Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters formally opened New Zealand’s new embassy in Stockholm today.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will come into force on the 30th December.

The World Economic Forum picked nine plants to serve as beacons of a new hope for Industry 4.0 success.

With U.S. levies on $200 billion of Chinese products set to balloon to 25% in 2019, companies on the mainland making everything from car parts to cameras are lining up other production facilities across Southeast Asia reports Angus Whitley for IndustryWeek.

Practical presidential applied policy outcomes will decide mid term elections in United States

The MoU is signed to create a global digital network in trade finance.  The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ANZ (ANZ.AX), BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA), Citibank (C.N), Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) also agreed to join the digital trade information network expected to be operational by the third quarter of next year.

Seven banks, including HSBC (HSBA.L) and Banco Santander (SAN.MC), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a global digital network in trade finance aiming at allowing cheaper and easier funding for corporates, a Santander manager said on Wednesday.

“It is the first time that these banks come together to set a standard (...) that will allow cheaper access to finance because the risks are going to be reduced,” Rogier Schulpen, global head of trade and working solutions at Banco Santander, said in a phone interview. Read more . . .

Journalist considered as being primed to turn up heat on ruling family

Little-known Desert Nation underpins world nutrition

A plastic washing-up liquid bottle dating back at least 47 years has washed up on a British beach, prompting calls for action to combat the “modern-day scourge” of man-made waste reports  Alice Cuddy for EuroNews.

The U.S. and Canada agreed to a trade deal with Mexico, setting the stage for their leaders to sign the accord by late November in a region that trades more than $1 trillion annually Industry Week report.

The three countries reached an agreement to replace the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, according to a joint statement from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland on Sunday. The new deal will be called the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA.

The accord involves improved access to Canada’s dairy market for U.S. farmers, stronger intellectual property provisions, and tighter rules of origin for auto production, according to two senior Trump administration officials who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity.

Canadian auto exports up to a certain threshold will not be impacted by any U.S. tariffs on foreign cars, according to three people familiar with the matter. The agreement offers Canada some cover from the Trump administration’s threat to impose duties on car imports for national security reasons. . . . read on . . . >