by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Commodities, Commodities News, Economy, Markets, Medium Enterprise, News
Canberra : Australia and Brazil have decided to escalate a trade dispute with India over sugar subsidies before the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Canberra said.
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham announced this late Wednesday after it was decided that subsidies paid to Indian sugar farmers was leading to an abundant global supply of sugar and significantly lower prices, disadvantaging other country’s farmers.
The global sugar price has hit a 10-year low, crippling sugar farmers in Australia who have also had to combat drought and floods, he said.
“That’s hurting canegrowers and sugar millers whether they’re in Australia, Brazil, or any other country in the world,” Birmingham told reporters.
Birmingham said that Australia has voiced its concerns to India to no avail, leaving the government with “no other choice but to initiate formal WTO dispute action, together with Brazil”, Xinhua news agency said.
“Last year, we saw around 1 billion Australian dollars (AUD) of additional new subsidies to Indian sugar farmers,” he said.
According to the Australian Sugar Mining Council, the subsidies could amount to 360 million AUD in losses for Australian farmers over the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 financial years.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Dubai : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday complained against Qatar at the World Trade Organization (WTO) due to a ban imposed by Doha on imports from Abu Dhabi.
“The complaint follows a ban of the sale of consumer goods manufactured in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt,” said the Middle Eastern country’s official news agency WAM.
The four Arab countries had imposed a diplomatic, trade and transport boycott on Qatar since June 2017 over charges that it supported terror. Doha denied the charges.
Qatar had removed the names of Emirati companies from lists of approved vendors for infrastructure projects in “undeclared” ban on the UAE, according to WAM.
Qatar gave no excuse to the ban which was another confirmation of “malicious discrimination”, the report said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Commodities, Commodities News, World
Geneva : The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has agreed to set up panels at its Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) to decide whether US tariffs on steel and aluminium imports comply with WTO rules, a trade official said here.
On Wednesday, China and the European Union (EU) along with Mexico, Norway, Russia, Canada and Turkey protested against measures by Washington which they said were not for national security reasons but for American economic interests, reports Xinhua news agency.
In June, the US imposed a duty of 25 per cent on steel imports and a 10 per cent on aluminium imports from Mexico, Canada and the EU, among other regions, citing a national security exemption.
The DSB agreed to set up separate panels for the complaints.
On the same occasion, India and Switzerland submitted their first requests for panels to rule on the US tariffs.
Like the seven other members, the two argued that the US actions were, in effect and content, safeguard measures, drawing concerns that Washington was using national security as a justification for the tariffs.
Meanwhile, the US secured the establishment of four panels to examine countermeasures imposed by Canada, China, the EU and Mexico on certain American imports in response to the tariffs.
In a report on Thursday, WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo issued a warning saying that new import-restrictive measures have hit a new high.
He said the report’s findings “should be of serious concern for G20 governments and the whole international community”, warning that further escalation remains a real threat.
“If we continue along the current course, the economic risks will increase, with potential effects for growth, jobs and consumer prices around the world,” Azevedo said.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
New York : Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde here, exchanging views on multilateralism and reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
During the talks on Wednesday, Wang emphasized China’s stance in upholding multilateralism, free trade and international rules and law, reports Xinhua news agency.
Wang also called for increased international efforts to safeguard multilateralism.
Echoing Wang’s views, Lagarde said it was one of IMF’s principles to advocate multilateralism and international trade.
The international community should firmly protect multilateral trading system and abide by rules and regulations in international trade while addressing disputes through consultations, she said.
When discussing issues on the reform of WTO, Wang proposed the reform should be transparent, open and inclusive, since it is related to interests of all its members.
Opinions of all WTO members, especially the developing countries, should be considered, said Wang, noting that the global trade body plays a vital role in the development of international trade.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Buzz, World
San Francisco : US top aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. (Boeing) on Tuesday called as “a landmark decision” a ruling by the World Trade Organization (WTO) determining that the European Union (EU) has provided billions of US dollars in subsidies to European aircraft maker Airbus.
Boeing said the WTO has found that the EU has failed to honour multiple previous rulings and provided more than “$22 billion of illegal subsidies” to its business archrival Airbus.
“After examining this case for more than a decade, the WTO has determined the EU must end its unfair business practices and remedy the ongoing harm caused by the illegal subsidies,” Xinhua quoted Boeing as saying.
The latest WTO ruling on the decade-old case, which was initiated in 2006, ends the dispute and clears the way for the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to seek remedies in the form of tariffs against European exports to the US, Boeing said.
The US has accused European governments of providing favourable loans to Airbus for its A380 superjumbo and the A350 long-range jet that compete with Boeing’s 747 jumbo jet and 787 Dreamliner, respectively.
The US can now take steps to establish the level of sanctions it can impose on European exports under WTO rules.
Boeing said the US is expected to levy billions of retaliatory tariffs on the European exports, possibly the largest ever, which could come as early as 2019.
“Today’s final ruling sends a clear message: disregard for the rules and illegal subsidies is not tolerated. The commercial success of products and services should be driven by their merits and not by market-distorting actions,” said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing Chairman, President and CEO.
—IANS
