The following is from the 26 February 2013 edition of Journal of Commerce.

Hong Kong and Thailand have signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen trade and economic relations between the two.

C Y Leung, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive, and Yingluck Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand, witnessed the signing by Gregory So, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, and Boonsong Teriyapirom, Thailand’s Minister of Commerce. The ceremony took place in Hong Kong.

The following is excerpted from a 25 February 2013 news item by the World Trade Organization.

Director-General Pascal Lamy reported to the General Council on 25 February 2013 that negotiators are focusing on the Doha Round elements that are being developed as part of the deliverables for the Ninth Ministerial Conference in Bali: trade facilitation, agriculture and development/least developed-countries issues. He encouraged members “to step up your engagement, listen to each other and accelerate work on all fronts”.

The following is excerpted from a 25 February 2013 news article by the International Chamber of Commerce.

The Republic of Albania has become the 72nd country to effectively implement the international ATA Carnet system that allows for the temporary duty and tax-free export or import goods for up to one year.

The move to join the system reflects Albania’s resolve to further the country’s transformation into a market economy and is in line with efforts to facilitate international trade and reap the benefits of globalization.

The Proposed Agenda for the 25 - 26 February 2013 meeting of the WTO General Council is now available on the World Trade Organization website at:
http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/gcounc_e/meet_feb13_e.htm

The following is excerpted from an 18 February 2013 news item by the World Customs Organization.

GS1 is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and implementation of global specifications to manage the supply chain, including product identification codes, barcodes and business-to-business standards for the exchange of accurate data. After longstanding cooperation at the technical level, the WCO concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GS1 in 2007 to formalize cooperative ties.

The following is excerpted from a 19 February 2013 news release by the World Customs Organization.

The following is excerpted from a 14 February 2013 news release by the World Customs Organization.

The following is from the World Trade Organization.

The eleventh review of the trade policies and practices of Japan takes place on 19 and 21 February 2013. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Government of Japan.

Associated documents are available at:
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp376_e.htm

The following is excerpted from a 19 February 2013 news item by the World Trade Organization.

The WTO Secretariat has circulated a meeting notice and list of items proposed for the next meeting, on 27 February 2013, of the Dispute Settlement Body, which consists of all WTO members and oversees legal disputes among them. The meeting notice is circulated in the form of a document officially called an “airgram”.

This item is available in its entirety at:

The following is excerpted from a 15 February 2013 news item by the World Trade Organization.

WTO agriculture negotiators agreed on 15 February 2013 to look at how countries handle public stocks, in a series of technical meetings designed to shed light on the implications of a proposal to give developing countries more flexibility in food security policies.

This item is available in its entirety at:
http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news13_e/agng_15feb13_e.htm