- I knew fuel was cheap in Saudi Arabia, but I had no idea how ridiculously cheap. I found out when the driver of the big BMW who picked me up at the Jeddah airport pulled off the highway and paid the equivalent of $8 (U.S.) for a fill-up. Gasoline in the kingdom costs about 16 cents a litre. Water costs more.
- The moment that set in motion one of the most controversial takeovers in Canadian history, the $15.1-billion purchase of Canadian oil producer Nexen Inc. by China’s CNOOC Ltd., began without warning for Marvin Romanow on Jan. 9, 2012, in the Calgary offices of the law firm then known as Fraser Milner Casgrain.
- ... Natural gas is both a geopolitical tool and a target in Israel, where a newfound bonanza of resources has the potential to improve ties with energy-hungry Egypt, Jordan and even the Palestinian Authority. … But the linchpin of this diplomatic push is not an Israeli official, a Middle Eastern king, or an American ambassador. It is an oil company in Texas.