WTO to Rule on US Ban on ‘Made in Hong Kong’ Label
The World Trade Organization agreed Monday to establish a dispute resolution panel on the new U.S. rule that all goods imported from Hong Kong must be stamped “Made in China.”
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Trade
Lobster Biz Braces for Chinese New Year Impacted by Pandemic
America’s lobster exporters recovered from the Trump-era trade war with China to have a good 2020. But the industry is approaching one of the most critical times of the year with trepidation because of the coronavirus.
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Oil Giant Total Withdraws From US Energy Lobbying Group
French oil and gas company Total said it has decided to withdraw from energy association American Petroleum Institute because it disagrees on climate-related policies.
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Brexit Paperwork Sours Belgian Beer Exports to UK
Some suppliers of Belgian beers are waking up to a post-Brexit hangover as exporting their brews to thirsty British drinkers across the Channel becomes more difficult and prices go up.
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Trump Tariffs on Cognac Hit a French Success Story
Tariffs on cognac were confirmed by the Trump administration on New Year’s Eve, marking the latest trade salvo from the outgoing U.S. president and a further escalation of a long-running transatlantic feud.
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Gulf Arab Leaders Sign Declaration With Qatar to Ease Rift
Gulf Arab leaders signed a declaration Tuesday in Saudi Arabia to mark a new page in relations following the kingdom’s decision to end a 3 1/2-year embargo of Qatar, easing a rift that deeply divided regional U.S. security allies and frayed social ties across the interconnected Arabian Peninsula.
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Poachers’ Paradise: Gulf Hunts Fuel Pakistan Falcon Trafficking
Since learning to capture birds as a teen, Muhammad Rafiq has amassed a small fortune in Pakistan trapping and trafficking falcons — including some endangered species — for wealthy Gulf Arabs.
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French Traders, EU Sound Alarm Over US Tit-for-Tat Tariffs
French wine exporters warned Thursday that they’ll take a billion-euro hit in 2021 from the latest ratcheting-up of punitive tariffs between the United States and Europe in a trade row over aircraft subsidies.
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UK House of Commons Backs Brexit Deal
After four and a half years of acrimonious debate over Brexit, the House of Commons on Wednesday overwhelmingly backed a trade deal the British government reached with the European Union to keep goods flowing across the English Channel after Britain leaves the bloc on New Year’s Day.
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EU and UK Finally Reach Brexit Trade Deal
Four and a half years after the Brexit referendum, the United Kingdom and the European Union reached a last-minute trade deal on Thursday that will ease tensions between the two sides and keep goods flowing.
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With Time Running Out, EU and UK Near Post-Brexit Trade Deal
European Union and British negotiators closed in on a trade deal Wednesday, raising hopes a chaotic economic break between the two sides on New Year’s Day could be averted, officials said.
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Ancient Teeth Reveal Bronze Age Trade Between South Asia, Mediterranean
The Levant was the site of global trade as long ago as 3,700 years, much earlier than previously believed, researchers found in an archaeological excavation of 16 Bronze Age bodies in modern Israel.
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Shipwrecked Ivory a Treasure Trove for Understanding Elephants, 16th Century Trading
A Portuguese trading ship named the Bon Jesus sank off the southern coast of Africa in 1533, loaded to the gills with gold, silver and ivory — and it’s proven a real treasure trove to scientists.
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Australia to Seek WTO Intervention in Barley Row With China
Australia will ask the World Trade Organization to intervene in its dispute with China over barley and expects other nations to become involved in the case, Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said Wednesday.
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US Brands Vietnam, Switzerland as Currency Manipulators
The U.S. Treasury Department has branded Vietnam and Switzerland as currency manipulators while putting China and nine other countries on a watch list in an annual report designed to halt countries from manipulating their currencies to gain unfair trade advantages.
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‘External Source’ Causes Oil Tanker Blast Off Saudi Arabia
An oil tanker off Saudi Arabia’s port city of Jiddah suffered an explosion early Monday after being hit by “an external source,” a shipping company said, suggesting another vessel has come under attack off the kingdom amid its yearslong war in Yemen.
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Johnson Tells UK to Prepare for No-Deal Brexit
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday warned Brits to prepare for the “strong possibility” that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union without a trade deal at the end of the year, an outcome likely to cause major disruptions and chaos.
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Crunch Time in EU-UK Trade Talks as Brexit Transition Ends
In only 25 days, the United Kingdom will be out of the European Union for good. But one crucial thing is still missing: An agreement on the terms of trade between the U.K. and the club of nations it’s turned its back on.
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Last-Ditch Post-Brexit Trade Talks to Resume Between EU, UK
European Union and British negotiators Sunday entered what is potentially the final attempt to strike a deal over future trade ties, even though “significant differences remain” on three essential points.
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EU Parliament Backs Lobster Deal and EU-US Mini Trade Pact
The European Union parliament on Thursday approved a mini trade deal with the United States, which includes the elimination of customs duties on U.S. lobster imports.
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