The following is excerpted from the 14 February 2013 edition of The Globe and Mail.

The European Union has been trying to persuade Canada to grant EU companies exemptions from foreign takeover reviews during late-stage talks between Ottawa and Brussels on a free-trade deal.

The effort, which Ottawa has flatly rejected, shows just how high the stakes have grown in negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the 27-country union.

This article is available in its entirety at:

The following is from the 13 February 2013 edition of Embassy Magazine.

The following is an excerpt from the prepared text of a speech German Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office Michael Link was scheduled to give Feb. 13 at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Ladies and gentlemen, 30 years ago, an economic crisis in Europe would have been painful, but it would not have called into question Europe's status as an economic powerhouse on the global stage.

The following is excerpted from a 7 February 2013 news item by the World Customs Organization.

The Secretary General of the WCO, Kunio Mikuriya, visited Comoros from 7-9 February 2013 to support Customs modernization underway in the country, at the invitation of the Director General of Customs, Ali Hamissi Moussa Mohamed. The Union of the Comoros comprises three autonomous islands located in the Indian Ocean. The Presidency of the Union is held on a rotating basis between the three islands.

The following is excerpted from a 6 February 2013 news item by the World Customs Organization.

The following is excerpted from a 31 January 2013 news item by the World Customs Organization.

On 31 January 2013, the European Voice, a leading source of analysis on international business and world affairs – published an interview with the Secretary General of the WCO.

In the article they trace the “unconventional career path of Kunio Mikuriya, the Japanese public servant who now heads up the body at the pinnacle of the global Customs system.”

This news item is available in its entirety at:

The following is excerpted from the 13 February 2013 edition of The Globe and Mail.

A free-trade deal between the European Union and the United States is a logical step in the context of other bilateral agreements being discussed, such as one between Canada and the EU, says the head of the European Commission.

At the same time, observers are seeking to determine what effect a renewed push for a deal between the U.S. and the EU might have on free-trade talks between Canada and the EU.

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The following is from the 12 February 2013 edition of American Shipper.

The Russian government on Monday moved to suspend all imports of U.S. meat.

The following is from the 11 February 2013 edition of Journal of Commerce.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the European Union recently implemented a mutual recognition decision between Customs’ Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program and the EU’s Authorized Economic Operator program, which provides reciprocal benefits to C-TPAT members when exporting to EU member states.