FDA plans China presence

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The State Department has approved FDA’s plan to establish eight full-time permanent staff positions at U.S. diplomatic posts in China. The move must also receive authorization from the Chinese government.

The regulatory outposts are an outgrowth of a number of high-profile recalls in the past year involving products made in China, including toothpaste, pet food, and the blood thinner heparin...(Read more)

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Canada in cheese war with WTO

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A World Trade Organisation challenge to new Canadian cheese production rules is looking likely after the EU, the US and New Zealand expressed their opposition to the regulations at a WTO meeting.

Speaking yesterday (18 March) in Geneva, New Zealand diplomats claimed Canada's new "compositional standards" for cheese - which enter into force on 13 December - defy global Codex Alimentarius guidelines. Under WTO agreements, the Codex guidelines can be cited in any WTO dispute over food standards...(Read more)



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Climate change will hit import-exports

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Movement of people, products, and materials will be greatly affected by climate change in the near future, but transportation professionals have not adapted their planning to reflect that impact, according to a new study by the National Research Council.

The study predicts that a rise in sea level, higher temperatures, greater hurricane intensity, heavier rains, and more frequent flooding are likely to come about due to climate change...(Read more)



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Germany against EU plan to increase milk quotas

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Germany on Monday opposed a plan, being considered by EU farm ministers, to increase milk quotas by two percent this year, with France also voicing concerns owing to volatility in the sector.

"I will refuse" to back the measure, German Agriculture Minister Horst Seehofer, whose country is the main producer in Europe, told reporters as he arrived for the meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels...(Read more)



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Tougher ozone rules for chemical industry

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Latest industry news updates in the chemical sector, 17 March 2008.

US, China probe heparin blood thinner


China and the United States are working together to investigate the blood-thinner heparin, which has been linked to 19 American deaths, China's food and drug administration said Sunday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has been widening its investigation into the hundreds of adverse reactions — including difficulty breathing, nausea and falling blood pressure — linked to U.S. health care company Baxter International's heparin injections...(Read more)

Tougher ozone rules for chemical industry


New ozone standard may help reduce smog that plagues cities like Los Angeles."America's air is cleaner today than it was a generation ago," EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson noted when announcing the new standard on March 12. "By meeting the requirement of the Clean Air Act and strengthening the national standard for ozone, EPA is keeping our clean air progress moving forward."
Johnson said the agency based its decision on the most recent scientific evidence about the effects of ozone, the primary component of smog. The change means that the air in 345 U.S. counties will violate federal standards, four times the current number of violators...(Read more)



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China confirms bird flu outbreak

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China confirms bird flu outbreak


Chinese officials have confirmed that bird flu was to blame for killing chickens in poultry markets in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, Hong Kong's health bureau Sunday.

China's Ministry of Agriculture notified the administration that the birds tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, marking the country's fifth outbreak among poultry this year, Hong Kong's Food and Health Bureau said in a statement...(Read more)



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EU ends anti-dumping probe of Chinese PVA

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The latest industry headlines on Tuesday, March 14, 2008.



Oil price breaks new record
Oil rose to a record high for the fifth day in a row on Wednesday, boosted by investor flows into oil and other commodities partly to hedge against inflation and the weak dollar...(Read more)


China to invest in Bangladesh EPZs
China has shown its keen interest to invest more in the country EPZs and textile sector. It was disclosed when a 24-member delegation of China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export Textile (CCCT), led by Cao Xin Yu, visited Bangladesh...(Read more)


Tsingtao Beer toasts Beijing Olympics
As a sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Tsingtao Beer is preparing to raise its glass in a toast to the entire world...(Read more)


EU ends anti-dumping probe of Chinese PVA
DThe European Union (EU) announced Monday it will terminate its anti-dumping investigation of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) imports from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan... (Read more)


Asia wine market to grow 20% in 5 years
Asia’s wine market is expected to grow 10-20 percent per year in the next five years with regional consumption set to double, a study released by a Hong Kong trade body said Tuesday... (Read more)



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China FDI soars 75% to $18b

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The latest industry headlines on Tuesday, March 13, 2008.



China FDI soars 75% to $18b
China attracted US$18.13 billion (HK$141.4 billion) in foreign direct investment in the first two months of the year, up 75 percent over the same period last year, the Ministry of Commerce said yesterday...(Read more)


LNG fuel purchases to double
Guangdong Dapeng LNG Co, China's only LNG facility, may double purchases of individual liquefied natural gas this year, a company official said...(Read more)


Soybean imports being encouraged by China
China has a tremendous demand for soybeans and that has pushed futures prices steadily higher in recent weeks. Although the Chicago Board of Trade has lead Chinese vegetable oil prices higher in the past, since the first of the year cash prices seem to be the major factor in rising futures...(Read more)


Japan's China vegetable imports fall 40%
Japan's imports of vegetables from China fell 40 percent during the first three weeks of February from last year, the Asahi newspaper said, citing the Agriculture Ministry...(Read more)


Food imports to remain steady
Despite the snowstorms that devastated large swathes of farmland, and an increasing dependence on soybean imports, there will not be a significant jump in food imports, top Chinese rural policy-makers have said... (Read more)



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Crude oil price rises “not over”

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The latest industry headlines on Tuesday, March 11, 2008.



Crude oil price rise "not over"
Fueled by a continuing weak dollar, crude oil futures surged above US$108 a barrel yesterday — a new inflation-adjusted record and their fifth new high in the last six sessions...(Read more)


China: MOH to oversee food, drug safety
The Ministry of Health (MOH) will oversee food and drug safety by taking over the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), a government institutional restructuring draft bill presented to the NPC stated on Tuesday... (Read more)


Bangladesh-China trade deficit up $2.56b
Trade gap between Bangladesh and China is widening alarmingly and it crossed more than two and a half billion dollars in the last financial year, according to the statistics available...(Read more)


Japan's China vegetable imports fall 40%
Japan's imports of vegetables from China fell 40 percent during the first three weeks of February from last year, the Asahi newspaper said, citing the Agriculture Ministry...(Read more)


Food imports to remain steady
Despite the snowstorms that devastated large swathes of farmland, and an increasing dependence on soybean imports, there will not be a significant jump in food imports, top Chinese rural policy-makers have said... (Read more)



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Sinopec leads 7-month low in China stocks

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The latest industry headlines on Tuesday, March 11, 2008.



Sinopec leads 7-month low in China stocks
China’s stocks fell to the lowest in seven months after the U.S. unexpectedly lost jobs in February, raising concern...(Read more)


U.S. consumers favor Chinese products
U.S. consumers believe Chinese products have the second best value in the world, only after the American goods, a recently released survey shows... (Read more)


China: Food poisoning deaths up in 2007
Food poisoning deaths in China rose by about one-third in 2007, the state-run news agency reported Sunday amid ongoing scrutiny over the safety of the country's food production chain...(Read more)


China to "ban" non-green foreign investment
China has been reforming its policies in an effort to discourage overseas investment in energy-intensive, polluting and resource-based ventures — the so-called smokestack industries...(Read more)


Number of China cellphone users rises to 555m
In January 2008, mobile phone subscribers in China sent 54.64 billion short messages, averaging 3.17 per phone number a day... (Read more)



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Study finds China losing competitive edge

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The latest industry headlines on Friday, March 7, 2008.





Study finds China losing competetive edge

The first China Manufacturing Competitiveness survey, conducted by Booz Allen Hamilton and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) Shanghai, has suggested the nation’s manufacturing attractiveness may be diminishing.... (Read more)



Asia puts hope in methane power

Large amounts of methane gas stores are reportedly buried inside Asia’s coal beds. Some analysts think it could be the next big investment... (Read more)



Food processors take women to heart

Heart disease kills several million women each year, but food processors are targeting it in a campaign to enhance women’s heart health... (Read more)



'08 Growth of China's steel output to slow

Growth in China's steel output will slow sharply in 2008, despite the country remaining a top producer and net seller of the strategic products, China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) officials said here on Wednesday... (Read more)



China extends soybean import tax for 6 mths

The Ministry of Finance is making another effort to curb rising food prices. It says it's extending the current one percent import tax on soybeans for another six months... (Read more)





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Introducing Tootoo’s Industry News Service

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Welcome to Tootoo.com's Industry News Service, providing all the latest international trade, industry and import/export news headlines from around the world.

With a particular focus on China trade news, there will also be daily updates on the latest developments in the world of Agriculture, Apparel & Fashion, Building Materials, Chemicals, Electronics & Electrical, Food & Beverage, Industry Supplies, Minerals & Metals, and Textiles.

The blog will be updated daily at 09:00 GMT. Keep in touch with the world of international trade; keep tuned into this blog!



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Businesses in Developing Countries can’t Afford to Ignore Global Trade Talks.

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International trade agreements are reshaping national laws on where and how companies can trade. Whether we speak of agriculture, services, textiles and clothing, intellectual property or other topics, WTO agreements dominate the international trade arena. WTO member states — 148 so far — are even now refining a set of global trade rules.What’s more, bilateral and regional agreements add layers of complexity to the environment in whichbusiness has to make decisions.

Businesses in developing countries have not made their voice heard enough in the trade negotiations that lead to these rules. And often they are not satisfied with the results. Governments have sometimes agreed to trade rules that hinder their firms’ ability to do business. Their most important exports don’t reach enough foreign markets, while their local markets are open to competition for which they were not prepared.

Negotiators need the views of business. They have many policy options to assess and their teams are often small. It’s not easy to analyse the business implications of market access barriers, influence international standards or evaluate the impact of different trade proposals on exporters. Nor is it possible if business and government do not work together.

There has been little tradition of “business advocacy” in the South. As global trade talks continue to shape the business environment, exporters and governments in the developing world must learn to work with one another to improve market access and obtain special conditions for their firms.





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