During a meeting in Taipei to promote economic and cultural co-operation between Taiwan and Hong Kong Lai told civilian exchanges between Taiwan and Hong Kong had largely contributed to lay firm foundation for economic co-operation between the two sides. While Tsang who was on a four-day visit to Taiwan for the first bilateral talks said there should be more such high level exchanges to strengthen the ties.

Both countries are understood to have agreed to co-operate further in the areas of air transport, double taxation avoidance, tourism, health, culture and education. The meeting between the top officials from both sides is regarded as a major step forward in thawing of China-Taiwan relations. The meeting was part of the deal which Taiwan signed with mainland China in June.

Hong Kong is Taiwan’s fourth-largest trade partner, and two-way trade and the number of travelers between the two sides are expected to reach $38.8bn and 3mn respectively. The number of China-based Taiwanese businesses listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has reached 60, and some leading Taiwanese companies now consider Hong Kong as the main place for raising business capital.

Lai pointed out that to lay emphasis on promoting civilian exchanges between the two sides, the government last year relaxed employment restrictions on Hong Kong students, allowing them to enroll in graduate programs after graduating from local universities, and also began extending the duration of stay on visas for Hong Kong-based Chinese citizens visiting Taiwan. However, she admitted there were still some areas which require special attention to extract full result out of the trade ties with Hong Kong.

Lai was of the opinion that an announcement would be made soon on simplification of visa procedures for Hong Kong visitors. Besides Tsang, the meeting was also attended by Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council (ECCC) Chairman Lin Chen-kuo and its Hong Kong counterpart, the Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council (ECCPC) Lee Y.

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Somkiat Anuras, vice-chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) said that Brazil along with other Latin American countries offered Thailand great potential, its vast population and resources as well as high purchasing power. Anuras who travelled with a trade delegation led by Thailand Trade Representative Vachara Panchet last month to Brazil and Panama added that most Thai exporters still remained reluctant to tap into the region despite immense opportunities.

The chamber has recently modified it projections on Thai exports to the Latin America region by $7.5bn for this year from $5bn. While the earlier forecast between this year and 2015 was $10bn but latest release says those figures could go up to $15bn per annum in the coming years.

The TCC vice chairman said as the world was eager to trade with Brazil owing to its growing economic status, the chamber was not far behind to take stock of the situation. While Brazil, South America’s biggest economy and the world’s eighth largest, commences work on 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, the chamber regards that it may provide opportunities for Thai contractors and souvenir producers.

Anuras opines that the Thai investors must forge joint ventures with the Brazilian infrastructure developers to derive infrastructure building opportunities which will be surfacing with the preparation of two mega sporting events. Brazil is expected to spend billions of dollars for add on construction of basic infrastructure, buildings, offices and residences as well as sports arenas, hospitals, hotels and shopping complexes.

Last year, Thailand exported chiefly, automobiles and parts, rubber and machinery to Brazil US$1.22bn worth goods. Although the bilateral trade accrued a trade deficit of $880mn against Thailand due to imports totaling $2.1bn, Brazil still remains the largest trade partner of Thailand in the region.

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Leuthard, who ended a six-day working visit to China on Sunday, had said that the feasibility study which began in 2009 had covered all potential areas of trade. Sun Xiaolan, assistant to the Commerce Department of the Swiss Embassy to China said on Monday the FTA talks had officially kicked off.

Although Sun did not disclose the detail of the initial talks but confirmed that Switzerland would soon be the first European country to conclude an FTA with China, as it was with Japan in 2009. Switzerland has the distinction of becoming one of the first Western countries to establish diplomatic relations with China, today to transform itself into a major trading partner from the region.

The top Chinese legislator Wu Bangguo, while he met Leuthard had said the two nations could explore new ways to better combine Swiss technology with the Chinese market. Similarly, the Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said the country had ‘enormous demand’ for Swiss products relating to environmental protection, energy conservation and emissions reduction.

Switzerland is China’s ninth largest European trade partner, while China is Switzerland’s fourth largest global trade partner. In the first half of this year, bilateral trade jumped 127 percent, and China’s imports from Switzerland increased 180 percent compared to the same time last year.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, bilateral trade between China and Switzerland topped $11.3bn in 2008, and slightly dropped to $10.18bn in 2009, with $5.28bn of Swiss exports and $4.9bn imports from China.

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Iran’s Oil Minister Massoud Mirkazemi met the Chinese vice Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing last week, and agreed on enhancing relations between the two nations, especially in the oil and gas sector. Li Keqiang is reported to have told the visiting Iranian oil minister that Beijing would maintain co-operation with Tehran on existing projects.

It should be recalled that last month, the Deputy Oil Minister Hossein Noghrekar Shirazi told the state-run Mehr news agency the Chinese companies were already involved in energy exploration and production projects in Iran worth about $29bn, and in refining and related activities at about $10bn.

Interestingly, some reports say that even Russia is not far behind China in cashing in on Iran embargo. Rajab Safarov, head of the Iran Commission of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry informed Russian companies were discussing “serious deliveries” to Iran in late August or September.

The US and the EU had made repeated requests to China and Russia to comprehensively honor sanctions against Iran. However, despite approval to sanctions both countries have differences on the scale of punitive measures slapped on nuclear interests of Iran.

“Sanctions are not considered an effective tool… and they will only complicate the situation” was the reaction from foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast last month as quoted by the state news agency IRNA. Likewise, Mirkazemi has also told at that point “European oil companies has no presence (in Iran’s energy sector) and so they cannot have any impact on us”, in a response to the EU’s recent oil sanctions.

If China and Russia continue trade with Iran, sanctions not only become meaningless but also jeopardize business prospects of other countries, including that of India which has massive ongoing and some in the pipeline oil trade deals with Iran. Bloomberg reported sanctions were forcing refiners such as India’s Reliance Industries to pay higher costs to ship gasoline to more distant markets. According to Simpson, Spence & Young Ltd., the world’s second-largest shipbroker, India to the US shipping costs, at $1.9mn, are almost five times higher than those to the Persian Gulf.

“It’s boom time for Russian and Chinese oil traders,” said Michael Swangard, a London-based international trade lawyer at Clyde & Co., which counts BP and Lloyds of London among its clients. It’s “practically impossible” for Europeans to buy Iran’s oil or sell it, he said.

According to Chinese customs data, in the first half of 2010, Iran held its place as China’s third biggest supplier of crude with shipments of 9mn tons of oil, putting it behind Saudi Arabia and Angola.

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While responding to the GT reporter Li Yanjie’s query about the investment environment in N Korea, Gao said North Korea had low credibility. However, he admitted though in the short term there was a high level of risk, but in the long term Chinese companies might benefit from investing there.

The history of Sino-North Korean trade dates back to 1954 as China’s Ministry of Foreign Trade, as it was then known, approved border trade between both sides in regards to local residents’ demands for food items. At that time, China’s main exports to North Korea were clothes, paper, textile pigments and other light industry products, and China imported seafood and fruits from the North.

Between 1971 and 1981the trade was interrupted, it got revived since 1982 to hit a trade volume of about $540,000, and grew manifold to reach at around $52.08mn in 1989. According to the Dandong statistics department, the trade volume between Dandong, the main border province and North Korea increased from $15.39mn to $314mn between 1990 and 2004.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the bilateral trade accounted for only 11.6 percent of North Korea’s total foreign trade volume. But by mid-1990s, the border trade reached around 30 percent of North Korea’s total foreign trade volume. However, North Korea’s economy went through a recession during the latter half of 1990s, causing slide in trade.

Gao further added that since 2001, Sino-North Korean trade volume had grown rapidly due to two reasons, one being economic sanctions, and other as China needed the Korean mineral resources in exchange of food. According to the statistics from China’s Ministry of Commerce, by 2007, the two-way trade has reached 41.71 percent of North Korea’s total foreign trade volume.

Although the recent accidental killings of three Chinese by the North Korean border guards have earned nation-wide ire from the people of China, the ties seemed to be strong as North Korean administration is purportedly willing to reciprocate to any Chinese call amicably. Furthermore, Pyongyang has no option other than yield to any kind of Chinese pressure, if applied, as it is hugely dependent on China in diplomatic and trading needs.

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The shutting of doors to Indian exports is seen as a retaliatory measure, or as to garner more items on the negotiating table while both sides meet again in the ongoing bilateral talks. The case in point for the payback is that India does not allow transit facilities to Pakistan’s exports to Nepal and Bhutan.

At a glance, the accord hugely favours Pakistan as its goods gain access through Afghanistan to Central Asian countries including lucrative markets of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The amended trade deal was signed by Pakistan Commerce Minister Amin Fahim and his Afghan counterpart Anwarul Haq in the presence of Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Islamabad has for long resisted pressure from Kabul to allow the export of Indian goods by land through Pakistani territory. However, this long-standing demand by both Afghanistan and India seemed to impact more the poor of the region than the governments of the nations involved.

The failures of protracted farcical talks between India and Pakistan continue to push every possible event to be used as a tool to blatantly demonstrate displeasure with one another’s actions. Lately, while Islamabad refuses to give India the Most Favoured Nation status, Delhi has raised both tariff and non-tariff barriers to restrict Pakistan’s exports.

It is yet to be seen whether Clinton would be able to play a meaningful role in the region to re-weld the two nuclear states for ushering in peace and prosperity to the region. But given the frequent border tensions and unrest in Kashmir after a respite indicate that any time in near future it is unlikely the two governments giving in to allow each other land transit rights.

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Myanmar and Viet Nam have similar history and share almost identical culture and religion. While Viet Nam suffered boycott by the West in the past Myanmar continues to be ostracized by the US and the EU as well.

Phung who is active in Myanmar for some time with humanitarian aid became confident about its market following the back to back success of two trade fairs held to promote Vietnamese products in Yangon last September and April. Although the two-way trade between both sides last year was a meagre $74mn, the first half of this year is showing an uptick by recording $58mn.

Viet Nam exports steel products, cement, processed foods, plastics, pharmaceuticals, and electrical goods and other appliances. On the other hand, Myanmar’s main exports to Viet Nam are wood and forestry products, natural rubber and seafood.

According to the Association of Vietnamese Investors in Myanmar, Vietnamese enterprises have pledged investments of nearly $1bn in Myanmar this year, well short of their investments in the neighbouring Laos and Cambodia of about $6bn each. But Phung believes that the coming years will witness a greater interest among Vietnamese businesses to tap the new market as there is huge demand for their products in Myanmar on account of their quality, range and reasonable prices.

Nevertheless, Phung admitted that the businesses would have to undergo challenges such as tortuous import licensing procedures and difficulties in getting payments, major reason being the US and the EU embargo against Myanmar. But he advised Vietnamese enterprises to strictly follow the guidelines of the Vietnamese embassy in Myanmar and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and do financial transactions only through designated banks.

Under British colonial era, Myanmar was the second-wealthiest country in South-East Asia but the country is one of the poorest in the region today. Viet Nam aspires to make Myanmar as developed as itself through exchanges as the former too emerged from the shadows of prolonged sanctions from the West.

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Albeit the renewable power generation is relatively new to the mountainous south Asian country, it is upbeat about the commencement of the project by early next year. Mewang Gyeltshen, chief engineer from the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Bhutan told Recharge that energy demand was increasing by 12 percent, and country had sufficient supplies but remote households needed a sustainable standalone off-grid system.

On the other hand, India’s energy fund is aimed at developing a South Asian regional power grid, with focus on renewable sectors such as hydro, solar and wind. It will comprise of Bhutan with investment of about $850mn (3,000 MW), a 400-kv transmission line at $50mn with Nepal, a 1,000 MW HVDC link with Sri Lanka costing $415mn and a 1,000-MW HVDC back-to-back link with Bangladesh at $220mn.

It should be recalled the Tala Hydro power project in Bhutan, a joint venture by Indian firms, has been successfully commissioned in September 2006 and transmits power to North India. The project has mutually helped, Bhutan to jack up its economy while India to reduce power shortages in its northern parts.

The success of Tala has prompted other Indian energy firms to foray into Bhutan. Last month, the THDC India Ltd, a Govt. of India undertaking, has signed a MoU with Bhutan for the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of 180 MW Bunakha hydroelectric project in Bhutan. The Bunakha project is a part of the Indian government’s initiative to develop 10,000 MW of hydro power in Bhutan by the year 2020.

Bhutan sells hydropower to India at a price of $0.04 per kW, making 100 percent profit from a production cost of $0.02 per KW. Since it is estimated that for every one percent GDP growth more than the same percentage of energy production is required, Indo-Bhutan energy co-operation is likely to be a long-term one.

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The cheese which was made in Germany, by the firm Milchwerk Jager Gmbh & Co has been blamed for exporting sub-standard versions by mimicking Italian sounding brand names such as Fattorie Torresina, Lovilio and Monteverdi. Although the mozzarella was marked as made in Germany and did not receive any complaints of illness linked to the ‘blue’ mozzarella at that time, the farmers regard the incident has harmed the reputation of Italy as a quality food-maker.

Preliminary analyses at Turin’s Zooprofilattico (veterinary preventative medicine) Institute analyses showed it to be bacterial rather than toxic contamination. Besides bacteria, the blue colouring could also indicate elements of copper, nickel or lead in the milk or the aqueous solution used to preserve the cheese.

During the protest, Italy’s main farm lobby Coldiretti argued that the citizens had the right to know what they were buying and origin of those products. Similarly, Agriculture Minister of Italy Giancarlo Galan told that he would press for new legislation requiring milk producers to give more details about the provenance of their milk and related products.

Mozzarella is the most favourite variety of cheese in Italy, and about 60 percent of Italians consume 164mn kilograms (360mn pounds) per annum. With this German trade infringement, Italian cheese producers feel the original mozzarellas may lose their brand value among the consumers. Tuesday’s protest saw border police inspecting trucks bringing milk, meat and other products into Italy.

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Slobodan Radun, the owner of Nectar, the leading Serbian juice and soft drinks producer, told “Their (Croatian) products have solid treatment here, their companies are buying ours, and we do not have access to their market. We offer products of top quality for lower prices than their producers, but it’s not working. Sometimes a company with a special connection can do it, but it’s generally impossible.”

The Politika opined that though the government agencies claimed the economic relations had improved, “not even the contemporary trends and sacred international rules of market economy – the free flow of goods and capital – are being respected”

According to the data from the Croatian National Bank, the Croatian companies invested in $641.7mn by the end of last year in Serbia, making Serbia the second largest destination for the Croatian foreign investments. The bilateral trade between both sides has increased manifold from $40mn in 2000 to $1bn in 2009. In the past seven years the trade has gone against Serbia registering a trade deficit of $716.6mn, and Serbia is one of the rare European countries with which Croatia has trade surplus.

It should be noted that, in a recent conference, Economy Ministry State Secretary Nebojsa Ciric admitted that only one Serbian investment was able to succeed in Croatia, when the Swisslion Takovo bought the Croatian Euro Food Market but otherwise most efforts bombed. It is yet to be seen whether the last month’s accord between both nations to remove political bottlenecks and simplifying business processes would translate into equilibrized economic co-operation.

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Botswana also signed a MoU to engage Cuban medical personnel every two years with a clause not to re-employ them after the completion of their service. Minister of Health, Dr John Seakgosing who accompanied the President said that his country was looking forward to Cuba’s new offering in the treatment of diabetes through co-operation in providing medical care to its growing diabetic population.

Botswana will also be seeking the Cuban know-how in controlling vector menace through the use of biolarvicides chiefly to mitigate debilitating diseases such as malaria, filariasis and Onchocerciasis. Some studies have indicated the vector-spread diseases had seriously impacted the progress of the African countries by lowering productivity through prolonged sicknesses to their working citizens or their relatives.

On the diplomatic front, the Foreign Minister of Botswana, Phadu Skelernani termed the US embargo against Cuba as “unnecessary”, and appealed for revocation of the sanctions. He was maintaining the rhetoric of his president, who said on the first day of his visit, “Sometimes, in Africa, we receive millions of dollars from rich countries. However, proportionally speaking, Cuba gives us a lot more than anybody else”.

Skelernani and the Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Marcelino Medina signed agreement on co-operation and Seakgosing and his Cuban counterpart, Jose Ramon Balaguer signed pact on development of a comprehensive health care system. The trip to Cuba is the Botswanan President’s second one, the last time he visited the island was in 2007 as the Vice-President of his country.

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The Trade Minister’s words were marked by clear ideas on which the country’s economic path would be paved in the coming years regardless of its size. He said NZ started its reform process 30 years ago with very high protectionist barriers but now was solidly centred on reciprocal trade liberalisation.

Groser shifted his focus from the FTA talks to WTO negotiations and expressed dismay over the inertia at the WTO. He said the WTO negotiating process was suffering from sclerosis, and criticized the WTO Director General’s use of the metaphor of having done 80 percent of the negotiation. He added that but last 20 percent or whatever number one chose to illustrate the remaining negotiating gap – was proving elusive.

He arrayed data on NZ trade policies including the collective effort in the early 1990s that it would not put all its eggs in the then GATT or now WTO basket. He pointed out since then, while emphasising multilateral trade policy, successive NZ Governments had aggressively and successively pursued a bi-partisan strategy of developing FTAs with economies which were either major trading partners or promised to be – i.e. the emerging economies.

“All projections suggest that in even twenty to thirty years’ time, the countries with the largest populations will have the largest economies. We will be living in a truly multi-polar world in which we are highly likely to have four economic super-powers with huge populations (China, India, the US and the hybrid model of the 27 Member EU) plus a range of very significant economies on a second tier including Japan, Korea, Indonesia and, of course the other of the so-called ‘BRICs’ – the formulation that includes not just China and India but also Brazil and Russia”, claimed Groser.

The gist of the address disclosed that NZ current FTAs including China, Thailand, Singapore and Chile and future FTAs or any other trade deals were and will be designed to follow an extreme application of what is called ‘first mover advantage’ strategy – getting in first, to avoid the possibility of being left to last.

NZ is the first developed country to have established a comprehensive FTA with China. Besides, NZ has negotiated a parallel FTA with Hong Kong – NZ is the only country in the world so far, other than China itself, to have such a relationship.

At a glance, the NZ-Russia FTA opens up business opportunities for not only the NZ dairy industry but also extend to other areas such as agro-tech, tourism and education. New Zealand’s exports to Russia are worth NZ$187mn ($127mn) last year, of which about two-thirds are dairy products. That’s just a fraction of the more than the $30bn of food Russia purchases annually.

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Ahead of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to India next month, hundreds of protesters took to the streets against the proposed trade pact, claiming it would hugely benefit the neighbouring country by forcing the domestic industry into appalling risks. The CEPA which was supposed to be signed two years ago is likely to come to fruition during Rajapaksa’s visit to New Delhi on June 8.

Many highly educated, including doctors and engineers who were part of the recent protest along with businessmen fear that the island could be dominated by cheaper and skilled Indian services at the expense of the domestic industry. But this argument is unfounded as India’s educated unemployed were largely jobless because their reluctance to work for less or in remote places. Moreover, Sri Lanka being a country less than half the currency value of India would not have to panic about the products or services from India going cheap rather can ensure superior quality which could help the country build its economy on a firmer footing.

The Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) signed in 1998 and which is effective since March 1, 2000 has been able to boost trade between both nations significantly with near equal opportunity for the Sri Lankans. The ISFTA that is confined to the trading of only goods pushed country’s exports by manifold from $55.7mn in 2000 to $516.4mn in 2007.

On the contrary, in 2002, the traded volume between China and Sri Lanka totalled about $350mn, of which China’s exports accounted for $340mn providing room for Sri Lankan exports at about a meagre $10mn. Although Sino-Lankan trade witnessed tremendous growth over the years with bilateral trade crossing $2bn in 2009, imports from China remained predominately greater than the efflux.

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India would be largely interested in absorbing Israel’s technological prowess in areas such as bio-tech, nano-technology, healthcare, security services, water management and agriculture. On the other hand, Israel will focus on the India’s manufacturing potential to overcome its limitations on this front.

Although there are equal trade and utility potential for both countries, the tariff differences remained a roadblock for the smooth transition of trade talks ever since they began. India’s tariffs are on the higher end, and will have to make steep reductions to accommodate Israel’s trading needs. However, given the smaller size of Israel’s manufacturing industry, India does not have to worry about any massive influx of goods if it compromised on tariffs.

Speaking to Business Line, Eli Belotserkovsky, Deputy Chief Mission, Embassy of Israel, said that there are very few issues that need to be sorted out to finalise a FTA between the two nations. He opined that the two-way trade was evenly matched at about $2bn, and projected to grow up to $6bn once the FTA was signed.

Belotserkovsky admitted that they were not good at mass production or heavy equipment, where India could play a big role. He also said that the textile trade was another area which had immense potential between the two nations.

The Indo-Israeli FTA is expected to promote investment opportunities for both governments as well as private enterprises. Among goods and services, both countries’ major area of focus would be agriculture as it has been in the past few years.

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The Sultanate of Oman is conducting this workshop to enhance its interest and scientific advancement in the fields of architecture control, eco-tourism and environment protection. In the past few decades, Oman has been able to leapfrog various eco-friendly projects including renewable energy, management of waste, water resources and anti-pollution drive on marine world.

The study meet which is jointly organized by Ministry of Heritage and Culture and French Embassy is expected to promote sustainable development programs with emphasis on green architecture and eco-tourism. Oman industry heads would be primarily interested in technology transfer and other inputs from France to take their green industry to the next level of development.

French Ambassador to the Sultanate Malika Berak is of the opinion that the three-day event will prove to be an opportunity to expand bilateral ties as 10 leading architecture agencies with good number of experts from France have agreed to take part in the workshop. The event will target French and Omani architects, researchers, institutional representatives and officials in charge of sustainable development affairs to put accent on an eco-friendly comprehensive plan for all future developments in possible sectors.

According to sources, Jean Gautier, Director of Architecture at French Ministry of Culture and Communication, will give a presentation on the urban planning project ‘Grand Paris’. Besides, the Muscat municipality projects are also likely to be featured at the event to draw expert feedback.

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Although the utterances by the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon stand in the way of improving ties between both countries diplomatic developments in the region is likely to override those differences. Clinton told last month that Fidel Castro and his brother President Raul Castro “do not want to see an end to the embargo and do not want to see normalization with the United States, because they would then lose all their excuses for what hasn’t happened in Cuba in the last 50 years.” In retaliation, Alarcon challenged her to lift the embargo even for a year to see whether it was in his country’s interest or hers.

When President Barack Obama assumed office last year he called for better ties with Cuba if Castro executed democratic reforms and improved human rights status, an US policy widely criticized over its double standards in dealing with China and Saudi Arabia at the same time. However, the recent election in Cuba which saw almost 95 percent of the electorate exercising their franchise, technically helps Obama to put in effect one of his poll promises.

The legislation approved by the House does not lift the overall embargo, but prohibits advance payment for agricultural sales to Cuba. Likewise, this week’s election in which Cubans was able to choose between more than one candidate also cannot be termed as a major electoral reform as it does not interfere with the top leadership of the country.

The US rice sales to Cuba declined every year after the Bush administration’s cash-in-advance rules were imposed in 2005. The new provision if ratified is expected to make the US rice and other agro-commodities once again attractive to Cuba. The US Chamber of Commerce estimates the embargo costs the country about $1.2bn a year in lost business.

All trade with Cuba, with the exception of US exports of agricultural products and some essential medicines, has been prohibited since 1962. Under George W Bush, the Cuban-Americans were eligible to travel to Cuba only once every three years and were limited to sending only $300 to relatives every three months. On the contrary, the Obama administration relaxed travel and remittances restrictions that allowed Americans with relatives in Cuba to travel there more frequently with longer stay duration and to send as much money as they want to any Cuban who is not a senior government or Communist party official.

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In 2007, Bush administration began negotiations on ACTA particularly to contain several developing countries engaged in piracy acts, and to protect the interests of leading US firms which lost their price competitiveness on account of counterfeiting. Incidentally, the ACTA effect will not be restricted to internet activities alone but extends to counterfeit pharmaceuticals, designer merchandise, music, movies, etc.

Surprisingly, the final draft will not have the endorsement of China, one of the largest counterfeit producers. Hence, looking back to past events on taking action against China in regards to infringements, the trade pact is expected to encounter similar stalemate while implementing a likely ratified deal. Participants in the negotiations included Australia, Canada, the European Union, represented by the European Commission, the European Union Presidency (Spain) and EU Member States, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the US.

Many ACTA dissidents blame the secretive or undemocratic nature of reaching the agreement by not revealing the details for public discussion. On the other hand, WIPO provides scope for public scrutiny with an added advantage of the inclusion of major counterfeiting countries in negotiations.

Meanwhile, the tech firms are understood to be apprehensive about ACTA’s secondary liability clause, which recommends the responsibility of copyright infringement behaviour of the user on the online service provider. The clause will possibly affect social networking sites, video-sharing sites and several other user-generated content sites including the online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia.

Last month, a statement signed by senior trade-union officials from New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and the US raised the question of intellectual property rights becoming an element in the free-trade negotiations. However that fear is put to rest by officials at the eighth round of ACTA negotiations calling the deal as a ‘standalone’ one, and would not tinker with FTAs.

According to sources, the draft will leave out three-strikes provision that would require border agents to search the contents of electronic devices. Experts term three-strikes a preposterous idea as it would virtually bring every transit cell to a standstill.

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During the meet, the Chinese premier announced that his country would continue to encourage its enterprises to invest and increase trade with Vanuatu primarily to improve the island nation’s business capabilities. Wen further added that his country was committed to proceed with comprehensive aid package to Vanuatu without any quid pro quo arrangements.

While Natapei reciprocated by saying his country would like to strengthen communication and coordination with China in addressing financial crisis and climate change. Both the premiers were present at the signing ceremony of bilateral agreements on economic and technological co-operation.

Wen observed that the developing countries, in particular, the least developed ones, small island states and African countries, have suffered a lot from global issues including financial crisis and climate change. And therefore he felt, the international community should give meticulous care to countries like Vanuatu to ensure a balanced and sustainable development of the world.

China has confirmed that it would co-operate and support technologically, technically and financially to improve Vanuatu’s citizens’ livelihood along with an accent on infrastructure and personnel training promotion, to enhance the country’s self-development capabilities. It said that it would try to create several platforms for people to make social exchanges to strengthen bilateral ties.

Vanuatu, an island nation situated in the South Pacific Ocean, off Australia also maintains strong economic and cultural ties with Australia, France, New Zealand and the UK, though it stopped direct aid since 2005. Australia continues to provide support to Vanuatu since its independence in 1980, the bulk of external assistance, including to the police force, which has a paramilitary wing.

Besides his visit to Beijing, Natapei would be covering cities including Changsha, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. He hopes to utilize china’s expertise in different fields for the development of his country through this trip.

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According to a Business Line report, the mission, led by Mr Marten van den Berg, Deputy Director-General for Foreign Economic Relations, brings 40 delegates from 27 companies, and will cover New Delhi, Chennai, Pune and Mumbai. Although majority of the group comprised of heads from the agro and automotive industries, the mission will also be exploring trade opportunities in areas such as, the life sciences and health, logistics and infrastructure, IT, tele-communications and innovative other sectors.

Last week, the Netherlands Ambassador to India Bob Hiensch has said that his country was eyeing greater bilateral trade between the two countries in coming years. He added that the Netherlands was hoping bilateral trade to reach €10bn by 2014.

Currently exports from India are valued at about €2.5bn and imports stood around €1.6bn. India and the Netherlands began their trading alliance since more than 400 years ago when the Dutch trading ships visited South and East coasts of India in search of spices and textiles.

The Holland delegation is mainly visiting India to showcase its prowess in various spheres including IT, agro-tech and water management systems to attract Indian companies whom desirous of entering the European market. It should be recalled that last month, Oedith Jaharia of the Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce and Trade told Radio Netherlands Worldwide that 25 percent of India’s fruits and vegetables were wasted in the absence of viable food processing technology. He suggested that India could use the Netherlands expertise in food processing to avoid such colossal waste.

The present economic outlook of the Netherlands is very attractive since the country is able to weather the recent global meltdown by bringing in foreign investments more than €3bn or about 30 percent of its GNP in 2009. Ms Jolanda van der Aart, who runs the India Desk at the Amsterdam Foreign Investment Office told Business Line that information, communication and technology was one of the five largest export revenue earner for the Netherlands, and has been growing at 4-5 percent every year, and this offered the Indian firms a huge opportunity by way of outsourcing and export and import of computer parts and systems.

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The Secretary to the Nigerian Government of the Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Yayale is leading a delegation comprising of top government officials and private company heads to the US to sign the agreement as well as to interact with their counterparts to explore areas of interest and profit. While speaking to THISDAY, the Nigerian Ambassador to the US, Professor Adebowale Adefuye said Yayale would sign the accord on behalf of Nigeria and the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would do the same for the US.

Nigeria envisages this pact as an important milestone in trade ties with the US especially after the country failed to take advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) enacted in 2000, which enabled the country to penetrate the US market. Similarly, through the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) which is in effect again from 2000, both countries have not been able to achieve the desired results despite an uptick in some of the trade areas. However, in the wake of the restoration of democracy in 1999, the Nigeria-US relations have shown tremendous improvements in diplomatic co-operation and regional peacekeeping efforts.

According to Adefuye, the pact will cover several spheres including trade and energy, Niger Delta; electoral reforms, and peace and security. In addition, the first US-Nigeria Business Forum will be held between April 12 and 20 in three US states – Georgia, Texas and Illinois.

The Forum is expected to discuss the trade prospects for both countries in the fields of tourism & hospitality, mining, telecommunications, aviation & transport, and the SMEs development. Other areas such as banking, infrastructure, construction, agriculture, health, oil & gas, maritime, environment and insurance are also expected to be featured in the Forum.

Nigeria is the largest trading partner of the US in sub-Saharan Africa. About one million Nigerian nationals and Nigerian-Americans are believed to live, work and study in the US as against around 25,000 US citizens who live and work in Nigeria.

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Head of the Crown Prince’s Court Shaikh Khalifa bin Duaij Al Khalifa and Dr Hassan Fakhro Industry and Commerce Minister attended the meeting at Riffa Palace. The Thai team exchanged views with Bahraini counterparts on the proposed investment projects in Bahrain in joint ventures.

The Prince told that his country was focussed on freedom of competition and commitment to transparency as key aspects to achieve success. He inquired about the Thai expertise in promoting pisciculture and ways to boost Bahrain’s fish reserves. He felt if Thailand could employ its fish farming techniques in Bahrain, the country would be able to become the best in the region.

During the meet, both parties are understood to have discussed the possibilities of promoting Bahrain as one of the food trade platforms of the Middle East. The Thai delegation which had representatives from aluminium and mining industries is believed to have worked out on the modalities of respective trade potentials.

While addressing the delegation, Salman also underscored the need for housing and development projects as they could meet the immediate demands of the citizens of Bahrain in the related segment. Both sides have expressed satisfaction over the meet which became a platform to further strengthen bilateral ties.

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The members of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) advised Indian investors to be wary of scammers. The NIPC urged to either go through the Nigerian embassy in India or the commission itself for any trade or investment-related transactions to avoid any fraudulent deals.

The meet which was held in Ahmadabad, the former capital of Gujarat state chiefly discussed the issues related to fictitious firms and individuals from Nigeria that swindled many Indians through fake email business offers. Ibrahim Usman Gafai, representing High Commissioner of Nigeria in India suggested not to entertain any contracts being awarded by the Nigerian government through agents or individuals.

Gafai apprized that the veracity of any contract could be established through the government’s bi-weekly magazine, which contained the detailed procedure of awarding work contracts. He further added Indian traders could also verify the genuineness of any deal through the Nigerian embassy in India.

Several people in India have become victims to email frauds that baited them to cough up thousands of dollars to win jobs, lotteries and priceless property. Majority of the perpetrators of such frauds included nationals of Nigeria and from many other African nations.

Incidentally, Amul dairy company of the Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) became the main attraction to the Nigerian delegation during the visit to India. Amul became a household name in India after it revolutionized milk supplies by taking them to the door steps of most parts of India through its large distribution network.

Reuben Kifasi, director of the NIPC said that he wanted to replicate the successful co-operative model of Amul in his country. Similarly, Mustafa Bello, executive secretary of the NIPC stated that though it would not be possible to completely replicate the model but would have to take up in phases as his country was currently importing milk powder, and any stoppage might encourage smuggling.

However, Bello admitted that Nigeria would import milk from Amul during the transition from milk powder to milk in his country. The NIPC informed that it would send a team comprising of dairy professionals and farmers to Gujarat to study the Amul model.

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The reopening of this route means the distance between India and China will considerably reduce from about 6000kms to less than 1750kms. China’s Yunnan province and India’s Assam state are likely to benefit through this decision though it opens up trade potential to Myanmar and Thailand.

The historic 1,726 km road, built by the Allied and Chinese forces under the supervision of the US Army General Joseph Stilwell, was used to transport the first supplies to the beleaguered Chinese Army during World War II in 1945 when Japanese troops invaded China. The Stilwell Road starts from Assam, in the heart of India’s North-east, and cuts through the Pangsau pass in Myanmar to Kunming in South China.

Nyan informed that China had already constructed the road up to Tanai and there was a balance portion from Tanai to the Indian border which could now be completed with the support of India. The Stilwell Road on the Indian side is about 61kms and the major stretch of 1,033kms lies within the jungle-covered mountains and swampy valleys of northern Myanmar’s Kachin State, while in China it is 632kms.

In the past three years, China has taken proactive measures to cash in on the trade opportunities in Myanmar and India by constructing several stretches of the Stilwell Road. Moreover, Myanmar and China have an MOU to supply gas from Myanmar to China, and with the new discoveries of gas fields in Myanmar, India too nurses similar ambitions.

The re-opening of the road is expected to make the North-east region of India to become a major hub for almost all its neighbours to obtain Indian automobile components, fruits, grains, vegetables, textiles and cotton yarn. On the other hand, the Indian traders will have easy access to electronic gadgets, synthetic blankets, teak, gold and semi-precious stones from its South-east Asian neighbours.

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The Chilean-born Valenzuela’s statement enraged a slew of lawmakers and high level officials including Interior Minister of Argentina Florencio Randazzo and Argentine Ambassador to the US Héctor Timmerman. Nonetheless, the US envoy’s comments found favor with the Argentine Rural Society president Hugo Biolcatti and a Socialist stalwart and Santa Fe governor Hermes Binner.

Randazzo said that Argentina was no longer a country where foreign officials could lecture it as to its interests. Timmerman expressed concern and said that Argentina would have to analyze what were the underlying factors behind his words; whether there had been a change in stance or if the country was been demanded to state a new position.

Timmerman also described the US envoy’s comment as “a complete ignorance of Argentine reality”, and observed that they could be seen as a personal interest to block dialogue. Agustin Rossi, the head of the Victory Front bloc in the Lower House shared similar views by stating that he thought the time in which a foreign official came to give us lessons had passed.

On the contrary, Biolcatti seconded Valenzuela by saying that he was right; there was indeed an enormous legal uncertainty to invest in Argentina. While Binner said he agreed with Valenzuela’s comments as every businessman in his province was concerned about legal uncertainty.

Most lawmakers perceive the controversial statements as political posturing by the US despite Vilma Martinez, the US ambassador to Argentina making it clear that in spite of what might have been appeared in the newspapers, our relations remained very positive. Martinez also told that Argentina was a key ally in the fight against terrorism, drug trafficking and nuclear non-proliferation.

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The lack of topics beyond the existing issues at the WTO ministerial meet provided trade representatives from developing countries a platform to discuss the likely fallout of the forthcoming Doha talks and evolve strategies like the deal they had at the end of the meet. However, China’s absence in signing the agreement was conspicuous since the country has vented similar concerns as that of the other developing nations over Doha discussions until recent past.

The Doha Round was launched in late 2001 with a paramount aim of helping poor countries to prosper by removing all trade barriers. However, the aftermath of global economic meltdown has forced developed countries not to budge from subsidies to tariffs as it is feared to create losses to their farming, manufacturing and service sectors.

After several missed deadlines, the WTO members have set a new deadline for concluding the negotiations in 2010. But the recently concluded ministerial summit, appear to have made little progress, reinforcing skepticism that the 2010 target would be out-stretched as it had happened in the past.

The Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute observed the global trade and the global economy had changed profoundly since 2001. It further added that a study showed that commodity market strains and environmental pressures were not part of the original Doha agenda then.

Lately, many countries are getting into individual FTAs and PTAs to ward off the likely trade talk failure at Doha Rounds next year. This week alone witnessed the launch of feasibility studies on PTAs between China and Switzerland, and between India, the Mercosur group of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, and the SACU.

The countries participating in the agreement are Algeria, Chile, Cuba, Egypt, India, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) nations – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – Morocco, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. The agreement provides special treatment for Iran and Algeria, which are yet to become WTO members. The details of the tariff reduction will be made available by the end of September 2010 after extensive negotiations in the coming months.

The 22 countries represent a market of 2.6bn people accounting for 13 percent of world GDP, 15-18 percent of trade, 43 percent of farm and 16 percent of industrial production. Supachai Panitchpakdi, secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development who was instrumental in materializing the deal said it was estimated that the tariff cut would bring an additional trade of $8bn for these countries.

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