International Business Opportunities

U.S. and EU have signed a pact designed to boost trade and investment by harmonising regulatory standards.

The two sides agreed to set up an “economic council” to push ahead with regulatory convergence in nearly 40 areas, including intellectual property, financial services, business takeovers and the motor industry. The aim is to increase trade and lower costs.

Visa hope
The EU is hoping that the US will agree to withdraw its demand for travellers from a number of EU states to apply for visas.
It also wants an agreement to start work on another aviation deal, that would deepen the Open Skies pact (deal designed to reduce fares and boost traffic on transatlantic flights), and enable Europeans to buy US airlines.
(source: BBC)

According to a poll performed by Gallup Korea, more than 60 percent of South Koreans (61.5 percent) believe the recently-concluded free trade deal with the United States will benefit their country.
This figure is eight percentage points higher than in February.

The poll was commissioned by the KORUS FTA Industry Alliance, a private pro-free trade organization.
(source)

The United States must limit agriculture subsidies to $19 billion.

Crawford Falconer, the chairman of the WTO’s special committee on agriculture said Monday, the United States must cut domestic agricultural support and trade distorting measures to below 19 billion dollars (14 billion euros).

The European Union, meanwhile, could cut its own overall trade distorting domestic support by a minimum of 70 percent, and possibly up to 75-80 percent, Crawford Falconer added.
A 75 percent cut in support measures conditionally offered by the EU would amount to some 27.5 billion euros.

President George W. Bush pressed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday over a beef trade standoff, telling the leader in an official visit that Japanese consumers should be eating U.S. beef.[…]

U.S. officials, along with the beef industry, have been pushing Japan to loosen its import rules on beef, hoping to rebuild a robust trade with the Asian nation. They want to see Japan accept meat from older animals and also seek an end to mandatory inspections of each box of beef.

Currently, Japan accepts U.S. meat from animals 20 months or younger, but exporters would like to see meat shipped from animals up to 30 months old.[…]

U.S. beef exports to Japan were about $1.4 billion a year until 2003, when mad cow disease was discovered in the United States. For 2006, that figured stood at $66 million.
(source)

In Russia, a bill expected to be approved Friday by the Federation Council, would give authorities the power to dictate how the land is developed. The legislation would allow authorities to reserve land for their own use.

An option of up to 7 years could be taken out on land leased or owned by individuals or companies, while an option of up to 20 years could be taken out on unoccupied land. The bill also says landowners and leasers may not be compensated for construction or any other improvements on reserved land. […]

The real estate community is buzzing with worries that the legislation will harm construction and open the door to corruption.
Although Western countries also have laws that allow the government to seize land in certain circumstances, land ownership is a touchy issue in Russia after 70 years of Soviet state ownership. Also, Western countries do not face the same challenges with corruption as Russia.
(source)

U.S. banks, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and other businesses announced their support for a free-trade agreement with South Korea […] The agreement reached early this month in Seoul would eliminate duties on products such as South Korean autos and apparel and reduce investment barriers for U.S. insurers and banks. South Korea would phase out its tariffs on beef and pork. […]

However, U.S. automakers, farmers and lawmakers said they opposed it and vowed to get it rejected unless it was reworked to address their needs.
(source).

557 government corporations and 573 federal state unitary enterprises will be privatized in Russia in 2008. That, according to the draft program for privatizing federal property.

The involved sectors are: fuel-energy, energy-building, construction, lumber, civil aviation, healthcare, chemical, petrochemical, polygraphic industry, geology, fishery, poultry farming, crop growing, cattle breeding, medical industry, and machine-building.

The privatization will also concern enterprises of automobile transport, road facilities, oil-gas and fuel sectors, sea and river transport. (source)

Spain’s economy has been growing strongly in recent years, driven mainly by expansion in the construction industry. […] However, in recent months cracks have started to appear and mortgage demand has slowed as homeownership levels topped 85%. […]

Analysts said that while the current fears of a crash may be over amplified, the Spanish property boom that had provided strong returns for the past eight years was probably over. […]

The worry is that should the suspected property bubble burst, and some analysts estimate that house prices are overvalued by 30%, then many other industries such as banking and retail would also suffer.
(source)

Canada has asked to join a U.S. challenge of Chinese piracy and counterfeiting practices as a third party in World Trade Organization consultations, Trade Minister David Emerson said in a statement.

Emerson added that pirated goods cause billions of dollars in losses for the Canadian economy annually and that Ottawa’s goal is to resolve this issue through dialogue with the Chinese government.