The following is excerpted from a 30 November 2012 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 30 November 2012, 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”.

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The following is excerpted from a 26 November 2012 news item by the World Trade Organization.

At the Council for Trade in Goods meeting on 26 November, 23 delegations issued a joint statement urging Ukraine to withdraw its request to renegotiate tariff commitments on a wide range of products. Several delegations expressed concern over trade actions by the Russian Federation and Brazil.

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The following is excerpted from a 29 November 2012 press release by the World Customs Organization.

A global enforcement operation targeting drugs organized by the World Customs Organization (WCO) in close cooperation with Japan Customs resulted in the seizure by Customs officials of 220 kg of narcotics worth about 15 million euro on the market and the arrest of 39 suspected traffickers.

The following is excerpted from a 22 November 2012 press release by the World Customs Organization.

A global Customs operation spanning three continents led to over 70 major seizures of endangered flora and fauna and their derivatives, such as live tortoises, rhino horns, ivory tusks, a leopard skin, dead seahorses and pangolin scales, trade in which is prohibited or regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The following is excerpted from a 20 November 2012 press release by the World Customs Organization.

More than 941 parcels containing drugs or precursor chemicals were seized in the course of a Customs enforcement operation targeting postal and express mail channels, resulting in the discovery by Customs officials of over 9.5 tonnes of illicit products, including cocaine, heroin, opium methamphetamines and anabolic steroids.

The following is excerpted from a 21 November 2012 news item by the World Trade Organization.

Norway has contributed NOK 3.5 million (approximately CHF 578,000) to the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) and the WTO Trade Facilitation Negotiating Group Fund.

Norway is one of the biggest contributors to the WTO development programmes. Overall, Norway’s contributions to the various WTO trust funds have reached about CHF 23.2 million.

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The following is excerpted from a 21 November 2012 report by the World Trade Organization.

The second review of the trade policies and practices of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda takes place on 21 and 23 November 2012. The basis for the review is a report by the WTO Secretariat and a report by the Governments of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.

This report is available in its entirety at:
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp371_e.htm

The following is excerpted from a 19 November 2012 news item by the World Trade Organization.

The “International Trade and Market Access” interactive tool, launched by the WTO on 19 November 2012, provides a new dynamic presentation for all WTO data on merchandise and commercial services trade as well as selected market access indicators from World Tariff Profiles, a WTO, ITC and UNCTAD co-publication.

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The following is excerpted from a 19 November 2012 press release by the World Customs Organization.

The World Customs Organization (WCO) welcomes the adoption in Seoul, Korea by the Parties to the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control of the new international treaty setting the rules for combating the illegal trade in tobacco products through controlling the supply chain and enhancing international cooperation.

The following is from the 20 November 2012 edition of American Shipper.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Monday hosted the first meeting of the U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Commission (FTC), the body responsible for supervising the implementation of the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement and resolving issues that arise.