By Peter Koenig Brussels, June 2018 (AFP) – The EU on Wednesday said a raft of retaliatory tariffs, including on whiskey and motorcycles, against painful metals duties imposed by the US would be ready as early as July.
Category: Trade
Crab cultivation brings smile on farmers’ face in Khulna
Dhaka– Crab cultivation through sustainable technology has brought smile and made around 300 farmers self -reliant in Khulna, Bagerhat and Satkhira districts.
Flexibility and labour protection? Wolf full lamb alive tale
by Vanya Grigorova The declared objectives of the proposed Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions published by the European Commission are praiseworthy but the measures envisaged are far from satisfactory.
Regional trade agreements: What agenda for social democracy
Social democracy has been – traditionally – in favour of internationalization. In overcoming nationalism, that internationalism symbolized both the openness of social democracy to people and to (economic) progress. Yet, the faith in internationalization and liberalization may have hit its…
‘VAT rate lowered not for mobile internet providers’
Dhaka, July 5 –Mobile operators on Thursday said that although the government has reduced the VAT rate over internet use from 15 to 5 percent, it will not help them in reducing costs at the consumer level.
BD govt okays draft law to control fish import
The Cabinet on Monday approved the draft of the Fisheries Quarantine Act, 2018 to control the import of fish to prevent the intrusion of any harmful bacteria into the country.
Last chance for a soft Brexit
So far so good. Brexit is still on track, Theresa May retains her majority, Jeremy Corbyn remains popular without threatening to bring down the government. Yet everything suggests that this relative political stability in Britain could swiftly unravel and provoke…
GSP+ for BD means delivering on commitments’
Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and South Asia Trade Monitoring Committee within the European Parliament Sajjad Karim has urged Bangladesh to deliver on its Sustainability Compact commitments or risk advancement in its trade status.
The costs of trade war
by Mukhisa Kituyi Geneva – According to an old African proverb, “When elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.” The same is true for full-blown trade wars: when major economies clash, developing countries will be among the hardest hit.
Proposed tobacco taxes: Protect death trade, not public health
A post-budget press conference on the issue of tobacco taxation in the proposed budget for the FY 2018-19 was held Saturday (23 June, 2018) at the VIP Lounge of National Press Club at the initiative of PROGGA and Anti-Tobacco Media Alliance…
Despite the Eid vacation kitchen markets are normal
Dhaka, June 22 – After a passage of Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the biggest religious festivals of the Muslims, the capitals’ kitchen market have remained normal. Whatever was available yesterday in kitchen market, despite shortage supplies prices remain unchanged as it was…
Int’l investment treaty terminations outpace new treaties
Geneva, 14 Jun (Kanaga Raja) – Investment treaty-making has reached a turning point, as for the first time, the number of effective treaty terminations outpaced the number of new IIA (international investment agreement) conclusions, according to the UN Conference on…
Trade war looms as Trump slaps tariffs on Chinese cargo
President Donald Trump brought the world’s two biggest economies to the brink of a trade war Friday by announcing a 25 percent tariff on up to $50 billion in Chinese imports to take effect July 6.
Move to amend PCT regulations undermines TRIPS flexibilities
Geneva, 15 June (TWN) – A proposal to amend a treaty regulation at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will compromise TRIPS flexibilities, especially in relation to the scope of patentability for national patent offices.
Colliding worlds: Donald Trump and the European Union
US President Donald Trump is not naturally inclined towards the EU. The EU represents the antithesis of what Trump aspires for in himself, or of the value he sees in others. For the President, the EU is an essentially effete…
Merkel: G-7 summit with Trump was a ‘sobering’ experience
Frankfurt, Jun 11 (AP/UNB) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel found the contentious Group of Seven summit with U.S. President Donald Trump a “sobering” and “depressing” experience but said European leaders won’t be “taken advantage of” on trade.
Trump pulls out of joint G-7 statement, attacks Trudeau
The annual G-7 summit appeared to have weathered tensions over President Donald Trump’s threats of a tariff-fueled trade war until the mercurial American pulled out of a joint statement while citing “false statements” by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Xi extols free trade at Asia meet as G-7 ends in disarray
Chinese President Xi Jinping extolled free trade and criticized “selfish, short-sighted” policies during a closely orchestrated gathering of a Beijing-led bloc Sunday, standing in stark contrast with the G-7 summit that ended in disarray over trade tensions.
BGMEA seeks withdrawal of source tax for 3 years
Welcoming the new national budget proposed for 2018-19, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on Saturday urged the government to withdraw source tax for three fiscal years and bring down corporate tax to 10 percent.
Russia, China sign biggest p nuclear package of contracts
Russia and China have signed the biggest package of contracts in the history of the two countries’ nuclear partnership recently in Beijing. The signing ceremony was attended by Russian president Vladimir Putin and President of People’s Republic of China president…
G7 summit dogged by divisions between Trump and allies
Talks at the G7 summit in Canada have failed to resolve deep differences between US President Donald Trump and leaders of major industrial nations. The divisions were laid bare on Friday, notably over trade.
A Climate-Friendly Response to Trump’s Protectionism
by Michael Kellner, Barbara Unmüßig Berlin – As US President Donald Trump translates his “America First” strategy into import tariffs, and the European Union prepares to adopt countermeasures moving the global economy toward a trade standoff, the real challenge facing…
Trump isolated over trade, Russia on first day of G7 meet
Divisions between Donald Trump and other leaders of G7 nations were laid bare on the first day of their summit. The US leader made a surprise call for Russia to be readmitted to the group of top industrialised nations after…
The body market what money can buy
Should you be able to sell your organs, or sell your body for sex?
Budget implication: Prices up and down
With the announcement of proposed budget for new fiscal year, a number of products are expected to see fluctuation in prices both upward and downward. Up Prices of products and services which may go up include: e-commerce, online shopping, coffee,…
Eid shopping catches World Cup heat
Dhaka, June 7 – The excitement of Eid shopping for soccer lovers this time has increased as they flock to jersey shops to buy the jerseys of the teams they are supporting ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2018.
Crisis of globalisation: Causes to emancipation
The dynamics of the capitalist world economy have been mystified as globalisation. In its technical sense, globalisation refers to the possibility that social relations can be maintained with increasing ease and intensity across time and space. As a political project,…
US refuses to discuss trade and investment at OECD
Paris, Jun (D. Ravi Kanth) – The United States on 31 May struck a body blow to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) that it had created in 1961 by refusing to engage in the discussion on “international…
Stop plastic making: BD imports Tk20 bn raw materials a year
Dhaka, June 4 – Traders are importing Tk 2,000 crore worth of plastic raw-materials every year in the country, which seriously created an adverse impact on the environment.
Benapole port users threaten strike
Dhaka, June 1 – Seven port users’ organizations – Benapole customs clearing and forwarding agents association, import and exporters association, truck owners association, transport owners association, truck workers union, C&F agent staff association and Benapole port workers union- at a…