S. Korea, EU spar over ‘rules of origin’

Under EU-suggested rules, a product would be considered as coming from a trading partner only when at least 60 percent of the value of the finished item is added in that country. South Korean negotiators want the ratio to be lowered to 40 percent, as a number of manufacturers in the country outsource many components from neighboring countries such as China to cut costs.    Read More…

GM trials in India threaten trade ties

India finds itself increasingly on the defensive in agricultural trade for permitting field trials across the country in a host of genetically modified food crops – rice, brinjal, okra, potato, tomato and groundnuts – and thereby exposing conventional crops to the risk of transgenic contamination. A case in point is a rather dodgy no-contamination certificate that the regulator, Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, was forced to give two months ago in response to a restriction imposed by Russia on import of rice, groundnuts and sesame seeds from India.  Read More  Times of India | 13 Feb 2008