LONDON, April 20 (UPI) — British movie star Jude Law has written the World Trade Organization asking the body to uphold a ban on trade in seal skins, an animal rights group says.
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Global trade will be weaker than expected this year as European economies struggle with their debt crisis, and will recover only slightly in 2014, the World Trade Organization said Wednesday.
The global trade body forecast in its annual report that trade would grow 3.3 percent during 2013, significantly less than the 4.5 percent it had earlier predicted.
That would be only a meager improvement from the 2 percent rise in 2012, a terrible year for global trade. Exports were ravaged then by the financial turmoil in the 17-country eurozone, economic aftershocks from Japan‘s earthquake and nuclear crisis, and the impact of political unrest in the oil-rich Middle East.
The WTO had earlier forecast a 3.7 percent rise in trade in 2012, based on what WTO economist Coleman Nee described as assumptions that the European Union was “getting its act together” financially. In fact, the debt crisis continued and remains a source of uncertainty for the bloc, the world’s largest economic region.
Trade growth remains well below the 5.3 percent rate it averaged over the last 20 years, the WTO said. The figures represent the total volume of merchandise exported across borders, accounting for changes in prices and exchange rates.
The WTO‘s director-general, Pascal Lamy, said “the final trade numbers for 2012 are quite sobering,” with developed economies notching a paltry 1 percent increase in their exports last year while shipments from developing economies grew 3.3 percent.
“The revival of the sovereign debt crisis in the middle of the year meant that the deceleration of trade was stronger than anticipated,” he said.
The disparity between developed and developing economies was still more dramatic on the import side, WTO figures show. Among developed economies, imports fell 0.1 percent in 2012, while they rose 4.6 percent among developing economies.
For 2014, Lamy said trade is expected to rebound to “more like 5 percent growth,” close to the 5.2 percent rate seen in 2011.
The recent slowdown, he said, shows that “there is a need for more rules-based trade in order to reduce unemployment and to stimulate growth.”
“The threat of protectionism may be greater now than at any time since the start of the crisis, since other policies to restore growth have been …read more
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has nominated a longtime aide, Elvira Nabiullina, to run the Central Bank, making her the first woman to take charge of the country’s monetary policy.
Putin said Tuesday he would present the candidacy of Nabiullina, currently a presidential economic advisor, to Russia‘s parliament. The vote is expected to be a formality as it is controlled by the Kremlin.
Nabiullina is a Putin loyalist best known for overseeing Russia‘s entry into the World Trade Organization as economic development minister, a post she held from 2007 to 2012.
The outgoing Central Bank chief, Sergei Ignatiev, who is to leave in June, caused an uproar last month when he told the Vedomosti business daily that $49 billion a year is laundered from Russia, half of it by a single criminal group he declined to name.
China‘s government has taken the unusual step of publicly denying it passed the United States last year as the world’s biggest trader — a politically sensitive status.
Trade data from both governments indicate China passed the United States last year in total imports and exports by a margin of $3.866 trillion to $3.822 trillion, or about $44 billion.
China‘s Commerce Ministry issued a statement Tuesday denying that. It said China still lagged by $15.6 billion last year under World Trade Organization standards for valuing goods. That is equal to just 0.3 percent of China‘s total trade.
Beijing wants to be seen as a global leader but says it is a developing country. Its communist leaders are wary of any status that might lead to demands for more efforts to stimulate the global economy or concessions in talks on trade, climate change or other contentious issues.
Strict against smoking already, New Zealand plans to make tobacco companies remove their logos from cigarette packs but will wait until a challenge to Australian legislation is resolved.
The packaging law “will remove the last remaining vestige of glamor from these deadly products,” Associate Minister of Health Tariana Turia said in announcing the plan Tuesday.
New Zealand already has increased cigarette taxes and makes retailers hide packs below the counter. The new legislation would be similar to an Australian law that took effect in December and replaced logos on packs with graphic warnings including cancer-riddled mouths.
The proposed law could be introduced in Parliament later this year to take effect when the trade case over Australia‘s law plays out — next year at the earliest.
Tobacco companies lost a legal challenge in Australia‘s highest court last year, but the World Trade Organization has agreed to hear a complaint about it from several tobacco-growing countries led by the Ukraine.
The Ukraine, Zimbabwe, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Indonesia argued that governments should pursue health policies “without unnecessarily restricting international trade and without nullifying intellectual property rights.”
New Zealand, Norway and Uruguay have lined up behind Australia in the WTO case. Uruguay told the trade body it couldn’t remain silent about “the most serious pandemic confronting humanity.”
Turia said the New Zealand government wants to minimize its legal exposure by waiting until the outcome of the Australian challenge. Even so, she said, the government is planning to set aside up to 6 million New Zealand dollars ($5.1 million) to defend against possible lawsuits from the “very litigious” tobacco companies.
Steve Rush, the New Zealand general manager of British American Tobacco, said in a statement Tuesday that the company is exploring its legal options.
“We expect to see numerous repercussions as a result of the government ignoring several international agreements as well as setting a dangerous precedent for other industries,” he said.
New Zealand has set itself a target of eliminating smoking altogether by 2025. Turia said the government would consider introducing further measures, such as banning smoking in cars and public places and further hiking taxes.
The United States on Monday urged Russia to immediately lift a ban on imports of U.S. meat products because of the feed additive ractopamine and to honor the commitments it made last year when it joined the World Trade Organization. …read more
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The United States has filed a case at the World Trade Organization challenging India‘s domestic content requirements for its national solar program as violation of global trade rules, U.S. trade officials said on Wednesday. …read more
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The Americans call it piracy. The Antiguans call it justice.
The islands of Antigua and Barbuda are threatening to strip intellectual property protections from American goods in retaliation for a U.S. embargo on the tiny Caribbean nation’s online gambling industry.
U.S. officials say that the proposed copyright haven — whose broad outlines were approved Monday at the World Trade Organization in Geneva — amounts to “government-authorized piracy.”
But Antiguans, who’ve won a series of legal victories against the U.S. at the international trade body, say they’re within their rights so long as Washington maintains its online gambling block.
What such a haven might look like is unclear. There’s little in the way of precedent for Antigua’s move, and the islands still hope for a negotiated settlement to the dispute.
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Latin American candidates bidding to head the World Trade Organization could step down from the race and rally behind the regional figure with the best chance of being appointed, Mexico‘s candidate to lead the trade body said.
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Indonesia may hold the key to a $1 trillion injection into the global economy.
That’s how much the World Trade Organization believes is riding on talks later this year in Bali, when trade ministers hope to cut through some of the red tape that slows global commerce.
Indonesia‘s Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told The Associated Press that failure is not an option and that a strong effort is being put in to ensure that the WTO meeting in Bali is “crowned with success.”
Trade ministers agreed Saturday at the World Economic Forum in Davos that some of the key elements of a global trade deal can be fleshed out by summer, in preparation for ministerial talks in December.
The current trade talks, known as the Doha Round, began in 2001,
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By Kenneth Rapoza, Contributor The U.S. is becoming a bigger exporter, and it’s not just soybeans and scrap metal either. It’s Made in America aircraft like Boeing (BA) and Cessna Aircraft, and medical equipment from guys like Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). Within the top 10 nations importing American goods, one country stands out: China. Since it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, China-bound exports have risen by 542 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
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Influential Chinese ex-President Jiang Zemin has been moved down the top leadership’s pecking order — at least in public — as the ruling Communist Party prepares for the final stages of a generational handover in power.
The official Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday in a brief dispatch that Jiang asked party leaders to group him with other retired elders when announced and seated at major formal events. Jiang used to be second to current President Hu Jintao in the protocol at major events, reflecting his status as former president.
Xinhua praised Jiang’s request as “reflecting the noble character and sterling integrity and open-mindedness of a Communist.”
The announcement comes as the party lays the groundwork for the final phase of its leadership transition this spring, when Vice President Xi Jinping will become president and other top Communist officials will be appointed to government positions. Xi succeeded Hu as party leader in November at a pivotal congress, in a transition that had been planned years earlier.
Analysts said Jiang’s move has symbolic significance, but it remained unclear whether he would relinquish his behind-the-scenes influence on party affairs.
“In terms of the symbolism, this is a step forward to mitigate and to guard against the so-called geriatric politics: the old men interfering, retired old cadres who have no position still having a big say in party affairs,” said Willy Lam, a China politics expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
“But on a practical level, it’s difficult to prevent Jiang Zemin from still trying to do whatever he can to interfere in party affairs,” Lam said. “In the Chinese context, tradition dies hard and you have a long record of retired party elders still interfering in party politics.”
It is unclear if Hu will fill the seat in the public hierarchy after Jiang vacates it. Hu has indicated a desire to fully retire from politics and urged greater transparency within party affairs based on equality and “democratic principle.”
China‘s political transitions are still in their infancy, since the days of strongman leaders such as Deng Xiaoping.
China‘s party elders, many among them veteran revolutionaries, enjoy tremendous clout even though they typically have no official posts any more. They continue to make their preferences known and work behind the scenes to promote their proteges and allies to top posts. That burnishes the credentials of retired leaders, ensures them some say in affairs of state, and — perhaps most importantly — protects them and their families from being investigated over corruption or other improprieties committed while in office.
Foremost among the former leaders is Jiang, who oversaw a four-fold expansion of the economy, the reversion of Hong Kong from British to Chinese rule, and the country’s entry into the World Trade Organization. Jiang stepped down as party leader in 2002, although he led the commission that controls the armed forces for another two years.
Unlike Jiang, Hu stepped down from his post as chairman of the military commission at the same time as he handed over the party leadership to Xi, and his decision won plaudits from the military and praise from Xi. Hu’s example could have laid pressure on Jiang to move aside.
When Hu retired as party general secretary and head of the military commission, “Xi Jinping very heavily praised him,” University of Chicago political scientist Dali Yang said. “But it also read almost like kind of a rebuke of Jiang because many people saw that if Hu is being heavily praised for retiring cleanly, then what about Jiang? That really put Jiang on the defensive.”
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Airbus said it was confident it would not run into the same problems afflicting Boeing Co.’s Dreamliner, related to a type of battery both companies use, but lost the crown as the world’s largest plane maker to its archrival despite record deliveries.
Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners have been grounded by aviation organizations around the world, including in the U.S. and Europe, following concerns about the safety of the airplane’s lithium ion battery system. The batteries in some cases swelled and leaked, creating a fire hazard under the cockpit, where they are stored.
Airbus’s new A350 wide-body jet, a rival to Boeing’s 787 that will make its first flight around the middle of the year, also uses lithium ion batteries, but in a different setup. As a result, the company said the plane was unlikely to face the same problems.
Speaking to reporters at the company’s annual commercial results presentation Thursday, Airbus Chief Executive Fabrice Bregier said “we are confident our design is robust” and “don’t see any reason to change.”
He noted the A350 requires only half the battery power of a plane like the 787, which is the first commercial aircraft to make extensive use of batteries to drive its electrical systems and be fuel-efficient.
“There are some architectural differences and the suppliers are different,” said Bregier. “As Boeing said, the battery is not the issue, it’s the way you integrate it to the power system.”
Airbus has had its own share of technical problems that have delayed the rollout of a key military aircraft, costing billions in extra costs, as well as security issues concerning the wing ribs of its superjumbo A380 jets.
Despite those concerns and a weak global economy, Airbus booked a record 588 deliveries in 2012 while taking in 914 new orders for jets. For 2013, it plans to increase production to deliver more than 600 aircraft and expects orders for at least 700 jets.
The results were not enough to match Boeing, which for all its current troubles, regained the crown of biggest airplane manufacturer in 2012. The company delivered 601 last year, the most since 1999.
The two companies have been competing neck and neck for years, rushing to roll out new models that might appeal most to global airlines.
Among commercial planes, Boeing bet big on the Dreamliner and its appeal as a high-tech and fuel efficient model. At a time of high oil prices, that was a big selling point with airlines, many of which were trying to cut costs. Airbus is focusing instead on size — the new A380 is a double-decker that seats 525 people and is so large some airports have to be adjusted to accommodate it.
The two companies are also challenging each other in legal arenas. They are locked in an international trade dispute with the World Trade Organization in Geneva, each claiming that the other receives illegal state subsidies.
Airbus’ fortunes have been mixed in recent years. Until 2012 it was selling more planes than Boeing but it has also ran into more technical problems, notably with the A380. It sold only nine of those superjumbos last year.
Bregier and his fellow officials at Airbus avoided any smug remarks over their rival’s current troubles.
“It’s not our place to give Boeing lessons, we’ve had our own problems in the past,” Bregier said. “I honestly wish all the best to my colleagues at Boeing to put this aircraft back in flight. I don’t bet on the difficulties of a competitor in order to build Airbus’ success.”
Industry experts warned against assuming that Boeing’s troubles could help Airbus, even though shares in its parent company, EADS NV, have been rising this week as Boeing’s have been falling.
That’s not just because airlines are unlikely to cancel orders en masse without yet knowing the cause of the error, but also because an investigation in what caused Boeing’s battery problems may throw up new regulatory hurdles for Airbus.
Sandy Morris, an aerospace analyst with Jefferies in London, noted that the Dreamliner had been flight tested for thousands of hours. That it reveals problems now may lead authorities to conclude that the certification process had not been tough enough.
“If the authorities get more stringent and take more time to certify planes, the first to be affected is going to be Airbus, which happens to be the next major company launching a plane, (the A350),” Morris said.
Airbus expects the A350’s inaugural flight to be just before or after the Paris air show in June.
Looking ahead, chief salesman John Leahy pledged he’d get at least 25 orders for the massive A380 jets this year and expects to deliver 25. Airbus sold only nine and delivered 30 last year.
Bregier said the cause of the technical problems affecting the A380 had been found and a solution was being put in place for the nine airlines currently flying the giant aircraft.
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Carlo Piovano contributed from London.
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As it seeks a new chief to lead it out of a negotiating death-spiral, the World Trade Organization looks doomed to be fatally undermined by new global carve-ups that will leave many of the world’s poorest sidelined.
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The United States has filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization challenging Indonesia‘s rules for imports of horticultural products, animal products and animals, the WTO said on Thursday.
Brazil‘s candidate to head the World Trade Organization says that if he’s selected he’ll focus on restarting long-stalled global talks to lower trade barriers.
Roberto Azevedo says he’d strive to build consensus between developed and developing countries in hopes of resuming the so-called Doha Round of talks that began in 2001 but have not reached agreement.
Azevedo told a news conference Thursday in Brasilia that the talks’ failure has sparked “serious and concrete differences” among the trade organization’s 157 member states.
The 55-year-old Azevedo has been Brazil‘s ambassador to the WTO. In his bid to replace the WTO‘s outgoing director general, Pascal Lamy of France, Azevedo is up against seven other candidates from countries including South Korea, Jordan, Kenya, Costa Rica and Mexico.
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Indonesia has entered the race for leadership of the World Trade Organization, nominating former trade minister Mari Pangestu to succeed Pascal Lamy when he steps down in August 2013, bringing the second woman and the third continent into the contest.
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