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Bulb barriers
- The European Commission yesterday (29 August) proposed a 12-month extension for anti-dumping tariffs on imports of energy-efficient light bulbs from China. Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson had earlier this year said the tariffs should be scrapped. Critics accused the Commission of caving into pressure from German light-bulb manufacturers and undermining EU energy efficiency targets.
Chinese toys
- The Commission on Friday (24 August) threatened urgent regulatory action to keep unsafe imported toys out of EU shops. American toy company Mattel had pulled millions of Chinese-made toys off international markets after claims that the toys contained dangerous levels of lead and small parts. EU customs officers followed the Mattel announcements with a series of border seizures of the Chinese products. A Commission decision is expected in the coming weeks.
EU-Japan trade talks
- Japan and the EU will form a task force to discuss the possibility of a new bilateral free-trade deal, the two powers said yesterday. The task force is expected to look at issues including intellectual property, technological innovation and environmental standards. The EU launched free trade talks with South Korea in May.
Rambus rumpus
- The Commission confirmed on Thursday (23 August) that it had sent a formal anti-trust complaint to memory chip designer Rambus, alleging that Rambus had abused its market position by charging unreasonable royalties for the use of certain patents by the memory chip industry. Rambus is already appealing against a ruling from the US Federal Trade Commission in a similar case.
Eurozone growth
- The eurozone economy grew by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2007, compared with the previous quarter, according to flash estimates of gross domestic product (GDP) published by the EU statistics office Eurostat on Tuesday (28 August). EU27 GDP grew by 0.5% in the same period. Seasonally adjusted GDP grew by 2.5% in the eurozone and by 2.8% in the EU27 in the second quarter of 2007, compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Copycat cars
- Chinese carmaker Shuanghuan Auto yesterday denied that it had produced copies of models already on the market designed and made by BMW and DaimlerChrysler. The two European car manufacturers had the day before accused the company of copying their models and threatened legal action.
Further talks aimed at concluding the Doha round of World Trade Organization (WTO) talks will open next week (3 September).
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