YANGON - Myanmar's economy is slowly emerging from the crippling effects of decades of military rule, where a poorly-managed resources industry dominated much of the country's trade. The Aung San Suu Kyi-led government is encouraging foreign and local investment in job-creating export industries, with a strong focus on manufacturing. Boosted by U.S. President Barack Obama's recent removal of executive sanctions on Myanmar, the country's garment industry is on the rise, and aims to be the nation's largest employer. The NLD-led government hopes new factories can provide employment for hundreds of thousands, whose education and work opportunities were stunted under 50…

Beef and lamb exports fell in November, as the amount of meat sold dropped heavily compared with last year’s record season, Statistics New Zealand said today. Meat and edible offal exports fell $158 million (31 percent) from November 2015, contributing to a $219 million (5.4 percent) fall in overall exports. Beef exports fell 41 percent in value and 31 percent in quantity, and lamb exports fell 27 percent in value and 23 percent in quantity. “Beef exports to the United States, our top beef export destination, fell by around half when compared to November last year” senior manager Jason Attewell…

Santa Urges the World to Forgive Hi everyone! Santa’s workshop is running full tilt at this hour but production estimates are behind where they hoped to be by this time. Elf Bernard said that while the Merry Prankster did no lasting harm to the workshop he did set them behind a bit with his constant pranks over the past month. But elves are so happy that he has been caught it appears they are making up for lost time in fine fashion. We still have a few days before Santa launches but I’m hearing rumors already that Santa’s workshop will…

The Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) has a lot on its plate as it gears up for at least four trade missions across Asia and the Pacific in 2017. Glenn Soco, MCCI president, said they plan to send delegates to explore business and investment opportunities in Laos in Cambodia, Australia and New Zealand, Ayabe in Japan, as well as Thailand next year. “Laos is a new frontier as their country is opening up to foreign investors. They are keen on building stronger trade with the Philippines also,” he said in a text message to Cebu Daily News. In…

India plans to take a longer period to eliminate tariff with China to give the domestic industry enough time to adjust to a trade deal with China.  New Delhi:India plans to offer tariff elimination on more than 70% traded goods with China over an extended period of time under the ongoing negotiations for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement. “One cannot go beyond 6% offer on either side of common concession. For example, if common concession is decided at 80% for all countries, then we cannot offer China tariff elimination of less than 74%,” a government official said, requesting…

Trade finance remains poor relation of populist state industry hand-outs As the 1980s dawned the Silicon Valley of the South Seas was the Hutt Valley. Apple’s Steve Wozniak cruised the valley in awe of the digital presentation skills of the state television operation based on the Avalon studios. The state’s own physics and engineering laboratory was at work on advanced integrated circuitry and superconducting. A privately held company variously known as Systems and Programmes Ltd, SPL, and Progeni had designed a desk top product that had taken interactive screen graphics further than any other developer had taken the science up…

Dumping products should not be allowed in the New Zealand market, says ManufacturingNZ. Dumping is selling products in an export market at a lower cost than they are sold in their home marketParliament's commerce select committee has been considering a Trade Bill* that would allow dumping to occur in New Zealand as long as a 'public interest' test was followed. The select committee has now reached deadlock on the issue, and is not able to provide a recommendation to Parliament on whether the Bill should proceed.ManufacturingNZ Executive Director Catherine Beard says the Bill should not proceed. "This Bill came about…

In one corner, there is the United States; in the other, China. The sole superpower trying to maintain its top position versus a dormant giant now increasingly ready to assume what it deems its rightful place in the world. Or so the popular narrative goes. It sees both nations vying for influence in the region by binding other countries to them through trade deals: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which the US is a part of, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which China is in. This impression has been reinforced by rhetoric from both sides. US President Barack Obama,…

Non tariff measures (NTMs) are becoming increasingly worrisome for New Zealand exporters. Our firms know these NTMs impose considerable costs, reduce trade volumes and eat into margins posts John Ballingall, Deputy Chief Executive, NZ Institute for Economic Research (NZIER) on TradeWorks. NTMs are regulatory tools, other than standard border tariffs, that can have potential economic effects on trade – either a decrease in quantities traded, an increase in their price, or some combination of both. Common examples are quotas, technical standards (TBT), registration processes, labelling, sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) measures and biosecurity procedures. NZIER wanted to estimate just how serious…

  Trade Minister Todd McClay will meet Brunei’s Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade tomorrow. The Minister, Pehin Lim Jock Seng is visiting New Zealand along with Brunei’s Industry Minister, Pehin Yasmin Umar. “Brunei is a good friend of New Zealand, working cooperatively with us within ASEAN and beyond,” says Mr McClay. “Brunei and New Zealand cooperate in trade, defence, and education – and Brunei is also a strong supporter of trade liberalisation. “Two-way trade is worth NZ$506 million and is dominated by oil. Of our more modest exports, butter accounts for 30 per cent. “I look forward to…

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has welcomed the visit to New Zealand later this week by Brunei’s Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Pehin Lim Jock Seng and Energy and Industry Minister Pehin Yasmin Umar. “Brunei is an important partner for New Zealand in South East Asia, and we enjoy friendly cooperation in defence, trade and education,” Mr McCully says. “During the visit, we will discuss Brunei’s plans to diversify its economy and how New Zealand can best support these efforts. Our talks will also focus on regional economic and political issues.”